8 Smart House Upgrades that are Totally Worth the Money

Published on: 29 September 2018 Last Updated on: 12 September 2024

Looking to add a little resale value to your house? Choose wisely! Some house upgrades are worth it, but not all of them are a great investment. Smart house upgrade is essential for your lovely home.

Upgrade your home the right way. Increase the value of your home with smart upgrades that return your money and then some! Different ways Smart House Upgrades can make things easier for you.

8 Smart House Upgrades that Pay Off

Here are some of the best ways to upgrade your home and increase the resale value. These 8 ideas are totally worth the money!

1. Clean, Fresh Paint:

When a buyer walks in, they want to see bright, clean rooms. Your paint has a lot to do with how the sunlight affects a room. A fresh paint job can brighten any room in the house.

You don’t necessarily need to go neutral, but your choice in paint colors can affect your potential buyer’s feelings about your house. If you’re not selling just yet, the right colors can also help lighten your own mood.

Choose a palette that you like. But, don’t stop there. Make sure it compliments your home’s age, style, and architecture. Check out these ideas for a modern look!

2. Modernize the Kitchen:

Look at the age of your appliances and countertops. Are they in poor repair or stained? If so, you should consider replacing them.

Here’s a list of kitchen upgrades that you can benefit from.

Newer, energy efficient appliances
Countertops that suit the space
Refinish cabinets
Tile backsplash
Sink upgrades
Accent paint

Save some cash! Check out dent and scratch or discontinued appliances. Discontinued tile can be used to make an attractive backsplash, too. You can get huge savings from buying these options.

Look for ways to accent and offset countertops and cabinets in your kitchen for a more modern look. Check out paint pallets that give your kitchen a pop of color and make your cabinets stand out.

3. Programmable Thermostat:

This is such a simple upgrade, but it gives your house a modern feel. Programmable thermostats are affordable and easy to install. Many are also easy to manage from your phone!

An added bonus for installing a programmable thermostat is instant energy savings on your electric bill!

4. Upgrade Bathrooms:

Ugly bathrooms can send a potential buyer out the door. Check out your bathrooms for any of these problems and fix them!

Stained toilet bowls and seats
Leaky faucets
Outdated fixtures
Old tile and paint
Evidence of flooding
Damaged cabinetry

You can easily and affordably upgrade a bathroom by switching out any old fixtures and lighting. But, making sure the bathroom is clean and in good working order is a priority.

5. Landscaping:

Ever heard of curb appeal? This house upgrade is a must. The first look a buyer has as they walk to your front door can influence their opinion about the whole house!

Walk outside and check your landscaping, in the front and the back of your home. Consider these upgrades for landscaping your home.

In the front:

Clean, groomed lawn
Flowers and shrubs that are trimmed
Trees that cut back and look nice
A walkway that invites people to come in

In the back:

A patio or deck for entertaining
Trees and flowers for privacy and color
Fences in good repair
Clean, groomed lawn
A small gardening area

Your landscaping matters in the value of your property. It should be well maintained and easy to upkeep. Good landscaping invites you to come out and enjoy the outdoors!

6. Install Solar Panels:

Nothing is more attractive to a potential buyer than the idea of their new home saving them money. If you’ve already installed solar panels, then you’ve given them a step up in that direction.

Solar power is a responsible energy choice and it will save you money in the long run. That’s good for you while you live in your home. It’s great for potential buyers, too.

Your new buyer will instantly save on energy costs. You’ve already made the investment for them! This increases the value of your home and makes the buyer more willing to pay the price you are asking.

7. New Flooring:

You’ve got fresh paint and clean rooms, but your flooring is filthy and worn. That won’t work when you sell your home.

Take a look at high traffic areas, carpets, and tiles. Is anything stained, worn or broken? If so, you need to replace it.

Look for neutral carpet colors. You want any type of furniture or paint to work well with your choice. Avoid white or extremely pale colors because they are so hard to maintain.

If you are replacing only one room of carpet, try to make it closely match what is already in the house. Nothing looks worse than mismatched carpet.

Tile can be a really affordable upgrade. It should be easy to maintain, durable and neutral. Make sure stone tile doesn’t have a lot of nooks and crannies for dirt to hide.

