Guide To Cheaply Update Your Home

As we spend more and more time inside our homes, the opportunities to improve them become more and more apparent. For instance, have you noticed the more time you spend in your kitchen the more you wish something about it were different? It could be the way the lighting is installed throughout your house, or the countertops you chose, or the color of your cabinets. It could be so simple as the couch is in the wrong spot, and rearranging your living room makes all the difference. It could be that you need an entirely new space for your home office, or at least upgrades to the space you currently have. Or it could require getting your hands a little dirtier than that. Home improvement spending increased by 14% in 2017 alone. Knowing that, this will be your guide to cheap home updates that are easy and affordable to do.

The Kitchen

The kitchen is where the magic happens. This room sees the most action as we spend our time binge eating because we’re bored, cooking regular meals for the family, or even preparing to host an occasional guest from a distance. Whether it be from the delicious home-cooked meals your parents make, or the frozen foods we comfort ourselves with when we’re too tired to cook, the kitchen has seen it all. So how do your appliances measure up to the increased usage? Your kitchen countertop will have received the most damage if anything. Luckily for you, replacing your countertops is very common, and granite is a classy but affordable option to choose from.

Perhaps your countertops have maintained their durability and you’re more concerned with all the dishes being used at all times and the lack of space to store them. If your cupboards are becoming too cramped, you’re not alone. Thankfully, a nice way to make them appear more spacious is to remove the cupboard door and have open shelves. This also makes it easier to add a shelf above or below or next to your existing cupboards to increase space to hold dishes. It’s also entirely possible all you need to complete your cheap home updates in the kitchen is a new coat of paint over your cupboards or the walls behind.

As mentioned, the dishes seem to never end. Is your dishwasher up to the challenge? Unfortunately, dishwashers only last a few years before needing minimally a cleaning if not replacement entirely. Buying the newest and the nicest obviously wouldn’t be considered part of cheap home updates, but it’s possible to find reliable appliances for an affordable price, should you need it. A lot of people have an extra fridge or freezer for surplus food. These definitely don’t need to be the newest option and can also be an affordable and worthwhile addition during COVID-19 where limiting trips to the store is encouraged.

The Bedroom

One of the best cheap home updates among younger folks currently is to put wood pallets under your bed and use them as a bed frame. Creating a modern but rustic look, it’s an edgy but cheap way to change things up in your room. Searching pallets for sale will provide you with the information to find cheap wood pallets, should you not know someone who can get their hands on some for you. Aside from updating your bed frame, there are other cheap home updates that can help you remodel your room. Simply trading in your old comforter for a newer more stylish one will work as a centerpiece for the room, along with any throw pillows or stylish pillowcases you decide to dress your bed with. Additionally, thrifting old furniture like dressers or bedside tables is an easy and fun way to ensure the additions to your space are cheap, but still something you like. Even simpler and cheaper is wall decor. Wall decor may often go unmentioned, but it is one of the cheapest ways to update the feel of a room.

The Home Office

While we’re unable to go to the office to work, our home offices have seen way more action than they’re likely used to. Because of this, this room will be thriving with possible cheap home updates. Perhaps the process of office moving was a challenge being so last minute and you need to figure out how to update your workspace quickly and affordably. It’s likely you didn’t think to grab a second monitor or printer, or maybe you left all your files at work. A simple and cheap way to remedy the latter is by buying and using a flash drive. These are very cheap but can update a room filled with unorganized or forgotten papers into one where everything is at the touch of your mouse.

Should it be more along the lines of the former, would you like a newer, more comfortable chair? As long as you’re not paying for international shipping, the cost should be relatively cheap! This room could be just the place to spend that stimulus money. Maybe you’re more in need of a second monitor to better interact with coworkers during meetings, or a new headset so you can work but stay free from the noise of your family. Even a new desk can be found for an affordable price.

