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Simple Home DIYs to Try This Winter

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Winter is the most wonderful time of the year. You get to celebrate holidays and meet up with the people you love and may not see very often.Simple Home Renovations To Make It More Energy-Efficient

Decorations are everywhere, and you get to enjoy the food and thrills of the season. Unfortunately, you’ll inevitably have downtime, when you’re not even thinking of festivities. Doing something during the stale time this winter can help you improve your life overall, and it can entertain you until your next get-together. Here are a few simple DIYs, both for decorations and home improvement projects, that will get you through any period of boredom this season.

1. Install New Light Fixtures

Looking for a new way to brighten up your home for the new year? Consider swapping out your lighting options. You might have fixtures in your home that are outdated or don’t work well. Consider finding a new fixture that will illuminate your space exactly as you want it.

You can also swap out your light bulbs for an easy, DIY approach to changing the appearance of your home. LED light bulbs last for over 25,000 hours, making them much more energy efficient than their incandescent counterparts. Since they last so much longer, you won’t have to worry about changing them as frequently. Overall, LED lights may be brighter, but they’re better for the environment and your wallet.

2. Create a Wreath

Wintertime means ample decorations you can use throughout the season, no matter which holidays you celebrate. All you need is a metal hoop, and you can wrap artificial pine branches around it. Decorate it as you see fit — you might even want to create a wreath in a particular shape. You can add decorations to it with a hot glue gun. It’s the perfect activity for sitting down and watching a holiday movie if your hands need to stay busy.

3. Stovetop Potpourri

Potpourri can be one of the best ways to get people in the mood for the season. When your home smells like the holidays, people will feel the cheer as soon as they enter. Simmer pots of potpourri can be just as effective as a candle, and it’s a great way to effectively compost natural materials over and over. You can discard orange peels by putting them directly into your simmer pot, which you can use a few times before composting the organic materials, like orange rinds and spices.

4. Make a Tie Blanket

The best part of tie blankets is that they require no sewing. Find a few prints you like at a fabric store and cut small indentions along the outline of the fabric. Then, tie the two pieces together by creating knots with each of the pieces. You can easily create a holiday-themed blanket while watching a movie or talking to loved ones. By the end of it, you’ll have a throw you can set out every winter.

5. Repainting Cabinets

Sometimes, the color of your cabinets doesn’t match your overall vision for your home. You don’t have to go out and buy new cabinets. All you need to do is paint the ones you currently have. Make sure you’re using the right brushes for your project. Brushes with natural bristles will last much longer, making them a worthwhile investment if you find that you like completing DIY projects in your home. Proper brushes also won’t shed their fibers as often, meaning you won’t have to deal with any drying into the paint and causing an uneven surface.

6. Add Fresh Color

If you want something a little more challenging than painting your cabinets, consider painting a room in your home. Working on your house’s interior is the perfect winter activity, as it means you don’t have to step outside and brace for the cold weather. You can change the whole vibe of a room just by switching up its paint color. If you have been meaning to transform your home, start with a fresh coat of paint.

7. Popcorn Garland

Making popcorn garlands might seem tedious, but they’re one of the easiest ways to jazz up some decoration in your house. You can string these garlands over a Christmas tree, or they might look good sitting on your mantle. These garlands don’t have to be packed away with your other decorations at the end of the year, though. You can set them outside, so birds and small mammals have a tasty treat to eat before the warmth of spring rolls around.

8. Insulate Your Pipes

Have you heard that you should always leave your faucets dripping in case they freeze during the long winter nights? You can insulate your pipes to help keep them warm. This DIY solution is super easy — all you need is several layers of newspaper and duct tape to keep them attached. When insulating your pipes, you should also anticipate a pipe bursting. The best way to prepare is to store drinking water in case your supply of running water is cut off. Never count anything out, especially if you’re in a place where the winter weather is frigid.

9. Install New Flooring

If you’ve been looking for an aesthetic change for your home, now might be the time to change up your flooring to better match the overall vision you have for your space. Installing new flooring might take a lot of time, especially if you’ve never done it before, but the end result could be worth every moment of struggle. You should research your flooring options beforehand to figure out which is the most cost effective for you, as well as which options suit the rest of your home the best.

10. Seal Your Openings

Air leaks are the greatest waste of energy in the wintertime, meaning you need to find a way to seal up those cracks that your heated air might be slipping out of. You can easily DIY this solution by using caulk around the gaps. Caulk can be smoothed out and be unnoticeable to the untrained eye. You can also easily replace weatherstripping on your doors and windows, which can help seal any gaps you encounter there.

Find Something That Works For You

Not everyone is handy with more intensive home projects, and some people don’t want to spend their time working on DIY decor. Finding a project right for you is crucial to passing the winter feeling productive and like you’ve accomplished something. Remember to enjoy your downtime, though. With everything that’s happened during such a busy season, you deserve to relax and get your favorite projects done.

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RAKI WRIGHT
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