You can even get a tile that looks like wood! Take a look at options in your hardware store.

Save yourself some cash! If you are replacing a whole house of carpet or tile, try to find discontinued items at your local hardware store. They may be cheaper but are still good quality and new.

Another way to save is to learn to install flooring yourself. There are plenty of books at your local library and YouTube videos to teach you how.

8. Basement Improvements:

Paying outright to have the basement turned into a high-class lounge might not pay off. However, putting in the time and effort to fix up and finish off your existing basement can have an amazing return on investment.

If your basement is unfinished, check it out for these problems.

Cracks in walls or floors
Wood damage to the supporting structure
Leaks and flooding damage
Excessive clutter

For already finished basements, here are some things to think about.

Patch damaged walls and repaint
Paint the ceiling bright white
Replace all light bulbs
Install more lighting to brighten the room
Remove excess, unused furniture
Go with a traditional theme

Fix any problems you find and clear out the clutter.

A man cave or game room may be exciting for you, but tame down your theme if it’s over the top. Your potential buyer wants to see open, clean space. Let them imagine how they might use it.

Upgrade Your Home, Today:

If you really want to increase the resale value of your home, pick one or more house upgrades on this list. The money you invest will be worth it.

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7 Expert Hacks for Downsizing to a Smaller Apartment

So you want to downsize to a smaller apartment? If you’re banging your head against the wall trying to figure out how to make a move go smoothly, you’re not alone. We’ve all been guilty of having too much stuff! Give yourself a break and start thinking of solutions. Stay inspired by focusing on the many benefits of downsizing! Moving into a smaller apartment gives you the chance to start over and get rid of things you no longer need. It can also help you to get organized and keep only the essentials. Even better, you won’t have to clean nearly as much space and can live as a minimalist! That in itself has some serious perks. Your stuff won’t own you and you’ll have more time to enjoy life. Do you see where we’re going with this? Get ready, because, in this article, we offer seven expert hacks to help make the process of moving into a smaller apartment easier. Here are 7 Expert Hacks for Downsizing to a Smaller Apartment: 1. Analyze the space you’ll have It’s essential to know the total space of your new apartment before you start the downsizing process. Take a look at your new floor plan and figure out how much room in feet and inches are on each wall. That way you’ll know what will fit in your apartment. If the measurements aren’t on the floor plan, ask the leasing office to provide you with the details. But, the floor plan or provided measurements won’t tell you everything. You need to measure the extra spaces as well: Closets Space under the bed (more on this later) Bathroom storage and cabinets Garage storage (if your apartment includes a separate garage) Kitchen storage and cabinets Other spaces where you might add shelving (like the top of the fridge or in a window) When you’re done with that, measure your current furniture and decide which pieces will fit into your place and which ones you won’t need. 2. Determine your actual needs An excellent way to figure out what your needs are is by asking yourself if everything was gone, what would you replace? Jot down some necessary items you can’t live without such as a bed, sofa, coffeemaker, dog bed — whatever is important to you. You should also ask yourself the following questions: What sentimental items will I miss the most? Does this item serve a purpose? Do I already have something that serves the same purpose? Can I use this item to accomplish more than one task? Is this object in good shape, and will it last for a while longer? This is the point where you’ll be making some headway on knowing what you’re keeping and what you can live without. If ever in doubt of whether you should keep or donate something, go back to asking yourself these questions. 3. Set some tangible goals When it’s getting closer to moving time, you need to come up with a game plan. Best get started with setting some goals before time escapes you! We’re assuming you want to declutter and possibly redecorate your new place, and if that’s the case, it’s time to set some tangible goals. Ask yourself these questions: (Yes, we realize we’re telling you to do this yet again.) What do I hope to gain by adopting a minimalist lifestyle? Do I want to keep the furniture I have or get new furniture (#1 and #4 will help with this) How do I plan to declutter? How will I maximize my space? (Keep reading because we cover this in #4.) What will I do if I can’t decide to part with some items? Should I pay for storage elsewhere to store extra belongings? Need some help answering those kinds of questions? Here are some goals you could have: I want a clutter-free apartment that will give me peace. Not fixating on my possessions will help me feel free. I’d like to have a clean slate and keep my belongings organized moving forward. Being minimalistic will help me put emphasis on the most important emotional and physical items in my life. Write down a few goals that inspire you so that when you feel like giving up, you’ll be able to remind yourself of your intentions. 