If you’re somebody who struggles to work from home, it may be beneficial to find entrepreneur tips online as they are most likely to work from home on a typical basis and may have advice on how to be the most productive. Since entrepreneurs are more likely to have out-of-office experience, it may be beneficial to see what they have to say about how they get their work done.

The Bathrooms

Often overlooked are the bathrooms. One of the cheapest home updates you can do for your bathroom is replacing the shower curtain. Super cheap and easy and fun should you choose a curtain with a design. Other cheaper options to upgrade your bathroom are pictures and various wall decor, painting the room a fresher, newer color, or even updated minor appliances like the showerhead or faucets. With a new coat of paint could include new bath rugs and towels, too. Sometimes just updating the theme of a room is all you need to feel better about the space and it can be achieved cheaply.

The Living Room

The living room is where you and your family likely spend the majority of your time, so updating it could be long overdue. Even just rearranging the furniture in the living room or switching out pieces from other rooms or that are stored away in the shed could be enough of an upgrade to satisfy you. However, as mentioned before, thrift stores and even some furniture stores often have furniture for incredibly decreased prices that would make for cheap home updates in any part of the house. A fresh coat of paint may also be enough of an upgrade and isn’t very expensive to acquire. Replacing the lamps or whatever you use for lighting can also be an underrated but dramatic change to be made. Since we know the TV is what we likely use the most, although it wouldn’t be the cheapest upgrade, if you’re looking in the right store, it’s entirely possible to find a new TV within your budget.

Outside

While you may think of cheap home updates as only something that can happen inside your house, you are sadly mistaken. Updating the outside of your home can be just as beneficial and rewarding as updating the inside. The most important part of home renovations is the care you put into it. Like anything else, what you put into your home updates is what you’ll get out of it. When aiming for cheap home updates, it’s going to require more care and elbow grease to accomplish the nicest renovations.

If you’ve lived in the same house for a few years now, it’s likely as we go through another winter, your roof could need minor repairs, if not major repairs. This can be a cheap home update if you do it yourself and skip the step of hiring professional roofers. As long as you are not afraid of heights, have a ladder that reaches, and are well-balanced, you shouldn’t have a problem. Adding a layer of shingles or replacing shingles here and there will help make sure the roof stays in the best quality possible and will be better for you in the long run should you ever decide to sell. While you’re up there, checking and cleaning your gutters is routine maintenance that could save you from costly repairs. Home updates aren’t all about additions, it can be proactive care as well.

Another area in which cheap home updates can be accomplished is within your yard. Homeowners take great pride in their lawns, and using hydrograss is a relatively affordable way to ensure healthy, bright green grass, should you just be moving in and your yard hasn’t grown in yet. Though this may not be the cheapest, it will yield positive results. And there are cheaper alternatives that will also keep your lawn growing once it’s grown in, should you need a cheaper option. Should you need a new lawnmower, consider trying to fix it yourself before up and buying a new one. Though you may very well find one in relatively good condition on the side of the road for sale for cheap, attempting to fix your old one may be the better option.

The landscape of your yard is an important piece of home updates, and mustn’t be forgotten. Making sure your lawn is full, mowed, and without weeds are the basics. It can be trickier to maintain your lawn when trees need removal or weeds have overgrown and taken over an area. scrap metal shears can be used to help cut branches or weeds that have overgrown. Once you’ve cleared your lawn of access branches and weeds, a fireplace is a perfect place for them to all go and, as long as where you live allows them, a very easy and cheap home update. Depending on where you live, you could need as little as a few cinder blocks to make a ring around the pit.

However, aside from all that, having a deck in your backyard is a major win and contains room for many cheap home updates to be done to it. The cheapest way to upgrade your deck is by, well, decking it out. Lights, deck furniture, tiki torches, chaise lounges, and umbrellas for shade are some of the cheapest accessories you can get to upgrade your deck. Adding a pool, if you don’t have one already, is not a cheap way to upgrade your home, but potentially worth doing anyways. Should you already have a pool, cheap upgrades could include various pool toys and floaties, solar covers, or even a slide.