As most of us are now being told we will be physically distancing ourselves from others until June or later, it might be time to start some home improvement projects that you have been holding out on. Since you have likely burned through your Netflix queue and caught up on your reading, the time couldn’t be more perfect. I, Mark Roemer, will be doing a few small home improvement jobs so I can feel like I have done something productive with this time. You will find a few ideas that I have come up with if you look at the list below. I know I will be executing most of these and feel that you should consider doing so.

Paint

Somehow, everyone seems to have old paint buckets lying around. Be it from a project they completed in the past or a project that never got off the ground. Either way, you should consider taking a few paint buckets and putting them to good use.

Some of the things you can consider using the paint on are your walls, your ceiling, an old piece of furniture that you are trying to give new life to, or anything else that you have lying around your house. Assuming you don’t have extra things sitting around, you could navigate Suggestion number five on this list and think about painting that before you sell it.

Alternately, if you have stain buckets around the garage, you could consider staining some stuff. You know you haven’t don’t your deck in several years. Just think how nice it would be to sit on this summer if you took a few hours out of your day to make it look beautiful again. Don’t forget to sand it first so that you get the maximum stain on your deck.

Create an Accent Wall or Gallery

Since you will likely be unable or unwilling to do a full remodel of you your home, I suggest you pick an area and go with that. A redesign can freshen up your drab, a dreary home in no time. Not only that, but adding an accent wall can help your room feel bigger and clear up space on some of your other walls. There is no need to go out and buy new things. You can simply use items that you already have lying around the house. Some of my suggestions for an accent wall are picture frames, artwork, posters, or mirrors. All of these can add much-needed color or style to your house.

With the paint that you found in the first suggestion, perhaps you could paint a wall on the inside of your house. Get creative with it as well. Sometimes adding a geometric shape to a wall or sitting are can pull attention away from something you don’t want people to dwell on.

If paint isn’t your thing, or you are a renter, perhaps you can use wallpaper instead. There are a variety of patterns that you can find at most any home improvement store. Start by taking a few samples and applying them to your walls. See what one you really like and then go back for that pattern.

Gardening

Getting outside is very important during this time of sheltering in place. It reminds us that there is a world outside our four walls. That is the reason I suggest you get outside and do some gardening. You don’t have to have a lot of extra room; just a small balcony will suffice.

To start gardening, you will need a few supplies. Head over to your local nursery and pick up some potting soil, pots, a watering can, and some seeds. That should be more than enough to get you started. Remember, if you live in an apartment higher than the first floor, you must account for the weight you will be adding to your balcony. Don’t go too crazy. My recommendation is to start by doing some herbs and see how you can progress from there.

Clean Up

By now, you have no doubt cleaned the inside of your house. I suggest that if you are not the gardening type, you just do some general clean up outside. If you have a balcony, porch, or patio, it wouldn’t be a bad idea to spruce it up a bit as well.

To spruce the place up, I recommend buying some patio furniture. It will allow you to be outside a little more. Also, while you are at the store, it would be nice if you acquired a beautiful fire pit for the summer. This is a great way to gather the family in your house and roast some hotdogs, cook some s’mores, or just have a couple of drinks and chat.

Replacements

Perhaps you are not too keen on doing a lot of things around the house. Maybe, you don’t have the funds to acquire a lot of new things. I have just the thing for you. Replace the doorknobs and handles around your house. You can find many of these items at a second-hand store or very cheap at places like Walmart. The point is to make it look like you have made an expensive change without spending a lot of money in the process.

Conclusion

Being stuck at home like me, Mark Roemer, is kind of annoying. I am on the lookout for things that I can do every day. Above is just a quick list of things you can do to occupy your time. I challenge you to look around your place and try to figure out something you can do as well. Personally, if I had nothing better to do, I would go out to my garage and see if I had any extra paint just lying around. It is a great place to start and will lead you to do other things. I wish you and your family health and happiness during these trying times. Stay safe, and I will see you next post!