4. Be a master organizer by maximizing space Since you know how much space is in your apartment, as we recommended in #2, you should already have a plan in place as to where everything should go. With the limited storage space in your new digs, it’ll help to store things vertically. Vertically aligning hooks and shelves helps you take advantage of every square inch of space. You might want to use adhesive hooks at first because most are easy to adjust. We’ll be getting into how to simplify your wardrobe next, but for now, keep in mind that multi-use furniture can solve a lot of storage problems. Keep reading because we’re about to reveal some killer ideas. One idea is to maximize space by incorporating storage headboards. These are pieces of furniture such as bookshelves and a hutch that’ll fit over your bed. Incorporating these types of units will make it easier to store a variety of items from family treasures to books and jewelry. For example, incorporating a fitted unit in your closet can make it easier to organize. Beyond that, think of other ways you can make use of storage. Is there any room underneath the bed you’ll be moving into your fancy new apartment? If there isn’t and you need an upgrade, buy a bed that has drawers underneath. Trust us — those drawers will be your best friend when you need to store extra items of clothing such as blankets or sweatshirts. Keep your bed if you like it, and it just so happens that you may be able to squeeze in some bins underneath to use as storage. For example, milk crates work well when you want to store books, tee shirts, and keepsakes. 5. Simplify your wardrobe Seriously, how do you go about simplifying your wardrobe with you have a gazillion t-shirts? If you think your new closet is small, just think about the people who live in tiny homes. Now those are super tiny! Don’t worry; you can do this if they can! Here are some steps to follow that’ll make your wardrobe functional in no time at all. Step 1: Get all of your clothing out (ALL of it!) and put it somewhere you can sort through it. Whether that’s on the floor or on your bed is entirely up to you. Step 2: Next, divide those clothes into three different piles and decide to donate, keep, or store them. Step 3: Ask yourself if the clothing fits you or if it's still in wearable condition. If you haven’t worn jeans, for example, due to a weight gain or loss, donate or store those items. Don’t keep clothing that’s falling apart. That’s just a waste of precious closet space! Step 4: Are you done going through your clothing and separating them into three different piles? Okay good, you’re going to do it again. This time ask yourself if this clothing fits your personality and your current lifestyle. Step 5: Mission complete! Well, almost. Organize the clothes you’re keeping, store what you plan to wear later (such as seasonal clothing), and drop off clothes you’re donating. 6. Sell or donate what you don’t want Now that you know how much space you have, and how to simplify your wardrobe, let's dive into why it's so essential to sell or donate belongings. It's time to stop and figure out which items you can and can't part with. As you know, whether you're moving to a different city or relocating to a separate apartment at the same complex, moving takes a lot of work. You should do everything in your power to simplify the moving process. Eager to make some money to help with moving expenses? One way to do that is by selling belongings and furniture you no longer want. Try Craigslist, eBay, garage sales, Facebook, consignment stores, and more. Before you even start packing, you should sell, donate, or recycle stuff you can live without. This will eliminate packing everything up only to decide later that you didn't need that item of clothing or five extra plates. If you have problems deciding whether you want to keep, sell, or donate an item, take a hard look at everything you own. Think about whether another person would find use out of that item. If the item is useful, you can either donate it or sell it, depending on its value. Who knows, your trash may turn into someone else's treasure. 7. Digitize nonessential media Next let's dive into how you can digitize and save documents, pictures, videos, cassettes, videos, DVDs, and CDs. While it's important to keep hard copies of documents such as your social security card and birth certificate, try to save and scan everything else. Transfer CDs and DVDs to digital files by using free computer programs such as Freemake Video Converter, Movavi, and WinX. Scan documents to your computer or save them as PDF files. After you're done scanning everything, use services like Google Drive, Dropbox, and Microsoft One Drive. Online storage sites are lifesavers when your goal is to digitize media. Think of all of the space you'll free up in your new apartment by getting rid of boxes of videos, paper, and more by going paperless! It'll take some time, but it'll totally be worth it. And boom! Suddenly you'll realize you're there. So, do you think it’s time to move? Even though downsizing may seem daunting, it doesn’t have to be. Moving to a smaller apartment has its perks, such as decluttering your life and organizing your new place with fewer belongings. Simply put, downsizing to a smaller apartment means: Enjoying lower monthly expenses and living costs Not having to clean nearly as much since your place is smaller Living a minimalist lifestyle without meaningless belongings getting in your way Instead of sweating the small stuff, take the moving process step by step. Before you know it, you’ll be enjoying your new digs, relieved that you took the time to eliminate the clutter. Carolina Creek is a great townhouse-style community located about a mile from Eastern Carolina University's campus. The community consists of 2x3 and 3x3 apartments and contains a full amenity suite including a fitness center, pool, business center, and game room. The community is the best value in the Greenville NC student housing market. Read Also: 5 Tips For Designing a Tiny House How To Make Your Home Look Like You Hired An Interior Designer Buying A House Vs Renting An Apartment: Which Is More Affordable?

