Smart, Affordable Finds to Refresh Your Chicago Home (Without the Stress)

Life in the Windy City is a whirlwind of activity. Between work, family, and trying to enjoy everything Chicago has to offer, finding the time for a thorough apartment cleaning can feel like an impossible task. Your home should be your sanctuary, not another item on your endless to-do list.

We all want a beautiful, clean, and inviting home, but high-end designer prices can make that dream feel out of reach. The good news? Creating a space you love doesn’t require a massive budget. Sometimes, it’s about finding those clever, affordable gems and knowing how to use them to refresh your environment. A tidy, organized space is easier to maintain, and starting with a truly clean base makes all the difference—whether you’re decorating or just trying to keep up with daily life.

Building Your Sanctuary on a Budget

The secret to a great-looking home is mixing high and low. You don’t need to buy everything new. Start with a solid foundation by ensuring your space is deeply cleaned. Once that’s done, you can focus on layering in personality with thrifted finds, DIY projects, and surprisingly chic budget items.

For busy Chicagoans, keeping up with it all can be the real challenge. If the thought of a deep cleaning help session sounds like a dream, you’re not alone. Sometimes, the best investment is in professional home cleaning to reset your space, so you can focus on the fun part—making it yours.

Kitchen & Dining Upgrades That Wow

The heart of the home deserves to shine. Look for durable, pretty items that make everyday tasks more enjoyable:

• Textiles with Style: New dish towels, oven mitts, and a charming tablecloth can instantly lift your kitchen’s mood without a renovation.
• Functional Decor: A beautiful ceramic pitcher can hold utensils or fresh flowers. Pretty, shatterproof serveware is perfect for indoor dinners or outdoor gatherings on your balcony.
• The Power of a Reset: Before styling open shelves or a new tablescape, give your kitchen a refresh. A thorough clean makes your new decor pop and is the perfect time to schedule a cleaning for the areas you might normally overlook.

Living Space Refresh Tricks

Your living room and bedroom should be places of relaxation. Small changes have a big impact.

• Layer Textures: A soft new throw blanket or a set of crisp, affordable sheets can make your couch or guest bed feel luxurious.
• Artful Arrangements: Mix thrifted art and frames with new candles or decorative objects. The key is creating a collected, personal look over time.
• Maintain the Calm: A clutter-free, clean space is inherently more peaceful. If dusting, vacuuming, and tidying are stealing your weekend, consider reaching out to a cleaning service near me like Jikas to handle the maintenance.

The Chicago Shortcut: When DIY Meets “Do-It-For-Me”

We love a good DIY project or a savvy shopping find. But let’s be real—Chicago life is fast. There are weeks when even the simplest tasks feel overwhelming. That’s where the balance comes in.

You can absolutely spend a Saturday hunting for the perfect vintage bowl at a local market. You can also spend that same Saturday actually enjoying the city, knowing a trusted Chicago cleaning company is taking care of the rest. The goal is to spend your time and energy on what brings you joy, not on chores that drain you.

Think of it this way: you handle the fun decor updates, and let cleaning services in Chicago handle the scrubbing. This is the modern approach to home care. It’s the easiest way to get your space cleaned and keep it that way, consistently.

Simple Steps to a Lighter Load

• Start with a Clean Slate: If it’s been a while, begin with a one-time deep clean. This makes everyday upkeep infinitely easier.
• Embrace “Good Enough”: Your home doesn’t need to be magazine-ready every day. Focus on clean surfaces, tidy floors, and fresh linens for a baseline of comfort.
• Ask for Help: There’s no trophy for doing everything yourself. If you need someone to clean my apartment, that’s a smart, efficient choice. It frees you up to actually live in and enjoy your beautifully refreshed home.

