Have you been putting off any home improvement projects, assuming they will take forever, or digging deep into your pockets?
Well, here’s the good news! You can style up your home without spending too much time or money.
In less than an hour, you’ll be amazed at what you can accomplish, allowing you to go DIY or follow basic tips.
Here are some ideas for achieving great results with some quick projects.
1. New Color, Fresh Look!
Simply picking a bold color and painting only one wall in a room can give it a new look.
It costs less than painting all, and it doesn’t take as much time.
2. Change Your Faucet
Is your faucet bleak and leaky?
All you need to do is wield the wrench and install a new faucet.
Before doing so, you have to turn off the water supply. Unscrew the connection of the old faucet and screw in the new one. While you are at it, you can add an aerator, available on Amazon, to lower your water bill simultaneously.
3. Give Your Dryer Ducts a Clean
Lint is one of the main culprits of filthy ducts, so don’t be surprised if your dryer doesn’t work as quickly as it used to. Its buildup increases your risk of fire and it affects its efficiency.
For a starter, a strong arm is needed to move the dryer away from the wall. Then you need a vacuum at hand.
The dryer has to be unplugged and the ductwork has to be disconnected, so you can carefully vacuum as much as possible.
4. Examine Your Electricals
An electrical examination of your outlets is a good safety measure. Any loose wires have to be secured, and for childproofing purposes, insert outlet covers into unused wall and power strip outlets.
To have overall safety, find which are the overloaded circuits and power cords, and adjust them as needed. Any damaged cords have to be replaced and any light switches that are warm when touched.
5. Raise Your Flowerbeds
You can give your flowerbeds that 8-foot-square raise in less than an hour. All you need is eight 8-foot-long sections of pressure-treated lumber, landscape adhesive, construction adhesive and screws.
With the help of a saw and a drill, cut pieces to size and secure them together. To prevent weeds from coming out, use landscape fabric available on Amazon.
6. Give Your Pathways a Good Scrub
Simply giving your sidewalks, walkways, and driveways that can be stained by wet leaves, mildew, and automotive leaks, a good thorough power-wash, can take away that blight look to them.
7. A Hardware Upgrade
Nothing more than a screwdriver is required to upgrade your hardware by simply replacing the old doorknobs or cabinet pulls.
When mounting new pulls on doors that weren’t originally there, you must create a template to ensure you drill the holes in the same spot every time.
8. Remove The Grime from Your House
A pressure washer does the perfect job, it’s as easy as just aiming and spraying to clean your roof gutters.
Besides cleaning your gutters, you can clean your vinyl sidings too. It’s useful for cleaning second-floor windows, the only thing you have to do beforehand, is to make sure all windows are closed before you go ahead and start.
Pressure washers are available on Amazon, but you can rent one from a home center, too.
9. Have Weatherstripping Installed
Weatherstripping is a perfect way to give your furnace a bit of a break, keeping the warm longer and giving your home more comfort. For doors and windows which are open throughout the season, there is adhesive permanent weatherstripping.
There is a solution for windows that will be shut until spring, for them you can use temporary weather seals or sealant that peels off, so when no longer needed, it can be taken off.
10. Change Your Furnace Filter
To improve furnace efficiency and air quality, you need to regularly check and clean your furnace filters monthly and every three months to change them.
A great deal of airborne dust particles are reduced when you put in a new filter, so in case of allergies, it is recommended that you invest in a better one. Replacing it is no big deal, you take out the old and put in the new.
11. Your Water Heater Needs a Drain
The reason behind this is that sediments are collected at the bottom of your water heater.
Over time its efficiency is disrupted, and these particles create insulation, causing your heater to work harder when using hot water for your shower.
The extra temperature can cause leaks by stressing the metal. To avoid this sediment buildup, you have to drain your heater every three months by draining a quarter of the water in it.
Before you do any of this check your owner’s manual for instructions.
12. Say Goodbye to Your Dial Thermostat
If you are still with the old-fashioned dial thermostat it is time to install a programmable one, like the one from Honeywell. The programmable thermostat can automatically vary the temperature in your home throughout the day.