5 Easy Ways to Detect a Water Leak in Your Home

Water leaks are one of the major problems for many homeowners. What makes them dangerous is that they’re not always obvious to spot until it’s too late. Water leaks can be caused by natural disasters such as earthquakes, broken appliances or simply due to outdated plumbing. Water leaks are a fairly common issue and can cause severe damage to your home. They can damage your furniture and appliances, they can ruin the walls and if paired with faulty wiring, can lead to a tragic outcome. As water leaks are not always apparent, many homeowners don’t bother to check whether there could be an issue with the water inside their home. Acting too late may result in serious repair and restoration costs and extensive water damage cannot be handled without professional companies such as KIC Restoration. In this article, we’ll give you a few easy tips on how to spot water damage before it becomes an issue. Keep Tabs on Your Water Bill: One of the first signs hinting that there might be a hidden leak inside a home is a significantly increased water bill for your household. If you did not change your habits but have noticed an increase in your water bill, you might want to look for leaks inside your home. You can monitor your monthly spending online and see if there are any anomalies. Consult with the Water Meter: If you do notice something’s wrong with your water bill, the first thing you want to check is the water meter. To see if there are any hidden leaks, turn off any appliances that use water as the dishwasher, washing machine and close all the faucets. If the water meter is still detecting water being used, there’s a high chance you might have a leak. If there are no visible leaks in your home, perhaps you are dealing with an issue such as slab leak. Use Food Color to Detect Leaks in the Toilet: Of course, a leak may not be as severe as a slab leak. In fact, in most cases, water leaks come from the toilet. Toilets use a lot of water compared to other appliances and elements and it’s a good idea to test them first. You can do this easily by adding some food coloring into the tank. If you don’t flush the toilet but the color appears, you’ve found the sneaky leak. Inspect Your Home Frequently: Make sure to perform a visual inspection under the cabinets and vanities to see if there’s excess water there. Since leaks usually attract mold, sensing unpleasant odors or finding mold throughout your home may indicate a leak. In fact, you should check the areas where mold appeared first. Look for Stains on the Walls: If the leak is within your walls and caused by faulty plumbing, wet spots on the wall or on the ceiling are sure signs there’s something going on behind them. If there’s a water stain on your walls, the leak will probably be close by. Make sure to react immediately, as stains can quickly lead to serious property damage. These are just some of the ways you can check for leaks inside your home. However, since a lot of times water leaks are hidden underground or inside the walls, if you cannot manage to find the source and keep seeing signs like an increased water bill, your best choice is to call a professional to look for leaks with a special set of tools. Call a professional leak detection company in Miami. Read More: 9 Feng Shui Tips for a Calmer Kitchen. How to Salvage Your Furniture after a Flood. 5 Ways A Home Maintenance Plan Can Prevent Disaster.