Welcome to Dollar General. I am so excited to
share with you their brand new, super affordable line by Holly Williams. I have heard this is only
out for a limited time, so here are some of my favorites. I have so many DIYs and fun ideas. This
is rolling out in a lot of stores. I can’t wait to share this with you. Today’s video is brought to
you in part by Whatnot. I absolutely love these tablecloths and place mats. The place mats are $3
and the tablecloths are five and they fit a large rectangular table 52x 70 in and they come in three
different patterns. But I really have to talk about the towels. The towels and washcloths are $2
to $3. These beat Dollar Tree and these patterns are absolutely stunning. They also have these
really pretty oven mitts with frills on them. Like I am loving this collection and I think they
would make a really cool Mother’s Day gift. Dollar General can beat Dollar Tree a lot of the times in
terms of quality and modern styles. I really like these $2 dish rags. Look at how pretty these are.
This comes in a pack of two. So, these are only a dollar a piece. And then, if you don’t want the
small dish rags, you can also do the dish towels. These are only $2 and better quality than Dollar
Tree. There is an entire brand new luxury kitchen line starting at $2, as well as a bedding line.
And all of the items in their stock is always available online. Let’s shop together today.
I also really love these measuring cups. These are made of ceramic, so they are not plastic.
The price on this is $8 and you get four. That puts them at $2 a piece. They have these really
pretty dish drying mats for $3, too. I have to know which pattern is your favorite. This luxury
kitchen line is so worth it with so much coquette and vintage flare. I also love these spatulas with
wooden handles. You could put together a Mother’s Day gift for about $11. Matching salt and pepper
shakers are just $1.50 each. If you’re looking for outdoor serveware, these plates are crushing it.
They are $2 and so pretty. The scalloped edging is so charming. I love to go into store and see
things that are actually affordable. You can just buy a couple of things here and there to
add to what you already have to make something amazing. And stay tuned for that idea. I like to
thrift a lot of my glassware, but this pitcher is really beautiful. You could combine this with
like vintage thrifted glasses, but this is so pretty together. I think would make a really cool
Mother’s Day display. You can even give flowers to people in a pitcher, which I think is a really
creative idea. Adorable to set out in your kitchen and functional, too. Okay, so sit with me for
a second. Ballard Designs is a really expensive designer brand. Think Pottery Barn, but I was
looking at the home styles and color swatches and really seeing how so many of these Dollar General
items were so similar. Take Serena and Lily for example. A $300 tablecloth you can find at Dollar
General. Two not to be missed finds are the table runners and these adorable place mats. Look at
the little ruffles on the side. These are only $3. This is so wonderfully Serena and Lily-coded.
It’s really long, too. I cannot wait to share with you how I put together an entire tablescape on
a dime. I love getting to layer in things that I already have, thrifted finds, Dollar Tree finds,
and you know, I had to come home with the butter dish. This was $6, but it actually reminded me of
vintage glass. I loved it. This tablescape turned out so cool. But before we get to it, the Dollar
General candles have really stepped it up. $5 is the take-home price point. I highly recommend the
Martha Stewart candles. They also have incredible and gorgeous cloche candles and lots of them smell
really great and you cannot beat this price point. Mix and match, layer your style. Here I have a
thrifted frame, some thrifted books and a Dollar General candle and it looks super high-end.
Dollar General PopShelf have tons of art, but I like to thrift vintage art and then I tie it
in with some of these finds. Dollar General frames are beautiful, but there are certain things that
are so much better thrifted, and you can combine them together for an incredible look. Which is why
I’m so excited to tell you about today’s sponsor, Whatnot. If you have a love for antiques, vintage
decor, or just generally beautiful things, and your stores don’t have a lot of stock, you’re
going to love it. Whatnot is the number one live streaming shopping app. You can place bids on
items like vintage decor, items for your home, and get really great deals. Name brands brand
new with tags. You save a lot. Chances are if you’ve seen me wearing something in a video,
it’s probably from Whatnot. And you get a free $15 of shopping credit. Use my link down below to
get $15 off anywhere on the app. Whether you want clothes or you’re like me and really favoring
some fun vintage decor. I got this super cute silver-plated fruit bowl, but I’m going to use this
as a bread bowl for my table. You know how much I love vintage books, too. This one is from the
1930s. I got it for $15 on Whatnot, but you get a free $15 of shopping credit when you click my
link down below. Download Whatnot. That would make something like this totally free. Plus, if you
follow me on Whatnot, you’ll be entered to win a $500 shopping giveaway. This app is so much fun.
I have had such a great time shopping on it. You can scan the QR code right on screen or click the
link down below. I’m so excited to see you guys on the app. My entire home is a mix of old and new,
and every single thing in it is affordable. So, when it comes to things like mirrors or beautiful
things like ice buckets, these are the types of items I tend to thrift. And then when I’m in
store, I can incorporate it with some of the more trending designs that are really beautiful
and speak to me. You know, I collect a lot of blue and white items. These were really fun to see
in store for just a couple of dollars. These are a few things that I passed on that I thought were
really pretty anyway because they were all just $3 each. These little frames are $1, and I thought
they would make super cute magnets. I thought these would be adorable on a side of a fridge, and
I love these no fatigue mats as well. You could use these outside of your front door, but I like
putting them in the kitchen. The patterns were awesome. Usually at Dollar General prices cap at
about $12. This bread box is so cute, and I love that it comes with this wooden lid. They also have
food storage containers here. You get three for $10. And the print on this is so cute. This