This is an easy and relatively affordable way to save money on your heating bill and, at the same time, enjoy the experience of waking up to a warm bedroom.
All you need is a screwdriver, a drill and paint for touch-ups.
13. Change Your Switch Plate Covers
Give your dull beige switch covers a more decorative look with a simple change. There are various options available online, varying from antique brass to modern plastic ones with colorful graphic designs.
Other DIY ideas for covers are also an option to let your creativity run wild and save money. You can use decoupage for applying wallpaper, duct tape, fabric, or simply spray painting them.
14. Give Your Rugs a Shampoo
To bring your carpets back to life, you can rent a home shampooer, but first, you must ensure everything is out of the way. In just 20 minutes an industrial machine can clean a room, so in no time you can have three rooms with freshly shampooed carpets ready.
Don’t pay attention to the dirty water, you’ll be amazed by the result!
15. Lamp Dimmers Set The Mood
Soft and warm ambient light is what makes a “designer home” complete. This does not mean that you have to invest a fortune. Install a dimmer cord. Like this one available on Amazon, and you can turn any lamp into mood lighting.
All you need to do is plug the cord into the wall, and then the lamp into the other side of the plug. To achieve suitable lighting, use a slide switch.
16. Make a Compost Pile
A perfect way to make sure you don’t throw away leftover food is to make a compost pile to help your plants get their nutrients. The result of this will be rich soil for your plants, and the bonus of saving money and avoiding gardening chemicals at the same time.
For those without a yard, there is the option of a kitchen composter, so houseplants will be happy to get fertile dirt too.
17. Back To The Blackboard
With the help of chalkboard paint and chalkboard paper, you can create a write-on surface anywhere you like and let your creativity run wild.
By painting the inset panels of doors you can create a place to leave your kids notes or to-do lists, or transform the inside of cabinet doors into message central. Forget Post-it notes by applying contact paper onto your fringe and cutting into different shapes.
18. A New View Or Out With The Old
Whether to change the view or get a little more privacy, using window film is a perfect way to achieve it. It comes in various opacities and patterns to choose from, from etched glass to rice paper.
Patience and precision are required, but don’t worry in no time, you’ll get the hang of it!
19. Vinyl Tiles for A New Floor
If you’re tired of looking at your old concrete or wooden floor, you can transform it with peel–and–stick vinyl tiles, such as those from Amazon. They are available in different patterns, resembling stone, wood and even metal.
You definitely can’t compare it to the ancient linoleum you remember from your grandparent’s house! It’s a quick way to give your floor new life!
20. Time to Stop Squeaking!
If you have old doors and floors, squeaks will be heard. Your peace can be restored in just an hour the most with a cheap option and that is WD-40. A short squirt of it in places like the door hinges brings silence to the ears.
You can achieve the same peace with your creaking floors, by sprinkling talcum powder on them and sweeping it into the cracks.
21. Smart and Key Free!
Nowadays, with everything being “smart,” it’s hard to decide what is worth upgrading. One of the worthy things is switching to a smart lock. You can find various locks on Amazon with a beautiful hardware finish.
They not only look good but also take away the fiddling and fumbling to find your keys. An extra to change to a smart lock is having a camera to see who is at the door whether you’re at home or not.
22. Bring Back The Light to Your Exterior
Who said that giving your home an exterior facelift should be expensive?
Focusing on updating smaller details, like the outside light fixtures, is a perfect improvement for your exterior. It can become a DIY project if you’re keen on spray painting your old ones.
23. Old Door, New Look!
Due to weather changes, your front door is bound to fade or get damaged over time.
Give it a fresh coat of paint to bring it back to life. Whether you change the color or refresh the old one, painting it will give your exterior that inviting appeal.
24. Give Your Shower Head an Upgrade
Change the old with a new nozzle and immediately feel the difference in the water flow.
Upgrading to a new one that has EPA’s Water Sense label, like this one from Home Depot, helps conserve water, save money and give you a pleasurable experience.
Leave an hour and some spare cash and you’ll be amazed with the results!
