Leveling up doesn’t begin and end with the clothes you wear. Live stylishly every day, and at every age, with Style Girlfriend’s home guide for your 30s (and every age!). Find the basics you need upgrade your digs in your twenties, thirties, forties, and fifties…
If your twenties are a time of great experimentation, your thirties are all about (finally!) getting a handle on who you are and what you’re all about.
This is the time to invest in some great pieces and settle into some good habits at home that will pay off for decades. Make sure you’ve got these things down pat during this decade.
Below, the guy’s home guide for your 30s:
1. Invest in “keep forever” furniture
By the time you reach your thirties, you’ve tried out different looks in your home—and experienced plenty of decorating trial and error—so you have a pretty good grasp of your sense of interior design preferences.
This is the time to think about investing in a few classic pieces that you’ll be able to enjoy for the long haul. No longer will you automatically turn to IKEA to fill the gaps in your decor!
When you find you need a new item, seek out well-crafted pieces in classic shapes and styles.
Spend more on the stuff you know you’ll love now and for years to come. I promise, It will be worth it.
The only (sort of) downside? You can’t just ditch your cheap stuff on the curb when you move, because this stuff is coming with you.
You’ll find that that’s really okay because—upside!—you’re more stable and settled so you’re moving less often (you probably won’t miss that rotating door of random roommates from your 20’s either).
Bottom line? You won’t regret buying quality.
2. Upgrade your clothes maintenance game
It’s no longer cute to show up to work or a date looking rumpled.
By this point in your life, you’ve collected some nicer clothes (I hope!), and you need a way to keep them looking that way.
Build your arsenal. You’ll need a steamer, fabric de-piller, and yes, probably an iron. You may not need it often, but when you do, there should be an operational one within reach.
Make sure your closet has plenty of hangers. Do yourself a favor and buy a whole bunch in wood or velvet — no more mish-mash of wire, plastic, and whatever you get from the dry cleaner. You’ll be surprised at how good you’ll feel opening your closet each morning and everything just looks nice.
Add dividers to your drawers so you know where everything is, and nothing’s unnecessarily cramped.
Treating and storing your clothes the right way will make them look better and last longer, of course, and (bonus!) will also save you precious minutes getting dressed in the morning.
Really, I promise. Spruce up your closet, and you’ll automatically feel more like a grown up.
RELATED: How to clean out your closet
3. Learn to keep a plant alive
Getting older might mean settling down, finding a partner, having (or at least, thinking about having) a kid.
Required for all of the above? Care and cultivation. This is the time to start exercising those skills!
Take a first step now with a plant.
Yes, this is your time show yourself and the world that you can keep something living alive.
Maybe that’s a low maintenance succulent (tip: water less than you think; don’t smother it with love) or something more involved.
Either way, you need something in your home to hold you accountable for its care.
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4. Stock up on extras of everyday goods
You’ve got sheets and towels for yourself…what about when you have a guest?
Friends and family staying overnight are no longer going be happy crashing on the couch and drying off with a questionably damp towel after their morning shower.
And that goes double for any romantic overnights.
Having enough linens and forks and coffee mugs and toilet paper is a sign that you’re thinking ahead—and of other people.
It feels nice not to have to scramble every time you have more than two people eating a meal in your home. Welcome to responsible adulthood.
5. Develop a regular cleaning routine
Tough love time: a dirty apartment might have been tolerated by visiting friends and family in your twenties, but a filthy bathroom and overflowing kitchen sink are not okay anymore.
If you don’t have one, get yourself a cleaning routine, like, yesterday.
It doesn’t have to be complicated. Try keeping some cleaning supplies and tools in the places you need them (like some spray and a sponge in the bathroom) so you can quickly deal with any small messes as they happen.
Having them close will make it easier to actually do it! Then set aside a chunk of time every week to do some deeper cleaning, like your tub and shower.
If you absolutely hate to clean, throw some money at the problem!
If it’s worth it to you to not have to clean, do without some other luxury so you can afford to hire a housekeeper on the regular.
Either way, get ‘er done.
Below, shop stylish home picks for your thirties:
custom framing, starting at $40
cylinder double sconce, $249
throw pillow arrangement, $99
‘All Grown Up’ tablecloth, $95
white noise machine, $110
2′ potted snake plant, $35
REPLICA ‘Lazy Sunday Morning’ candle, $70
cotton throw blanket, $99
ashtray set by Seth, $98
long console table, $178