serve dish, and this is five. I love that these are shatterproof, making them perfect for
outside. And I would love to know in the comments, have you tried watermelon salad? I add lemon juice
to this feta, a little bit of microgreen arugula, and fresh mint. You can top with salt and pepper
as well as lemon zest and olive oil. This is the easiest quick summer dish. Perfect for any time
of year. It’s one that always wows. Little bit of sweet, little bit of tangy. Have you tried it?
Now, I’ve got the complete budget table makeover coming up soon. But first, I am most excited
though about this Ballard Designs dupe. Now, I love Ballard Designs. They are one of my favorite places
to look online for inspiration. And so many of the items on Ballard Designs are similar to what I’m seeing at
Dollar General. So, you can get the same look and just do it for less. I really like these bowls. I
have a fun hack that I want to share with you how you can do a super cool tablescape. Maybe you have
one of these, you DIYed one. Either way, I’ve got you. Dollar General flowers are some of the best.
Now, you’re not just going to pay $1.50 or $1.75. Sometimes they’re a little more, but since Dollar
Tree raised their prices, this is a great place to come for some filler just like this. I mean, you
can make some gorgeous arrangements that actually look realistic. Okay. Wow. Isn’t that silky soft?
It’s silky. Like this feels like a real flower. Like if you come up Wow. You know, I got to bring
in a Dollar Tree item. Have you seen the wet foam that Dollar Tree got in? Now, this is a brand new
product, but what’s so cool about this version is you can submerge it in water. It takes about 90
seconds. And now, if you want to, instead of faux, you can incorporate real stem flowers. I got
mine 50% off at my grocery store. And I only buy flowers when they’re on sale. Trader Joe’s is
another great place to get them really affordably. You can stick this right inside of the foam. I
used two pieces of foam and two bunches of flowers at $5.99 each. This looks like a custom flower
arrangement you would spend well over $100 for, and I put it together in about 10 minutes. I don’t
think great design, beautiful things should only be accessible to people with lots of money.
This should be accessible to anybody. You can do it affordably on a dime. And I really wasn’t
kidding. This is the Ballard Designs look right now. Look at these cool little bookends and something
so similar right now at Dollar General. Now, these retail for about $7.50 each. So cool. And they have heft to them. This is awesome if you’re a dog person. In Dollar General,
sometimes you got to dig, but like honestly, I’m okay with that. Look at these blankets.
These are $12 each and this is from the same line. I found at a lot of Dollar Generals that
the Echo Holly line is kind of sprinkled about. Kind of like the Dolly Parton stuff. Love her.
But this is so cool. Feel how soft this is. It’s very soft. These are $12 each and they’re nice
and big. Perfect for updating outdoors. Like if you have older cushions, adding a throw pillow
makes it really pretty. This is a queen and a full sheet set. Full is $15, queen is $20, but you
get two pillow cases. Perfect for a guest bedroom. Love these. Another amazing find are these
Jessica Simpson quilt sets. So pretty. They also have adorable sheet sets. These are $25. Oh
my goodness. And they’re soft, too. These tumblers are also really, really pretty. And the price
on these is $10, which is really good compared to Amazon. Friends don’t let friends overpay. My
favorite time to shop at Dollar General is always Saturday because you can get a $5 off $25 coupon.
Now, before I share with you my final tablescape, I want to talk to you a bit about the store
PopShelf. PopShelf is Dollar General’s sister store and they have a ton of overlap of merchandise. The
Holly Williams line is located in both stores, but there’s a couple of items that are unique to just
PopShelf that Dollar General does not have. So, I want to take this portion of the video to share
with you some of my favorites that help you save a lot. I’m going to put this on screen for you. This
is a dupe of an over $100 Bogg bag and here they’re just 15 bucks. I would say about half of the
stores are exactly the same and they have the same $5 off $25 coupon. So never go into store without
it. What I really like about PopShelf in general is that they have a lot of Martha Stewart items
that Dollar General does not have like a more expanded version, not just the candles. They have
these incredible jute rugs here, which on Pottery Barn’s website are super expensive. They want $30
for this one, but the size on this is quite large. This is 30x 72 in. So, this is a really good size.
I love love Dollar General for their jute. Like, they always nail this. I really wish this was
like citronella cuz then I’d actually buy it. I honestly I’m so obsessed with these. These
are so stunning. As of the filming of this video, there are 180 PopShelf locations in the United
States. And when you find one, you’re going to see lots of Dollar General items and then some.
They also have the scales of justice here, which are awesome. And this is $20. Very, very
pretty. All of these candlesticks are gorgeous. Very heavy. These are $8. All right, I have
to know in the comments, are you a cat person or are you a dog person? I’m a dog person. They
have the really pretty swans here. Like, when it comes to things like planters, Dollar General has
the exact same planters that I saw in PopShelf, and the prices are exactly the same, too. They
have some additional ones. Look at all of these, which are actually gorgeous. I love this one. Now,
these are $8 a piece, but this is a good price. And they have these kind of smaller versions down
here, which are lovely. And then some larger ones as well. Dollar General topiaries cannot be
beat, too. This at $25 is a great deal. These are so beautiful on the backyard. And this one
totally lights up. I am all about just buying a couple of new items and combining it with things
that I already had to make something so beautiful for your home cuz you really can do it on a
dime. This new luxury kitchen line is totally reading as Serena and Lily. And not only that,
it was really affordable to do. I hope you try my favorite watermelon salad and give a couple of
these ideas from this video a try. And remember, you have some free money sitting on the table.
Be sure to check out Whatnot. The link is down below and claim your 15 free dollars if
you’re a new user. It is so much fun, my beautiful friend. If nobody has told you today,
guess what? You are enough. I’ll catch you soon.