Whether you’re wanting to get your home ready for selling, or simply want to fix a few things around the house to give it a new lease of life, if you’ve usually left DIY to the professionals, it can often be a daunting prospect to take some of those home improvement tasks on yourself.
Here are some simple jobs that even DIY novices should have no trouble with. The best part? They shouldn’t take you long and will potentially help you to save money.
Table of Contents
Personalize your rooms: hang a photo
What you’ll need:
- Pencil and rubber
- Double-sided tape
- Spirit level
There are, of course, plenty of extravagant photo display options. Some people opt for elaborate set-ups that become the focal point of a room, however, it’s just as effective to place a few nicely framed photographs around the room.
Firstly, evaluate the color scheme of the room and how you’re wanting to distribute your photos. Are you wanting them in a cluster on a feature wall? Are you balancing out photos that are already placed on shelves or a window sill?
Then you need to consider the material: most photos are conventionally small, though some people choose to work with blown-up canvas photos, which may demand different tools/adhesives.
Following this, it’s crucial that your photo is aligned properly. Therefore, you should add some pencil marks where you want the photo to hang, check it’s straight with the spirit level, and cut off a strip of double-sided tape for the frame to stick to. There’s no stress from using a drill and screws, and you can easily remove this adhesive, should you decide to move the photos in the future.
Improve hygiene: empty the kitchen sink-trap
What you’ll need:
- Bucket
- Towels
- Wrench
- Old toothbrush
If your sink is draining slower than you’d like, it may be time for you to empty the sink-trap – a bent piece of plastic that holds enough water to stop sewer odors from infiltrating your home. This is an easy task, with you only needing to undo a couple of nuts before the sink-trap is off for cleaning and you’re putting it back on again. You should always check the sink afterward, to check if you’ve fixed the issue as well as for any potential leaks underneath.
Put up some shelves
What you’ll need:
- Cable detector
- Pencil
- Spirit Level
- Screws
- Wall plugs
- Screwdriver
- Drill
- Hammer
Putting up shelves can seem like an intimidating task, especially when you consider the many different types: floating, fixed, corner, curved. The possibilities are endless, especially if this is your first shelf, so it may be a good idea to check out some YouTube videos before you start so you’ve got a rough idea of what you’re doing.
Don’t forget to check out shelving inspiration on sites such s Pinterest. A shelf doesn’t have to be boring and merely functional, there are plenty of variations that can help to add to the character of a room or serve as a decorative feature as much as a pragmatic one.
Restore wear-and-tear: paint your fence
What you’ll need:
- Sandpaper
- Wood paint primer and preserver
- Exterior paint
- Plastic sheet
- Safety goggles
- Mask
- Ladder
This is the only job on our list which will take you longer than a day to complete, but if you do this in warm weather, you won’t mind so much. Painting your fence will not only make your home and garden look good, but the paint will also prevent the wood from rotting, as well as help it to withstand harsh weather conditions. Whether you have a little or a lot of fencing, it’ll be nice to look at when you’ve finished.
While these tasks may seem small, doing them yourself will also save you a lot of money in the long run. These tasks can also help you see if there are any other ways you can improve your home, from installing light fixtures to stopping a leaky tap. If you get in any trouble, please consult a professional before making any problems worse.
