What home improvement tips can we pass along to the new homeowner? The first tip would be, especially if it is an older home, don’t get overwhelmed. The tasks at hand can seem daunting but if the new homeowner takes it in bite sized chunks, it will come out fine.

Where Do I Start?

A good starting point would be to take a walk through the house from top to bottom and make a list of things that need to be done. Does the master bedroom need painting? How about ceiling fans? Check out the electrical outlets. See if you need more or if you need three prong grounding outlets. Make a list of any repair job you might see. Keep in mind the whole time possible color schemes for painting. Also keep in mind how you might want to accomplish these tasks. Do you have the luxury of doing improvements before you move in or will you have to do them room by room after occupying the house?

Sweat Equity=Elbow Grease

The first home I bought had sat vacant for 2 ½ years before I moved my family in. The term elbow grease doesn’t do justice to what I had to do.

Armed with a box of TSP or trisodium phosphate, mops, sponges, rags a shop vac and other cleaning supplies, I got down to work. First, I vacuumed and wiped down all the surfaces in the house including the ceilings. I started from bottom to top. Next, I washed it all down using the TSP. Make sure you use gloves with this stuff! It does leave the surfaces clean with a minimum of rinsing.

Next, I began painting from the top floor on down. The reason I started on my top floor is because my family could have bedrooms while I worked on the lower floors. Before I painted, I spackled and sanded where needed. I wanted to strip and refinish the woodwork but I put this task down on the priority list. The idea was to make improvements a little at a time. I did paint the woodwork with a glossy white. I find that this opens up the room. Painting all the walls and ceiling brightened thing up. With a good cleaning and paint job my home was already worth more than I paid for it.

Exterior Improvements

Another quick home improvement project a new homeowner can do to add beauty and value to their home is landscaping. My new home had overgrown shrubs out front. I tore these out in an afternoon. Prepared the soil and I found a good mix of perennials and annuals to plant. This added “curb appeal” to my new home.

Just A Start

These simple tasks can add beauty and value to your new home. They can also make your stake as “owner.” If you made your list, you can cross these two things off and now you, as the new homeowner can move on to the rest of your home improvement projects.