5 Budget-friendly Home Improvement Projects You Can Do as a Family

Whether you have just moved in or you have been living in the same place for a few months or years, a few home renovations or improvements may come inevitably. May it be just to fix a small crack that would soon lead to discovering more things that need repairs or a general overhaul of your previous architecture with some new interior designs? These things can be costly. Above paying for materials like paint, paintbrushes, and other tools, if you would be getting a repairer, for hire it would cost you more than a few bucks regardless of how small you think the repair or renovation might be. 

So if you’re thinking of saving a few bucks if you’re renovating your home on a budget, or if something that needs to be fixed in your home, you can try doing it as an activity with your family.

Here are 5 budget-friendly home improvements you can do as a family

Declutter

To start fixing your home, you have to begin with the seemingly easy but is never done- cleaning up. Determine which stuff lying around the house can be salvaged and turned into something brand new and useful, like repurposed furniture or what you could donate, sell or even throw away. Cleaning up and decluttering seems like an easy task, but honestly who ever has the time to organize and revisit old things collecting dust? By doing this with your family, you are not just starting your home improvement journey but looking back to past times through the memories that will be brought back by the old stuff you may have even forgotten you had. 

Rearrange

Once you’ve started decluttering, you could see the space that has been taken up by the things you’ve left lying around for so long that you sometimes don’t even use anymore. You can now use this space and rethink where you should rearrange the furniture now that you have all this brand new unoccupied space. If you do this with the helping hands of your family, you’re going to be able to save a lot of money by avoiding labor costs.

Sales are key

Usually, when you are improving or renovating your house, this isn’t decided on a whim. You decide about it with the help of your family until you all come to a unanimous decision if you’ve all got the time, the eagerness to help, and maybe money to pitch in on this. Hence, it is advisable for you to wait for the items that you want to buy to go on sale, and usually, this happens during vacation time so it’s really a win-win for everybody. 

Do it yourself!

  Of course, what better way to spend quality time with your family than to be painting the walls or new furniture together? If you’re deciding to do this as a family, it is better to do all the labor by yourselves if you can, because it will entail more time that you will be spending with one that in turn will save you big bucks because you won’t need a professional painter or carpenter to do the labor for you. You could even get the grandparents involved with the fun family DIY activities like painting the figurines or cutting cardboard letters for signs or even decorating the living room. 

Think of what decorations you could add

Now that you have polished the old furniture, painted out the walls, and covered the holes in the ceiling, it is time to think of what new decorations you could add to make your home look renewed. This doesn’t have to be expensive. You could display some of the reimagined materials that you found lying around that used to be just old scrap lying around or finally add the piece you’ve been waiting to go on sale or you bought at the garage sale. Decorations don’t have to be expensive to look good. 

At the end of all this, you not only have a home that looks much brighter and brand new that you didn’t overspend for, but you’ve also been able to have the time to spend with your loved ones! Home renovations or improvements don’t need to cost way more than they should because you can follow some tips and tricks that would just not help you save up more than a few bucks, but in turn, also let you have a good time with the process! Being hands-on in your house renovation may seem tedious, but if you have good people like your family to help you out, then it might be a new activity you would actually be waiting to do from now on! A new family holiday tradition cleaning up and decorating for holidays like Halloween, Thanksgiving, or Christmas.

Guest Post - 3 Things First-Time Parents Should Know About Moving into Their First Home

Buying a house is a huge milestone in any person’s life–having a baby, an even bigger. What about doing both of those things at the same time? Whether you’re a first-time parent with a newborn or you’re expecting the arrival of your baby soon, there is a lot to consider when moving into your first home with your new family. Here are three important things you should know.

Choosing the Right Home

As a new parent searching for your family’s first home, there are a few things you need to consider. First, with each house you view, you should ask yourself whether or not the floor plan makes sense for you and your family. For example, you’ll want to be as close to your new baby as possible, so consider single-story homes with a master bedroom that’s close to a bedroom that you could use as a nursery. It helps to look a little into the future as well. Your baby won’t be a baby forever. Eventually, he or she will be old enough to walk around on his or her own. At that point, you’ll need as much visibility as possible, so opt for an open floor plan that will allow you to see your child at all times.

