There may not be a better time to improve your home than now. If you’re like millions of other people all around the world, you’re stuck inside with a lot of extra time on your hands thanks to the coronavirus. It’s a scary time and many people are looking for ways to occupy themselves productively.
A great thing to do is to get some home improvement projects done. Since you’re stuck inside anyway, you might as well use the time to fix up some areas of your home that you keep putting off for one reason or another. Here are the steps you can follow to improve your home amidst a global quarantine.
Pick Your Projects
The first thing you will want to do is figure out which projects you want to complete. While you may have a list in mind of things you want to do, not all of them will be suitable to get done now. Take some time to really think about each room in your home, and your yard, and create a home improvement plan you can follow.
For example, painting your bedroom a new color is something you can likely do now, while getting a pool installed in your backyard may have to wait. Where possible you should pick projects that you can accomplish yourself with a small number of supplies.
Figure Out Your Budget
Once you know what projects you want to work on, the next step is to figure out your budget. You may be having some financial struggles during this time, due to either a loss of work or increased costs at home. This means you may not be able to spend as much as you would like on home improvement projects. However, that doesn’t mean you can’t do anything.
List your projects from the ones you want to do the most down to the least. Then start at the top and figure out and estimate as to how much that project would cost. Take the time to research the costs for every aspect of the project and add it all up. For instance, if you’re painting a bedroom, you will need to buy paint, but you may also need brushes, rollers, paint trays, furniture covers, and painting tape. Planning this all in advance will help to ensure that you don’t have too many financial surprises along the way that put you over budget.
Order Your Supplies
Most home improvement projects require that you get some supplies, which is a little tricky when you don’t want to walk around your local hardware store. Luckily, it’s easy to order all the supplies you need right online. You can either order the supplies directly from a site like Amazon and have them delivered to your door, or some larger retail chains like Home Depot and Lowes are offering delivery in some areas.
If delivery isn’t an option, or you can’t find what you need online, try calling your local hardware or craft store and see what they have in stock. Most places are working to accommodate customers and will help you to complete the order either online or over the phone, then bring your purchase out to your car. This is a great way to get what you need, avoid contact with others, and help out a local business.
Learn What to Do
Now that you have the supplies you need, you may need to learn how to actually do your home improvement. If you’ve never painted a room before, or added a kitchen backsplash, or replaced light fixtures, you’ll need to learn a few things before you begin. Perhaps the best way to do this while you’re stuck inside is through YouTube videos. There are thousands of DIY instructional videos that can help you learn what you need to do for practically any project. Just type in what you want to do, then watch as many videos as it takes until you understand the process.
Take Safety Precautions When Hiring Help
Finally, in some cases, you may need to hire someone to help you with your project, especially if it can’t wait. In this case, you’ll want to make sure anyone you are hiring is taking proper safety precautions.
Let’s say you have a leaky pipe in your basement that you can’t repair on your own. You would then want to find a plumber to come to your home, but without risking your health. Find a local plumber near you and ask what they are doing to keep customers safe. For example, Fix It Right Plumbing in Melbourne, (Www.fixitrightplumbing.com.au/plumber-melbourne/), suggests that you “stand back two meters from your door on arrival, refrain from shaking hands, clean down surfaces with disinfectant before beginning work, clean down surfaces with disinfectant after completing work and refrain from touching your credit card during payment.”
Simple things like this go a long way during these uncertain times. So, whoever you plan to hire, make sure they are making safety a priority before you let them into your home.
Make the Most of Your Time
If you’re stuck inside for the foreseeable future, you might as well make the most of it. Start planning out your home improvement projects today, so that you can begin gathering your supplies and get started before you find yourself back at work.
