Any homeowner will tell you that owning and maintaining a home is both expansive and time consuming. An average homeowner should be prepared to shell out 1-3% of their home’s value each year on maintenance and improvements. There are ways to reduce costs while maintaining your home.

Based Paint

Repainting the porch may be necessary in your home improvement efforts. Your paint should be a quality exterior variety. It’s important that you select paint that has the same base. For example, you want to use oil paint over oil-based paint or latex paint (water) over paint with a water base. The unparalleled durability of oil-based paint makes it ideal for trim, but it’s inappropriate for decks or porches themselves (precipitation makes it slippery).

Buying new furniture can be very costly. Look at yard sales and thrift stores for furniture to update the look of your home. You could find a true treasure in a collection of used items, like furniture. They may need a little fixing up, but they can be delightful to behold.

You can use aluminum foil as a protective covering for certain surfaces before you paint. You should always be careful to avoid having aluminum foil come in contact with anything electrical. Using aluminum foil is much easier and will protect your outlet covers just as well. It’s also pretty easy to clean it up. Let paint dry prior to removing the foil.

It’s a good idea to sit down and clearly define your goals and intentions before you get started on your home improvement work. Once you have started the project, you need to focus on finishing the job rather than deciding on the details. Use homes you love as inspiration, or take inspiration from your favorite home-improvement shows.

It is a very good idea to have a family meeting to discuss the best ways to escape from the home in an emergency. When there is a tragic accident or something beyond your control, people can tend to panic. To help lessen the chance of a fatality or injury, come up with escape plans for home intrusions, fire or dangerous weather. Make the meeting, discuss the necessities and stay prepared for the unexpected.

Buy some clear plastic storage boxes to help you organize the clutter in your garage. Label these boxes for a professional look. This allows you to keep your garage organized while keeping bugs and rodents at bay.

If you can, fix things as soon as problems are apparent. Your home can develop many sorts of problems that are easy to ignore or live with from day to day. Resist this! Systems within your home are connected, which means damage can often spread quickly. Small issues can turn into large ones in the blink of an eye.

By following the tips and advice found here, you should be better prepared to tackle your next home improvement project. You should be able to save money as well. You can still enjoy your house and keep you money by doing home projects and saving money while you do it.