If owning a home is the American dream, then making sure your home is up to scratch is the American expense. You cannot improve, renovate or even fix your home without money, lots of it. And that’s why we all tend to do it ourselves, even though we may not be qualified for the job. It’s a way to contribute towards the making of your home, and it also saves you quite a bit of money. But DIY projects in the home are dicey affairs – they can become messy and more expensive than you expected if you don’t do them right the first time. If you’re considering tinkering around your house yourself, ensure that you’re not guilty of these DIY beginner mistakes:
- Not having any knowledge of the process: If you’re planning to do over your kitchen, you need to know where to start and how to go about the process before you even think of doing it yourself. If you think a DIY book is all you need, you’re sadly mistaken. There’s only so much a book can teach you, based on what you already know. What you need to do is to observe professionals as they go about redoing a kitchen, either using a video or hanging out with the renovation guys. The more you watch and take in, the more you will learn. Build on this knowledge with books and other resources, using them to research the kind of materials and tools you will need for the process.
- Attempting to do too much: If you’re a beginner, start out with the simple stuff, like redoing your cabinets. You can’t go horribly wrong with something like this, unlike plumbing where a small error could result in the flooding of your kitchen and the rest of the house. Don’t try to do everything in one go – start with one cabinet before you strip down all of them and find yourself unable to go on. Take it slowly, and improve on your speed as you gain more experience.
- Refusing to call in a professional even when you know you need help: There are some jobs that are meant for a pro, like the installation of toilets and electrical wiring. If you don’t call in the concerned people for these tasks, you could end up injuring yourself and the others who live with you or you may have a bathroom catastrophe on your hands because of a malfunctioning toilet. The DIY rule in short – don’t refuse to call in the pros when you know things are beyond your capabilities. Pick your tasks wisely and you’ll do well, both for yourself and your home.
Home is where the heart is, and vice versa. If you love your home, you’re going to want to take good care of it and make sure it does not disintegrate into an unmaintained wreck. But any home improvement or renovation takes a great deal of time and money, one of which you may have and the other of which you definitely don’t have. If you’re looking to pamper your home with a limited amount of money, here’s how you can get the most bang for your buck using these five Ps:
- Plan: There’s nothing that could increase your budget and make it hit the roof like poor planning. As long as you know what you want to do and exactly how you want to do it, you should be able to control your spending. List out all your potential expenses, with enough leeway for emergencies and unexpected roadblocks, so that you don’t have to change your plans midway and incur additional costs in the process. Also, it’s not wise to change or redo what you’ve already done since this could end up eating into your already meager budget.
- Purge: A clean home is easier to spruce up than one that hasn’t been maintained for some time. Grime and dust have a way of making things older and shabbier than they really are. It’s best to adopt a regular cleaning and maintenance schedule, but if you haven’t been doing that, try scrubbing your home from attic to basement and see the difference it makes to the way it looks. Besides, your paint jobs and other alterations will be easier with a clean house.
- Paint: Sometimes, a fresh coat of paint is all a house needs to look new again. Try changing your color schemes if you want a different look, and use paints that do not contain volatile organic chemicals (although they may be costlier than regular paint) if the fumes tend to make you sick.
- Pamper: Treat your house to great looking furniture and appliances, preferably those you can pick up at bargain prices and those that match each other and complement your house and its décor. If you have large, unused spaces, try breaking them down into smaller rooms that are cozier and easier to maintain.
- Prune: If you have a yard, driveway and garden, it goes without saying that you must keep the outside of your home looking great and tidy. For one, it makes your house look good, and for another, if you’re planning to sell your home, it helps to bring in more potential buyers and a good asking price.
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