10 Cheap/Free Home Improvements

You live in a cheap apartment and you're broke. Congratulations! You probably see yourself as some type of artist. Don't worry too much about looking slack if you want to have a date over (granted you can even get one); you don't have to spend a fortune to spruce up your place. Maybe all you lack is a fresh coat of paint, or maybe you just want water to stop flooding through the walls every time you flush your toilet with the sink running. Whatever your woe, try these ten cheap, or even free, home improvements to be DIY-savvy and save yourself a buck. Ugh, and take your door beads down already.

1. Vanquish Vermin

   If you live in an older place, or are a particularly dirty individual (you hippie!), you may have bugs and vermin in your house. This goes double if you have pets — triple if you live anywhere with seasons. Door sweeps, foam insulating open areas, and keeping the place spotless can help guard against bugs.

2. Paint the Town Wall Red

   Brush yourself (cheaply) into a new mood! Painting your walls can give you that extra oomph that your room needs and won't break the bank. Go from blah and boring to bold and beautiful, and watch your mood ring change. If your walls are extremely dirty, that fresh paint will brush away all sins.

3. Social Climb with a Fire Pit: Do you have a yard? A hole that you dug and a couple of rocks will be your new best friends. Seriously, that's all you need to build an up-scale sounding yard decoration. A hole and some rocks. You can do this.

4. Discover a Portal to Another World

   This home improvement is totally free, and you get to meet Mr. Tumnus. Be mindful how public you are about this one.

5. Clean Out Your Closets

   True King of Pop Andy Warhol once quipped, "Everything in your closet should have an expiration date on it the way milk and newspapers do." And he's right. Out with the old, in with the new. (Or, for the more budget conscious, it's just out with the old.) If Eminem can do it, you can.

6. That's Gross: Get A New Toilet Seat

   Here's a simple one. If you replace your toilet seat from that '70s butterfly number that you're not sure was originally brown, you're doing yourself and your guests a favor. This simple facelift can improve the qualitative value of your home. Another quick bathroom facelift on a budget is DIY-wainscoting. It's nautical, it's hip, it's chinchy — it's perfect!

7. Switch Lite

   One great way to update your home is to re-tool your lighting. Brighter bulbs, new fixtures, and generally changing your lighting scheme can quickly update a tired space. Additionally, as a separate project that may be even cheaper, simply updating your light switch panels and plates is another great option.

8. Watch Some Hoarders

   If watching the A&E reality show doesn't make you want to spruce things up a bit, nothing will. Watching a lady take 96 cat carcasses out of her garage should make you feel fantastic about yourself — and make your "cleaning the grime off of the tub" routine or "finally putting up those shelves" seem a lot less pointless.

9. Change Your Air Filter

   This could be a dramatic home improvement that you didn't know you were missing! Especially for renters and people whose parents don't call them to tell them to change their air filters, it's easy to forget to regularly change your air filters in your air conditioning unit(s). Once a month is ideal, a bit more frequent if you have pets that shed. Changing your air filter ensures that you're breathing clean air, and can actually change the "feel" of your home — as a dirty air filter can recycle old dust and smells. If you have a unit outside, be sure to clean your air conditioner twice per year.

10. Cheap Home Improvement

    Does everybody know what time it is? Fans of JTT, rejoice! For little more than $100, you can own the complete boxed set of Home Improvement on DVD. Individual seasons are just under $20.

Taken From Renter's Insurance