Something else you should contemplate is how well you know the neighborhood and whether or not you feel comfortable with your child growing up there. Visit each prospective neighborhood at night to see how well-lit the streets are and during rush hour to see how busy the roads can get. You should also try to find out if there are other new parents with young children in the area if the neighborhood is filled with older parents whose children have already left home.

Finally, you’ll need to do some research into the schools around the area. These are the schools your baby will eventually attend and grow up in, so it’s important that you’re satisfied with them.

Building Your Home

On the other hand, if you’re building your first home from scratch, then you have complete control and can design it with your family’s needs in mind. More and more people are choosing to build their homes over buying simply because finding a home can be difficult, considering the average amount of time a home stays on the market is a short 30 days. Remember when coming up with the floor plan to look ahead. You might be a first-time now, but someday that might change and you’ll be a parent two or three times over. Design your home so that it can “grow” with you. If you can fit it into your budget, include two or three bedrooms in addition to the master. It may feel like too many at first, especially if it’s just you, your partner and your newborn, but when you have several children running around instead of one, you’ll be grateful for the additional rooms and won’t have to move out and into a bigger space.

As a new parent, one room in particular that you’ll want to pay special attention to is the baby nursery. You may not realize it, but a lot goes into designing a nursery, from the floor plan to the decor. Ceiling fans are essential for your baby’s nursery, as they have been found to reduce the risk of SIDS by 72 percent.

As you design your new home, don’t be afraid to splurge a little on something that you really want. For example, if you enjoy cooking and want to create an outdoor kitchen and dining space for your family and friends, consider investing in a gas barbecue grill. If you do plan on selling your home in the future, this could be viewed as a perk by many buyers and may even increase your home’s value.

Babyproofing

Whether you bought your first home or built it from the ground up, your next step as a new parent is to thoroughly babyproof your home. Go through each room in your new home and take the necessary steps to make sure it’s safe for your baby. For example, if you have a fireplace in your living room, make sure you install a fireplace door. Fireplaces are extremely dangerous for babies and toddlers, and when your baby starts crawling, you’ll want to make sure he or she is protected from its intense heat.

When choosing window treatments, opt for cordless blinds to prevent the risk of your baby getting his or her neck caught in the loop and choking.

Kitchens are a hazardous place for babies, so make sure it’s completely off limits when you’re not around. Place a baby gate at every entrance to the kitchen, keep the bottom cabinets (which often contain toxic cleaning products) and your dishwasher locked and remove the knobs from your stove when you’re not cooking.

In the bathroom, you’ll want to make sure your toiletries and medicine are kept out of reach. You should also consider installing a baby-proof toilet seat with a latch so that your baby can’t stick his or her head in.

Other ways to keep your baby safe inside your new home include: securing the refrigerator so that it can’t be accidentally opened; installing a device that keeps your door open so it doesn’t close on your baby’s fingers; and adding window guards to your windows, especially if they’re low to the ground and within your baby’s reach.

Final Thoughts

Moving into your first home and becoming a first-time parent are major life events that you should be proud of. As you take this next big step, consider whether your new home will work for you and be prepared to turn it into a safe space for your new family to grow.

Author bio: With over 28 years in the ceiling fan, lighting, and fireplace business, Greg possesses a unique blend of hands-on experience, product knowledge, and creativity unlike any Webmaster in this industry. Greg is also a musician who taught himself to play the piano and composes. He is the Director of eCommerce at www.hansenwholesale.com.

Guest Post - Best Moving Tips: Prepare Your Family For Your First Move

Planning your first move with the family requires a lot of planning and coordination. From packing up all of your belongings to hiring professional movers, it can be much easier to get lost in the entire process.

Since preparing for this transition can be more challenging to your family, here are some of the best moving tips to help you handle the relocation as smooth as possible.

Give the whole family sufficient time to prepare

When it comes to relocating, time is of great essence. Without it, everything about your move can be a lot more chaotic than you’ve never expected. If your family is planning to move to another state for the first time, it’s highly advisable to give yourself plenty of time to prepare and make the necessary arrangements. When making the most of your time, think about your plan, schedule, and any other details that can help make the process seamless.

Show positivity

No doubt that moving can be a sad thing for your family, especially if it’s happening for the first time. With all the sadness and fear that your family members may experience, you should always be there to stay optimistic throughout the transition. By showing positivity, you can help prepare your family for their first move without being sad and lonely. Make your relocation more fun, exciting, and full of optimism by laughing and singing.

