10 Weekend Projects

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No matter how much time you have, you probably have enough to tackle a home improvement project this weekend. Sometimes a reminder that things don't take as long as you think is enough motivation get some of those projects done.

30 Minutes or Less
1. Change the hardware on your kitchen cabinets. You'll be surprised at what a huge difference modern hardware can make on your kitchen for not much money or time. Get out your screw driver and knock this project out in half an hour.

2. Wash the entry walls and door. This is probably the highest traffic area in your home. Especially in the winter, snow and dirt brought in can take a toll on the surfaces near the entry. A good scrub with a magic eraser will clean the area up in no time. You might not have noticed the dirt, but you'll definitely notice how clean it is!

3. Touch up nail holes with filler and paint. Remember when you moved that picture to another place in the room? Of course, the hole is still there. Grab some wall filler, patch up the hole and wipe up the excess. Then get a small amount of the wall paint from that room and paint over the filler. This will probably take 10 minutes total. What an easy way to feel accomplished!

4. Clean out lighting fixtures. Thankfully the cold weather has killed all of the house pests, but there might be some evidence of their tenancy in your lighting fixtures. Fill your sink with water and lysol (the recommended amount from the bottle) and unscrew the dome fixtures in your home. Dump out any debris in the trash and soak the fixtures in the sink solution. Rinse, dry and put back. 20 minutes or less (for all the dome lights in your home!).

5. Sweep your sidewalks and wipe down your mailbox. Brace the cold for 10 minutes and sweep the rocks and salt from your entryway sidewalks. Keeping this clean keep all of the floors in your house cleaner by default. While you're out there, give a quick wipe down to your mailbox with lysol. Who knows if the mail carrier transferred the flu from one mail box to another.

Half of a Day
1. Paint the walls. Have a room that could use a sprucing? Take 5 hours out of your day to purchase, prep and paint. Valspar Premium is $5 off this week with this coupon from Lowe's. Once you pick out your color (I recommend paint and primer in one, like Valspar, to make the most of my time), make sure to grab drop cloths and painters tape. My tips is to do the taping the night before so you can focus all your energy on painting when you first get up. Then it's done in just a few hours!

2. Install storage shelves. Don't forget about the vertical space in your laundry room or garage. There's great storage potential there! Purchase your preferred wall adhered storage unit - do you want wire open shelving, mdf open shelving or closed solid wood cabinets? So many choices. Make sure you have another person helping you with this. Someone to man the pencil and another to hold the level is an unbeatable team.

3. Deep clean carpets. Look for coupons online and rent a steam cleaning machine. While you're at it, clean your upholstered furniture and draperies. It takes a bit of time but it's worth it for the satisfaction of clean floors.

A Full Weekend
1. Refinish your kitchen cabinets. Whether you want to turn them glossy white or stain a new color, this is a fairly time intensive project, but not hard. Remove the cabinet doors and hardware. Sand the cabinet boxes and cabinet doors. Prime & paint or stain and seal (read labels for dry time) the cabinet boxes and then the doors (make sure all hardware is removed but kept together in an easy to remember place). Let everything dry over night. The next day reattach (or attach new) hardware to the cabinet doors and attach them to the cabinet boxes. A brand new kitchen in 48 hours!

2. Install hardwood flooring. There are so many options in hardwood flooring to easily install in your home now. Home Depot and Lowe's are great resources with several color options. You can tackle this project in a weekend easily. Make sure you know what you're doing by reading instructions carefully. This is one of the most significant improvements you could make in just a few days on your own.

Are you going to be doing any projects in your home this weekend? We'd love to see before and after photos!

Out with the Old...

It's always good to start the new year fresh. A great way to do that is to go through files, boxes and closests and purge what you don't need. Here are some tips to help you minimalize this month.

1. Get a paper shredder, scanner and a document box handy. Whether you keep your files organized, piled up on the table, or scattered around the house - chances are, you have more paperwork than you need. Set aside an afternoon to go through everything, even the organized files, and sort out what you need.

Make 4 different piles:
1. To keep and scan (documents that you need but don't have to have a hard copy of)
2. To keep and file (documents that should be kept in hard copy)
3. To shred (any paperwork that you don't need that has financial or personal information)
4. To pitch (envelopes, fliers, letters, etc. that you don't need to keep)

Be stingy about what gets to stay in the hard file. With Google Dr and external harddrives, scanning in paperwork is safer than ever.

2. Donate, sell, and trash your clothes. There are clothes that you don't wear in your closet, but you hold on to them for a number of reasons. If you haven't worn an item for 6 months to a year, it's time to part. The freedom of a roomy closet will feel great when you're done. This task could take less than one hour if you're dedicated to the job.

Make 4 different piles:
1. To give to friends (clothing that a friend with similar taste and size could get use out of)
2. To sell (clothing in style and in great condition that you can take to a second hand store)
3. To donate (clothing in good condition that someone less fornuate would be blessed by)
4. To trash (clothing with stains, holes, odd shape that no one else would want to wear)

You probably won't even remember which pieces are missing from your closet since you never wore them and you'll get to feel great, having blessed others or made money off of your unworn clothes.

3. Dig through your storage. What is out in the open, in your cupboards and easy access are the items that you use on a regular basis. Then there are the items under the bed, in the back closet and in the storage area. You do not use, thence do not need, most of the things you own in storage. Take a weekend and sort through objects tucked away. Have a goal in mind, such as 2 large cardboard boxes full of things to discard. Out dated electronics, broken furniture and useless objects don't need to have a space in your home.

What are your purging tips?

New Year Update!

Happy New Year, Ames Community!

I started this blog 7 months ago. It has changed and evolved several times. It will continue to change. With the new year, I want to focus more and more on what makes Ames a great place to live. Events, neighborhoods, attractions, schools, and still of course, homes. I plan to feature a different neighborhood every other week, keep you updated on fun activities and give tips for all things "home." I am excited about this new, more structured direction.

What are changes that you're making this year? Professionally? Personally?