We’re living in a disposable age. If something is broken, people lack the time to fix their stuff. Many will simply buy new. This isn’t a fabulously frugal way of living and one that cost you money.
Typical breakages occur with smartphones and washing machines. Then there are items we’re even less likely to fix. Think cushions, zips or ripped pages in a book.
Some of us even bin items that just need cleaning!
And it’s not just small items we’re throwing in the trash. Whole rooms sometimes cop the aftermath of our random fast-paced lifestyles.
Get Tiling
Here’s an idea that can be transferable across any room.
Bathrooms and kitchens are two rooms in the house most likely to be tiled. It’s easy for these to become shabby if we ignore them cleaning wise.
Water stains can show up on darker colours and grout will discolour.
So what’s the solution?
Many people will rip out the bathroom completely and insist on renovating.
But, here are some simple solutions:
- Keep paint handy (in the same wall colour) to do touch-ups and freshen the room
- Hire someone to do some professional grout cleaning in between the tiles
- Keep a cheap bottle of shower spray handy to run over the tiles daily
- Consider painting tiles in the bathroom (my hubby used boat paint on one of our renovation projects) and it worked perfectly
- In the kitchen consider painting laminate rather than replacing laminate
Tip: Work with what you’ve got, rather than reinventing the wheel.
Learn DIY & become your own tradie
If we all learned how to do a trade such as plastering or painting, we’d collectively save stacks of cash.
Here are some other benefits:
- No need to call and hunt for tradies
- No project management or chasing people up
- Fix small jobs yourself – such as the bathroom tap
- Invest in some great DIY books and use them as reference
Tip: You’ll learn something new and the next time you have the same problem, you’ll know what to do and save even more money.
NOTE: Never attempt electrical or gas work yourself – leave this one to the professionals!
Stay on top of things around the house
Check your home daily to solve problems before they appear.
Make yourself a checklist and stick to it!