Allow your kids to do a moving job

Moving can be more stressful for your children. They may become more anxious with the fact that the entire family is relocating to a different place. To ease the anxiety of your kids, giving them a moving job can be a great idea. For instance, you can let them tackle their own stuff and decide which items to bring and leave behind. Although a packing job for them requires a little supervision, it’s one way of preparing your kids for the upcoming move. By getting them involved, you’ll be able to reduce their fear that comes with moving.

Create a solid packing plan

Dealing with a family move can be a daunting task. With all the stuff that needs to be packed before the big day, everything may turn out as a disaster without a good packing plan. If you want your first family relocation to be as stress-free as possible, begin by getting rid of all unwanted belongings. To do that, you can organize a garage sale or donate some of your things to a local charity. Once everything is decluttered, it’s time to pack by category or by room. Just be sure you pack the not-so-important ones first and to be followed with the essentials. Then, don’t forget to label every box appropriately to avoid missing items in the middle of your move.

Take a break

Sometimes, tension happens during the moving day. There may be lots of frustrations, siblings fight, or patience that goes out of the line. If all of these things aren’t avoided, this is the kind of situation that can make your relocation a disastrous one. In order to prevent this complication and prepare the family members for what lies ahead, take a break for family time. It can be a group stretch or an ice cream cone eating together. No matter how you spend your family time, what’s important is that you can be able to minimize the tension and get everyone to relax.

Get help from a moving company

Whether you’re moving from or within New York City and other cities, hiring a reputable moving company NYC usually makes a lot of sense. If you have experienced movers on your side, you can help prepare your family for the first move. This is by way of giving you and your family members the time to adjust and understand your new major life event. After all, most moving companies can handle every phase of your relocation faster and smoother. Instead of dealing with the move by yourself, you can let the professionals take care of the job for you, thereby providing you the upper hand to assist your loved ones throughout their adjustment period.

Schedule a family visit to your new city

Another way of preparing your family for the move is by planning a visit to your new city. If you have a budget, bring your entire family to the place where you’ll be relocating so they’ll have an idea about their new surroundings. Once you’re there, explore the city and get familiar with the establishments and neighborhood nearby. By getting to know your new city, you can avoid any unpleasant reactions or surprises from your family members upon your arrival.

Final Thoughts

Moving your family doesn’t necessarily have to be scary or traumatic. By keeping these tips in mind, you can prepare your family in advance and help them stay organized and focused throughout the transition. With the assistance of professionals like Movers NYC, your first family move to New York City or other places will be a huge success. Not only will it give them an enjoyable moving experience, but you’ll also have your family prepare for whatever is waiting for you at the end of the line.

Author Bio: Dianne Belencio-Abonita has been writing blogs for quite some time now. She is interested in a lot of things which makes it a joy for her to write about a different niche. But among all the niches, business and marketing are her favorite. When she’s not busy writing, Dianne spends her time with her husband Francis and daughter Francinne. This is where she draws inspiration from to continually provide informative blogs to a different audience.

Guest Post - Seven Essential Tips for Managing a Long-Distance Move with Kids

Moving can be one of the most stressful activities you can undertake in your lifetime. This is particularly true if it is the first time you are moving, if you have a lot of items, if you are moving a long distance, or if you are moving with a family. Combine any of these things, and that just exacerbates the stress you can feel undertaking this task.

Moving with kids is probably the most stressful of these items, primarily because it requires extra physical and emotional energy to go smoothly. Although several things go into planning a move, here are seven essential tips for managing a long-distance move with children.

Make a Plan Ahead of Your Move

Once you’ve made the decision to move, there are a lot of additional choices you must make. This is especially true if you are moving to another state or country. The most important thing you can do is sit down with your partner and make a plan for your move. How long do you have until you need to be out of your house? Will you be driving or flying or a combination of both to get to your new destination? Will you be hiring movers or handling the packing and moving yourselves? How will you divvy up responsibilities between the two of you?

Being able to refer back to a pre-set plan throughout your moving process will significantly lessen the stress between the two of you. It will also allow you to talk to your kids about all the necessary steps of the move since you will know what is going on yourselves, thereby making them feel less anxious about what could be the first stressful event of their short lives.

