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Home renovations can add value to your property, but there are ways to upgrade it without going into debt or blowing up your savings.
Interested in these budget-friendly options, Redditor u/scal369 made a post on the r/HomeImprovement community, asking its members to share $500-$1,000 investments that were "a total game-changer", and everyone immediately jumped into the comment section.
From re-painting the interior to battery-powered lawn equipment, the answers they provided touched on both aesthetics and functionality, and you don't need to be the handiest person on the block to try them yourself.
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When my kids were little I bought a refrigerated water fountain and put it on the side of my house facing my backyard. I'd love to know how many thousands of gallons the neighborhood kids drank. It saved them from coming in the house when they were playing outside. Total game changer. They liked drinking from it so much they would get off the couch and go outside to get a drink.
That's a cool idea for both sides :)
Automatic light sensors for the laundry room and pantry. Not having to fumble while carrying a load with two hands is wonderful.
but it's part of the laundry experience
Insulated the attic for ~ $500 plus $150 to put a bathroom fan in(in the upstairs bathroom before I blew the insulation in) Easily have saved $1800 in heating and cooling costs since
Insulation is always a good investment.
A 3D printer. Half the random things I need for my apartment I just make myself now. Want an under-cabinet mounted paper towel holder? Done. Little sliding shelves for under my coffee table? Np. Tiny, oddly-shaped random piece of plastic to fix some latch or whatever that broke on my expensive something-or-other? Give me 20 minutes.
If you can afford one.
Painted the interior of the whole house before moving in. It feels 20 years newer.
Extra fridge. Just by coincidence right when the pandemic started we replaced our fridge and left our old one in the garage planning on craigslisting it. We kept it instead and used it for bulk storage. It's been great - fewer visits to the grocery store, and more home cooking.
LA_Nail_Clippers , unsplash Report
Tip: empty bottles can be stored at ambient temperature.
Cabinet hinges with slow-close springs. Like moving to Beverly Hills.
What if you're p!ssed off and you really really want to slam one of those cabinet doors? THATS why I don't have a modern kitchen ... I can't slam doors.
Bidet toilet seat. Your butt will never feel so clean. And the heated seat is great in the winter.
Bidet was almost in every bathroom before. I don't know why they disappeared, but I remember that they were very practical and useful. And now it's an expensive supplement or integrated into a high-end luxury toilet.
Battery powered lawn equipment. No more gas cans. No more 'tune ups'. Much less noise and no stinky exhaust (I hate two stroke fumes). Only think I have to do is keep the blade sharp and keep things greased. And in terms of power? Snapper 58V is just as powerful as it's gas counterparts. Now there's an 82V model out. FYI - I have the Snapper blower, weed eater, and mower (Walmart was having a 50% off closeout sale). I will never go back to gas lawn tools as long as I'm on a town/city lot.
I got a corded electric mower 8 years ago. Love it. So much so that I got a corded weed-eater/trimmer the next year. True, the extension cord long enough to reach my whole yard cost as much as either, but so worth it for not having to get gas, change oil, wear ear plugs, etc.
Shelving system in the garage. The amount of space we freed up was well worth the cost considering we don’t have a basement or a useable attic for storage.
I'll go cry in a corner cause i don't have a garage and most people i know don't have either
Best $20 investment was properly fitting door sweeps. I didn’t realize how much cold air was entering the house during the heating season. Take time to measure the size of the gap and width of the door.
Yup, we did that as well and I pretty quickly felt how much warmer the entrance area was. I would also recommend spending money on good windows and their isolation because that's where most of the heat disappears. Huge windows are nice, but there was a reason why older houses had quite small windows built in back in the days.
Putting a dimmer switch in the bathroom was the best decision ever. In the early mornings, it's not blindingly bright — but when you're cleaning the bathroom or want a bright shower, you have the option of turning it all the way up. Such a small investment, but I appreciate it every day.
I just keep my one eye half closed in the mornings to not be disturbed by the lights😅
Hiring a professional cleaning service twice a month. :P
It's nice when you can afford it. Coming home after work and everything is tidy and clean, its great. '
A tankless water heater. Taking a shower with endless hot water is life changing.
when we redid a bathroom we put in radiant heat under the tile floor. fantastic. Will do same anytime I do a floor. my cousin put it his finished basement in MN and the TV room went from being cold and uninviting to the most cozy room in the house during those long winters. you can buy an electric mat to put under a thin rug.
I take you just mean underfloor heating. This can either be a pipe that carries hot water like central heating radiators or an electric heating element. If you are lifting the floor to retile, then it can be worth doing. But then where you do put your towel to warm?
No brainer! Keyless entry lock. We got a Schlage. It was an easy install. The battery life is good and you get plenty of warning when it is time to change the 2 AA batteries. I no longer have to carry a house key. I can give workers, guests or relatives the other door code and then easily change it when I want to.
*lockpicking lawyer has entered the chat*
Replaced pantry bifold doors with a French door style opening. Put spice rack on back of new doors. Added a few things to the inside and it seems so much more usable and organized
You didn't need all that for 5 spices😅😅😅 (i know it's a stock photo just kidding)
I installed sliding shelves in all of my lower kitchen cabinets. Eventually, I'll swap all of them out for drawers, but sliding shelves was a low-cost upgrade that adds SO much functionality. No more taking out every single item just to find that one thing in the back!
Good thinking! I have put lazy Susans in my pantry shelves, but pull out shelves would be good for the under sink shelves etc.
Range hood vent. I can cook what I want and sear the f*ck out of some steaks.
Wait people don't have range hoods?
A dishwasher is a must. So many fights used to be about who’s turn to do the dishes. Now we just place them in the dishwasher with some soap and press the button.
