Winter weather hasn’t quite hit Cincinnati yet, but that doesn’t mean we aren’t already anticipating the long months of cold and being stuck indoors. The freezing temperatures and short days are notorious for winter depression, boredom, and cabin-fever. The cold months are, however, the perfect time to give yourself a pick-me-up by giving your home a pick-me-up! What better time to buckle down and make improvements around the house or complete projects that have been sitting on your honey-do list for years now. Grab a pen and start your list for the hardware store! Here are some of our favorite winter-weather projects.
Update Cabinetry
This is a fairly inexpensive upgrade that will give your kitchen or bathroom a facelift. With a fresh coat of paint in a trending or contemporary color, you can transport your space into 2022 for a relatively small cost. Don’t forget to update the hardware on the cabinetry, as old handles can date the cabinets and you’ll be removing them anyway with the new paint job. You may as well replace them with something new and more modern.
A New Backsplash
How much fun is it to choose a new backsplash for your kitchen? Such a small detail that makes such a huge accent. This is an easy project to tackle yourself and the perfect introduction to DIY for a novice handyperson. It’s also another inexpensive project that will make a huge impact to your room without making a huge impact to your wallet.
Seal or Replace Doors and Windows
During the hottest and coldest months, our electric bill is already going to increase due to heavier use of our air conditioning or furnace. The bill only gets higher with the more inside air that escapes or the more outside air that finds its way in. Homeowners should consider trading in older doors and windows for newer, more energy-efficient ones. This can be a high-cost project though. If new doors and windows are not in the budget this winter, it isn’t difficult to find many helpful articles and videos online to show you how to seal doors and windows yourself to help reduce the impact the extreme weather will make on your electric bill.
Clean Out the Basement and Attic
We know, this project is not the most exciting thing to work on and won’t give you the gratification of a new aesthetic, but it will give you the satisfaction of knowing that a huge task is complete for the next few years (or however long it takes to accumulate more junk}.
Update Your Lightbulbs to LED
According to the Consumer Energy Alliance, updating all lightbulbs in the house has a number of advantages which include energy conservation, longer lifespan, putting off less or no heat or UV emissions, and low voltage operation. This is a win-win for all homeowners, as they will save money in the long-run and be doing something beneficial to the environment. What better time to update all the light fixtures in your home to LED and light up the insides of our homes than during the season that is offering us less light outside?