A few critical things to remember as you are making your plan. Be sure to change your address at least a few weeks ahead of the move and forward your mail through USPS. This goes for any bills, newspaper or magazine accounts, and personal correspondence. Consider sending an updated address notification to your friends and family members who send written correspondence to you. You could even ask your friends and family to write letters or cards to your kids and send them to the new address so when you all arrive, there is mail waiting for you. This can help your children feel like the new house is their home and not just a strange place.

Additionally, if you decide to pack your things yourself, color coding or numbering boxes by room will make the unpacking process much easier. This applies if you are using movers who may arrive at your destination before you do. The last thing you want to do when you are trying to get oriented and organized in a new place is worry about which boxes go where. This can also help you avoid marking boxes as valuable, which could make them prime targets for thieves.

Communicate with All Members of Your Family

Be sure to tell everyone in your family about the move as soon as you know it is happening and to keep them in the loop about the plan. Obviously, younger children will require less information than older ones, but they may have additional anxiety if they do not understand what is going on. Telling them all the exciting things about moving, including fun activities in your new neighborhood, new friends, and building up the fun and adventure of traveling, will help decrease their apprehension and increase their enthusiasm about their new home.

Understand Different Impacts on Different Ages

It is important to realize that moving long distances will likely have different effects on your children from various ages. Although younger children may have more anxiety, initially, because they do not understand the concept of moving, they have not had the time to build up and maintain serious friendships and memories in the way older children may have. As a teenager, fitting in feels like the most important thing in the world and having to start over again in a new place can seem very daunting.

Be sure to maintain open lines of communication with your teenager throughout the moving process since they may go through the emotional spectrum. Children who move regularly may also have a different reaction than those who are doing it for the first time and are unaccustomed to the idea. Try to be patient and understanding as you all go through this hectic time.

Have a Road Trip Plan

If you and your family are driving to your new home and have a little time before you must get there, make a fun road trip out of it by stopping at some destinations along the way. Depending on your family’s interests, you can see National Parks, go to theme parks, visit family, camp, or even do sporting activities along the way.

While you are in the car, be sure to have things for the kids to do to avoid anxiety and arguments, like car trip games, videos, and music.

Ask for Help

You and your partner may be the type of people who prefer to do things yourselves. However, a long-distance move can be intimidating even under the best circumstances, so you shouldn’t be afraid to reach out to others and ask for help. The type of aid you need can be anything from going through your things to give away, to assistance packing boxes, to even asking someone to help unpack in your new location. If you are utilizing your friends or family, be sure to clarify with them ahead of time what tasks you’ll need them to do.

Additionally, if you do decide moving everything yourself is too much, many people use professional movers for long distance moves. If you and your family choose to go this route, do some research ahead of time before you commit to a company. Search the internet for reviews, ask your friends or family in the area, and don’t be afraid to give the company a call to discuss their rates and logistics.

Get Your Kids’ Rooms in Order First

When you arrive at your new destination, make it a priority to unpack your kid’s items first. Although this may not be the most convenient thing to do, and may end up taking a bit more time, in the long run, it will absolutely help your children feel less anxious in their new home if they have their own things around. It will also help for them to have a place to go and play while you and your partner are busy unpacking the rest of the house.

Providing this sense of routine from the beginning will also lend itself to continuing this routine in the new location.

Explore Your New Neighborhood

After a long-distance move, everything is new. Take advantage of the opportunity to bring your family together and get to know your new neighborhood by exploring some of the sights and participating in activities. If you moved to a new country, this could be even more significant, as you may have an entirely new culture to explore. Show your kids the positives about your new destination and, soon, they’ll be just as excited as you are to be there.

Long distance moves can be tough, especially with kids. They could be anxious about the move and what it will mean for their lives, so ensuring you keep open lines of communication and try to encourage the positive aspects of moving will go a long way toward making things go smoothly throughout the moving process.

Author Bio: Ross Burgess is a freelance writer and graphic designer residing in California with his wife and daughter. Originally from Atlanta, GA, Ross attended design school at SCAD. By day he is climbing the corporate ladder, but by night he sheds his suit to get creative and write, which is his favorite hobby. When he's not working or blogging you can catch him at the beach with his family and chocolate lab Scooter.