10 ways to improve your house on the cheap

Even if you don’t own your house you can improve it with a few minutes work and these tips start from £0!

1) Lighting

LED strip lights or LED bulbs can transform a room, for instance behind the TV, below the kitchen counters or around your bed.

• LED RGB light strips with Remote £18.99
• LED RGB Bulbs with remote £9.99
• Moon Candles RGB LED Candles £12.99 (white) or coloured £11.98
• Philips Hue Lights – Internet-connected lights, awesome but expensive (from £90+)
• Mr Beams indoor LED motion sensor night lights (ideal for bathrooms, corridors etc)

Also consider lighting outside your house, it is a fact that a well-lit house is less likely to be broken into.

• Mr Beams LED spotlights
• Auraglow Cordless Motion Sensor Activated PIR Sensor Outdoor Wireless Solar Power Security Light
• LEPOWER® S3 Motion Sensor Concentrated and Powerful LED Solar Lights / Security Lights [3rd Generation]

2) Painting

Over a weekend you can completely change a room, here are some tips:

• Check your local tip/dump/recycling centre as lots of places will encourage people to leave paint for others.
• Wrong paint… lots of stores allow people to take paint back if they’re not happy or it doesn’t match the existing paint but it can’t be resold as new so they reduce it to clear. Try local DIY stores but failing that try the larger chains.
• Remember to use a primer for dark coverups – Primer is cheaper than dark/posh paints and using it helps the paint spread more evenly on the surface, meaning you will use less of your expensive paint to get the job done. 1 coat of primer + 1 coat of paint will be cheaper than no primer and multiple coats of expensive paint.
• Be careful of the cheap paint, often the cheaper stuff will require multiple coats, won’t be as durable or won’t last as long. Obviously, don’t just spend money for the sake of it but maybe try some sample pots to compare.
• Always keep old paint but keep it labelled (room name + amount of coats + paint name) and dated. Remove paint from the lid and the grooves of the lid – Use clingfilm to cover the paint (or just the lid) for added protection from dry paint falling into the paint. Make sure the lid is properly sealed.
• Actually, calculate how much paint you will use/need to cut down wastage. This calculator will help.

3) Furniture repaint or replace

Repainting furniture is cheap way of giving your room a facelift and turn something you hate into something you’re proud of – learn the basics of this with our article about how to Paint kitchen appliances, you can use the same techniques on all sort of things.

Replacing furniture with other people’s ‘rubbish’ is a great way to save money + tons of people throw away perfectly good things as they’re can’t be bothered to sell. Sites like Freecycle and Facebook local selling pages are great places to look. Just remember the risks of buying from Facebook Selling pages

4) Stop hair down the plug holes

This drives us insane + makes us feel sick when cleaning, especially if it’s a flat mates hair!

By using a decent stopper you can prevent the hair actually getting stuck, just remind everyone that they should clean it after every use. If you have a problem with this then also consider a small bin inside the shower or just outside the door.

• OXO Good Grips Shower Stall Drain Protector £5.99 (we have this, superb quality but a tad expensive)
• OXO Good Grips Stainless Steel Bathtub Drain Protector £4.99 (we also have this but it doesn’t fit our main bath so now use it in the other shower)
• Umbra Starfish Drain Cover/ Hair Catcher, Surf Blue £4.42 or buying from China for £1.13
• Pound shops sh0uld also do similar (2 x plastic versions for £1) however we’ve not tried them personally but a few 10ways users said they were good.

5) Reduce the risk of a house fire + buy fire extinguishers

Please read this article: 10 ways to prevent household fires

6) Grab some plants / seeds and grow

You can grow tons of indoor plants for either food or just to brighten your house, most plants will improve the air in your house as well.

• Kitchen Herb Garden Kit Windowsill Window Box Planter with Seeds
• Peace Lily Spathiphyllum Indoor House Plant in Pot Air Cleaner Freshener
• Tons more plants on eBay or your local garden centers etc
• If you’ve already got plants you can make cuttings to create more plants
• We often post free seeds on our Facebook page

7) Implement a few of these ways to protect your valuables

Please read these articles: How to try and protect your valuables & learn how criminals are using social media

8) Buy some artwork or make your own art/inventions

• Buy unique artwork from Etsy can make your home unique and not just full of IKEA
• Learn how to hang your artwork as it can make a massive difference in a room
• Learn How to print MASSIVE posters from your A4 printer (+ a list of awesome posters to print)
• Look at making your own artwork from beer coasters, beer bottle glasses, Android Smart Mirror, Online tools & Start to hack, fix & create awesome things.

9) Keep on top of maintenance

A leaking tap is a lot easier to fix than a tap pouring water everywhere, also houses that are well-maintained sell quicker!

• 10ways to spend less on heating bills!
• Remove holes in walls/windows with silicone or Caulk
• Remove rust stains / mould from bathrooms
• Replace old door knobs & oil up the hinges
• Fix massive holes in walls on the cheap (e.g. a punch)

10) Reconsider what you’re standing on (the floors)

1. 94% of US real estate pros recommend spending some money on floors.
2. A few well-placed nails can stop squeaking floor boards.
3. An easy clean kitchen floor can be picked up for a few hundred quid & can transform a home.
4. Investing in rugs instead of full carpets can save you a fortune if you’ve got hard floors in your lounge / on your stairs etc.

You may also like:

• Think your life sucks? Think again! A message from a previously homeless man
• Can you make Rainbow Roses at home? Short answer: Yes!
• Undercover boss: Finds out his staff member is homeless, sorts the issue out

Image credits: Hair