Written by: Sarah Smith
There are countless improvements that you can add to your home but not all make the same impact or last the same. If you seek to truly invest both money and yourself into your home, then you should aim for long-term improvements that promise to preserve health and money. Some of the following improvements can be made in the bathroom, while others regard your outdoor living area.
Donating stuff instead of throwing it away
In order to add new improvements, you are going to get rid of old stuff. For example, replacing the old kitchen chandelier with a modern overhead light fixture doesn’t involve throwing it away. If you’re sprucing up the entire house, then hold a yard sale to make a symbolic profit that you would latter donate to a homeless shelter, for example. Another solution is to directly donate the stuff that you take down to those who need it but cannot afford it.
Installing a ceiling fan: An example of energy-efficiency
If you’re keen on ling-term home improvements, then energy efficiency is a term you are familiar with. You ought to be on a constant lookout for updates that promise to make your entire household energy-efficient. One such example is the replacement of the AC unit with a powerful ceiling fan.
Some rooms in the house, like the bedroom or the living room, get a lot from an air-conditioning system but an AC unit in other rooms is a total waste of money. For once, the kitchen can be cooled down in summer using nothing but a large ceiling fan that would generate enough cold air to make everyone feel comfortable enough while using a small amount of power.
Introduce low VOC paints
The term “VOC paint” is actually an abbreviation for “volatile organic compounds,” which in short, are ingredients that hurt the environment. Even if you don’t consider yourself a “tree hugger,” you need to keep in mind that protecting the environment actually implies protecting your wellbeing.
Low VOC paints contain less toxic materials so there is a lower chance that these materials will seep out of the paint and poising everyone inside the house in the long run. In addition, cans of low VOC paint is odorless, splatter resistant, and 100% acrylic, making it ideal for DIX makeovers and fixes.
Learn all the benefits of using a bidet
An essential part of the toilet culture in the East, the bidet is a bathroom fixture that unfortunately still raises an eyebrow or two with Westerners. However, the old stigma of perceiving a bidet as “unsanitary” belongs in the Middle Ages where it originated.
There are numerous benefits of using a bidet so we’ll list just some of them. To start with, the absence of toilet paper means that bidets are ideal for people with sensitive skin, as all the cleaning is done is using nothing but water. Furthermore, you needn’t waste hundreds of dollars each year on toilet paper, which is great for your home budget. Although bidets are intended for the use by the general populace, it is people with hemorrhoids, pregnant women, and seniors that stand to gain the greatest health benefits from it.
Invest in high-quality insulation
Cutting corners when investing in your home is not a good thing, especially when it comes to choosing the type of insulation for your house. Adding an extra room over the garage, for example, will be futile if you have failed to invest in good wall and roof insulation prior to the build.
In fact, most energy you lose in your house escapes from the walls and openings in walls such as doors and windows so make sure you choose high-end products even if they cost more per square meter. If you own a programmable thermostat, then excellent insulation is a must if you wish to bring the utility bills down.
Purchase reclaimed furniture
Just like you should be donating old furniture instead of throwing it away, you should source “new” pieces of furniture in the same fashion. If you’re a fan of DIY projects, you can find reclaimed wood and sculpt it into a statement piece for the yard or the living room.
Moreover, you can use reclaimed wood from discarded chairs, tables, and wardrobes to repair and revamp countertops, wall fixtures, railings, fences, and floors. The best thing about reclaimed furniture is that you can get it for little or no money, which is ideal for homeowners whose home improvement budgets are limited.
The 6 methods we have listed above are just some of a whole myriad of long-term improvements. These updates promise to preserve not only your health (like opting out of high VOC paints) but they have the potential to save you hundreds, if not thousands of dollars (like shopping for second-hand furniture).
Bio:
Sarah Jessica Smith is a young blogger from Sydney. She is in love with life and all the things that can make her daily routine easier. She loves to write about home improvement, lifestyle, and all the small things that make life such a great adventure.
