On television, home improvement projects go from start to finish in 60 minutes or less. The good news is, you don’t need to spend a lot of time sprucing up your home. Here are some ideas for quick projects that deliver big results
Freshen Up an Old Room With Paint
Pick a bold paint colour, then use it to paint just one wall in a room. Covering only one wall will cost less and won’t take as much time as painting the whole room.
Switch Out Your Faucet
Sick of your drab, leaky faucet? If you can wield a wrench, you can easily install a new faucet. Before you start the job, turn off the water supply. Then unscrew the connections from your old faucet and screw in your new faucet. Add an aerator, and you'll lower your water bill at the same time.
Clean Your Dryer Ducts
If your dryer doesn’t work as quickly as it used to, lint could be the culprit. Buildup not only affects efficiency, it also increases your risk of fire. To clean your ducts, first, you’ll need some muscle to move your dryer away from the wall. Then you just need a vacuum. Unplug the dryer, disconnect the ductwork, and vacuum out the ducts as well as you can.
Inspect Your Electrical
Conduct an audit of your electrical outlets. For childproofing purposes, insert outlet covers into unused wall and power strip outlets, and secure any loose wires. For general safety, look for overloaded circuits and power cords, and adjust as necessary. Frayed cords should be replaced as should any light switch that is hot to the touch.
Build Raised Flowerbeds
You can build an 8-foot-square garden bed in less than an hour, using eight 8-foot-long sections of pressure-treated lumber, screws, construction adhesive, and landscape adhesive. Using a saw and a drill, cut pieces to size and secure them together. Add landscape fabric, to the base to prevent the growth of messy-looking weeds.
Scrub Your Pathways
Sidewalks, walkways, and driveways can become stained by wet leaves, mildew, and automotive leaks. Get rid of these eyesores with a thorough power-washing.
Update Your Hardware
Once you select new doorknobs or cabinet pulls, installation often requires nothing more than a screwdriver. To mount pulls on doors that never had them before, create a template to ensure that you drill your holes in the same spot each time.
De-Grime Your House
With a pressure washer, there’s no need to crawl on the roof to clean your gutters—just aim and spray. A pressure washer also cleans grime off your gutters and your vinyl siding as well. It can even be used to clean your second-floor windows. Just be sure that all your windows are securely closed before you start. Many home centers have pressure washers available for rental.
Install Weatherstripping
The weatherstripping will make your home more comfortable while ensuring that your furnace won’t have to work so hard to warm your house. Permanent weatherstripping, which has adhesive, is recommended around doors and windows that are opened throughout the season. For windows that will stay shut until spring, consider temporary weather seals or sealant that peel off when it’s no longer needed.
Replace Your Furnace Filter
To improve air quality as well as furnace efficiency, check your furnace filters for dirt monthly and change them at least every three months. A new filter will substantially reduce the number of airborne dust particles. If you have allergies, you might want to invest in a better filter. Replacement is a cinch. Just swap the old one for a new one, and you’re done.
Install a Programmable Thermostat
Programmable thermostats, allow you to automatically vary the temperature in your home throughout the day. They're easy to install and relatively affordable. To experience the joy of waking up to a warm bedroom while still saving money on your heating bill, all you need is a screwdriver, drill, and (possibly) touch-up paint.
Switch Your Switch Plate Covers
Replace boring beige switch covers with something more decorative. There are lots of options that can be purchased online ranging from antique brass to modern plastic options imprinted with vibrant graphics. Or, you can let your creativity run wild (and save money) by covering your existing switch plates with decorative wallpaper, duct tape, or fabric, by using decoupage, or by simply spray painting them a striking color.
Shampoo Your Rugs
Enlist a few family members to move the stuff out of the way, then rent a home shampooer to bring your carpets back to life. Most industrial machines take less than 20 minutes to do a room, so in an hour you could have three rooms of freshly shampooed carpets. You're going to be surprised how much brighter your carpets will look… and how dirty that water will be!
Install Lamp Dimmers
Nothing says
“designer home”
like soft and warm ambient lighting. But you don’t have to spend a fortune on track or recessed lighting. Instead, turn any lamp in your home into mood lighting by installing a dimmer cord. Simply plug the cord into the wall, then the lamp into the other side of the plug. Use the slide switch to get the lighting just right, every time.
Start a Compost Pile
Just because you don’t eat it doesn’t mean your garden won’t! Turn your leftover food into a rich and nutritious meal for your plants with very little effort by starting a compost pile. You'll save money on mulch, avoid scary gardening chemicals, and end up with a heap of rich soil. Don’t have a yard? Look into a plastic kitchen composter to give houseplants fertile dirt.
Create a Chalkboard
Thanks to chalkboard paint and chalkboard contact paper, you can pretty much create a write-on surface anywhere your imagination takes you. Consider painting the inset panels on doors to leave notes for the kids, or transform the insides of your cabinet doors into message central. Cut contact paper into unique shapes, apply to the fridge and you won’t need Post-it notes anymore!
Transform a Floor With Vinyl Tiles
If you’ve got an unattractive concrete or old wooden floor in your home, you can give it a new lease on life with peel-and-stick vinyl tiles. Today’s vinyl has come a long way from the ancient linoleum in your grandparents’ house. Now it’s available in patterns that resemble stone, wood, or even metal. You’ll be amazed at how good it looks and how fast it goes down!
Upgrade Exterior Light Fixtures
Giving your home exterior a facelift doesn’t have to be as complicated or costly as new siding or fancy landscaping. Updating smaller details, like the outside light fixtures can make all the improvement. Buy new fixtures that add more charm or go the DIY route and spray paint your current ones for a new finish.
Paint the Door
From the weather it endures to the constant coming and going, fading and damage is bound to happen to the front door. Make a good first impression with a fresh coat of paint. Whether you want to pick a new color or just apply a few touch-ups of the original shade, a little paint can rejuvenate your home’s curb appeal.
Upgrade the Shower Head
Swap out your old showerhead for a new one. With an upgraded nozzle you can improve water flow for a more pleasurable experience. Not only that but if you pick a shower head that has EPA’s Water Sense label, you will conserve water and money.
Adapted form: Bobvila
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