How to Handle the Move-Out Cleaning

Changing home is a stressful and demanding endeavor itself, you have to think about so many things – packing, organizing transport, and of course, cleaning. You need to clean your new place unless someone was kind enough to do it for you, but still, a second-round might come useful. And of course, you need to clean your old home and leave it in decent condition for the new tenants. Otherwise, you may not get your deposit back. In case you are selling your own place, it is also an important criterion which will make your former home much more attractive to the potential buyers. Unless you hire professional help, cleaning your old place is definitely not going to be easy, but there are a few things that can make the experience a bit less stressful and burdensome as recommended by move out cleaning professionals. Start from the Top A common mistake many of us make while cleaning is to start from the floors, as they usually do represent the biggest item on the list. However, if you start from the floors, and then move up to walls, corners, and surfaces, guess what – you will have to clean the floors all over again. So, be wiser than that and start this excruciating business from the top. This will save you a lot of time and energy. Also, when talking about directions, always start the cleaning from the back, that is from a wall towards the door, so you don’t end up stuck in one small uncleaned place, like on an island, having to cross all the wiped space to go back, and potentially soil it all over. It sounds funny, but this has certainly already happened to some of you, and you will definitely want to avoid it this time. Change the Approach When cleaning, everyone mostly likes to do the job room by room. However, this usually takes way more time than actually cleaning segment by segment, which is task by task. For instance, if you are wiping floors, it is better to do it in the whole house while you are at it, instead of moving to a different segment in the same room. This approach is much more efficient so take it into consideration once you start you moving out clean up. Have Everything at Hand In situations where time is really precious and you don’t have the liberty to take too long because a lot of other things are waiting, good organization is everything. You will definitely need different cleaning chemicals such as glass cleaners, disinfectants, baking soda, vinegar, and others, as well as cleaning equipment like cloths, vacuum cleaners, brooms, dustpans, brushes, and others. The first important step is not to pack any of these along with the rest of your stuff. The second is to actually know where they are and to organize them as much as possible so you don’t have to lose too much time searching for them. As professional home cleaners at Maid Easy say that good organizational skills can shorten the time it takes to clean the whole house significantly. “Dry” Cleaning First Make sure you first do the “dry” cleaning such as swiping, dusting, and vacuuming to remove all the dust and other dirt in that way. If you apply wet cloth or a brush, you will just make bog, rather than clean something. The best option is to dust all the corners and surfaces first, swipe any bigger mess, and then finally vacuum to give it the final touch. After this, you may proceed with “wet” cleaning activities. Once you are done with the old place, you can apply all these tips to your new home. Even if the previous tenants or owners have cleaned it, you will probably want to make sure it is spotless. Of course, if repeating the same process all over again is just too much for you, you can always ask the professionals for help, at least for one of these cleaning actions. Read Also: How Cleaning Helps Us Feel Better and Why We Don’t Do It 7 Advantages of Hiring a Residential Cleaner What You Need to Look for When Hiring House Cleaning Service

8 Smart House Upgrades that are Totally Worth the Money

8 Smart House Upgrades that Pay Off

1. Clean, Fresh Paint:

2. Modernize the Kitchen:

3. Programmable Thermostat:

4. Upgrade Bathrooms:

5. Landscaping:

6. Install Solar Panels:

7. New Flooring:

8. Basement Improvements:

Upgrade Your Home, Today:

Natural Latex Mattress Vs Foam Mattress

How Does Structural Fire Protection Work?

Content Rally

Content Rally wrapped around an online publication where you can publish your own intellectuals. It is a publishing platform designed to make great stories by content creators. This is your era, your place to be online. So come forward share your views, thoughts and ideas via Content Rally.

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7 Expert Hacks for Downsizing to a Smaller Apartment

5 Easy Ways to Detect a Water Leak in Your Home

How to Handle the Move-Out Cleaning

8 Smart House Upgrades that are Totally Worth the Money

8 Smart House Upgrades that Pay Off

1. Clean, Fresh Paint:

2. Modernize the Kitchen:

3. Programmable Thermostat:

4. Upgrade Bathrooms:

5. Landscaping:

6. Install Solar Panels:

7. New Flooring:

8. Basement Improvements:

Upgrade Your Home, Today:

Share this Article

Natural Latex Mattress Vs Foam Mattress

How Does Structural Fire Protection Work?

Content Rally wrapped around an online publication where you can publish your own intellectuals. It is a publishing platform designed to make great stories by content creators. This is your era, your place to be online. So come forward share your views, thoughts and ideas via Content Rally.

Leave a Reply

Popular

Follow Us

Recent

Related