People don't think about it, but dishwashers are so much more efficient, too. Not only do they do a better job of cleaning, but they use significantly less water than hand-washing.
When I had toddlers that answer was a fully fenced yard. Life changing.
Cleaning lady was a game changer, every 2 weeks they come and my home is spotless when I get back from work. Sheets changed, windows clean, bathrooms spotless, dope AF. Never thought I’d get there but I can see why everyone with more money then me does it.
We have a cleaner, great investment, what they can achieve in an hour and a half is a lot more than I could because it's not their house and they don't get distracted. Gives me piece of mind knowing the whole house gets a good once over every fortnight. I don't just look at the $$ value of it because it is worth so much more to me emotionally to have that task completely taken care of.
Installing ceiling fans in every room — even the kitchen and garage — helped significantly with our cooling bills in the summer. Why turn the AC down when you can just turn a fan on?! The $70 Home Depot ones look perfectly fine to me, and they make SUCH a difference in my everyday happiness.
I have them in every room of my house too. Makes a huge difference.
New water saver toilets. My water utility had a $75 rebate per low usage toilet so I replaced all my old water-wasters for next to nothing. Part of the contract with the provider is you have to disable the old toilets so they can not be reused so as an added bonus I got to put on my safety glasses and find out how many hits with a hammer a toilet bowl can take before it shatters. (For reference the answer is one).
My toilets don't even use water, they're long drop decomposing toilets, full of bugs and critters who eat down the waste to nothing, now that saves water. (only good for places where they can be used of course)
Way less than $500, but removable shower heads. Makes cleaning the shower so much easier. Also less than $500, smart lights and plugs for interior and exterior lights. Then, closer to $500, the artificial Christmas tree that already has the lights in them. No more tangled light strings. Get them on a smart plug and you don’t have to fiddle with it all season. $500-$1000: drinks fridge. Keeps booze and bottled drinks out of the kitchen fridge space. More than $1000, remote control motorized blackout shades in the bedroom. Pretty much total darkness. And you can set up a schedule for them to auto open partially to fully. We used Hunter Douglas via Costco.
Wait, there are "un"removable shower heads?
USB outlets everywhere at $135/6 pack.
But then you lost half your electric outlets.
I bought a Google Home Mini speaker and a bunch of cheap, compatible smart outlets. I say 'good night' and it turns on my white noise machines, turns off my lights (including the Christmas tree!), turns on my heated blanket, tells me the weather for the next day, and starts the sleep playlist I like on Spotify. All of that for just over $100.
Please tell me I'm not the only one who doesn't like these smart home devices? It may be convenient but there is always that possibility they are spying on you, and this is coming from a young person.
Mesh Wi-Fi totally changed my life. It's so worth installing one of these systems instead of the router your cable company charges you monthly for — now I never have to think about where the 'good' or 'bad' Wi-Fi spots are. It's just reliable everywhere, and you can forget about it entirely.
Companies charge monthly for the router??? Where? I paid once when i signed the contract and that's it! If something happens to it they change it for free!
$1000 worth of Ryobi tools. Ive saved probably 30k on researching the hell out of projects on YouTube/Reddit and doing them with Ryobi tools and its been amazing. They basically have a tool for EVERY kind of job and its sub $100. Having the right tool makes such a difference and at the end of it you have your project done, saved a TON of money, and built a tool collection.
Ryobi is underrated for sure.
We love our smart thermostat. They have really amazing features, and it's so much easier to know exactly how your system is working. We got ours for $180 at Costco during their Christmas sale, and installing it on our own was a piece of cake too.
Not a thing in tropical countries... unfortunately... I dream of AC and to pay the power bill for it
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I like this post. It did make me think about how fortunate I am to not only own my house but also have enough disposable income to be able to spend on these types of things. I hope we all take a moment to reflect on how there are many hardworking individuals in the world without these luxuries and can give back to those less fortunate in a meaningful way.
Amen brother, I went to bed last night thinking about my future as radioactive dust. How lucky some of us are. Food, water, heat, family & friends safe, all the while knowing people are suffering from want and can be killed at any moment. We all need to think about what we are truly greatful for in our lives.
I got solar installed but that was $10,000 US. My bill is now $5 a month for 9 months and $15 for the remaining 3 months. I get paid a $400 cash solar credit every year and the system is paying for itself very fast. Now I hear electricity rates have doubled and I never noticed because my bill hasn't changed much in 5 years.
Nobody mentioned the plumber's snake. They cost well under $100, are basically the same tool professional plumbers use for 70% of emergency calls, and are breathtakingly easy to use. When I was a landlord with four small rent houses, I saved probably close to $10k in plumbing fees in 4 years with one.
I like this post. It did make me think about how fortunate I am to not only own my house but also have enough disposable income to be able to spend on these types of things. I hope we all take a moment to reflect on how there are many hardworking individuals in the world without these luxuries and can give back to those less fortunate in a meaningful way.
Amen brother, I went to bed last night thinking about my future as radioactive dust. How lucky some of us are. Food, water, heat, family & friends safe, all the while knowing people are suffering from want and can be killed at any moment. We all need to think about what we are truly greatful for in our lives.
I got solar installed but that was $10,000 US. My bill is now $5 a month for 9 months and $15 for the remaining 3 months. I get paid a $400 cash solar credit every year and the system is paying for itself very fast. Now I hear electricity rates have doubled and I never noticed because my bill hasn't changed much in 5 years.
Nobody mentioned the plumber's snake. They cost well under $100, are basically the same tool professional plumbers use for 70% of emergency calls, and are breathtakingly easy to use. When I was a landlord with four small rent houses, I saved probably close to $10k in plumbing fees in 4 years with one.
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