No matter whether you’ve just moved into your home or you’re about to put it on the market, a quick spruce up can give your place a new lease of life on a shoestring budget.
1. Give the walls a wash
Paint can be expensive, but there is a low cost way to clean and brighten interior and exterior walls. The trick is to give them a good scrub with sugar soap. It’s a great way to remove scuff marks and grime, and you don’t need any fancy equipment – just a bucket, sponge and plenty of elbow action.
2. Let the sun shine in
Windows can rapidly accumulate a mix of dust, dirt and cobwebs, and it can be surprising how a thorough clean can let more light into your home. No need to spend on expensive cleaners, an equal parts mix of distilled water and white vinegar will do the job well.
If your budget stretches a little further, frame those sparkling spring views with new drapes, curtains or blinds.
3. Give tiles a new lease of life
Replacing outdated tiles can be an expensive and fiddly project. For a budget-friendly kitchen or bathroom makeover, just paint over the old tiles. Be sure to use specialist tile paint, which is designed specifically to paint over glass, porcelain and ceramic tiles. A 1-litre tin could cost about $60.
4. Have a garden tidy up
Time to pull on the gardening gloves and get to work outdoors.
Pull out dead plants, give overgrown trees and shrubs a trim, and mow the lawn giving the edges a careful trim to create a neat appearance. Fix any broken fence palings, weed garden beds and pathways, and give the greenery a dose of fertiliser.
Pop in some spring flowers, or for a burst of colour at zero cost grab some cuttings from friends. Bloomers like geraniums, African violets and impatiens could be easily grown from cuttings.
5. Rearrange furniture
Sprucing up interiors can be as simple as rearranging furniture. It could completely change the look and feel of a space. It’s also an easy way to help prevent wear patches on floor coverings like carpet and rugs. Instead of hitting the stores looking for new furniture, try swapping around pieces that are sitting in different rooms.
