The kind of house you keep speaks a lot about who you are. It may be the sweet reward you come at, reminding yourself of all those years you spent working just to afford one. Or it may signify a new chapter of your life as you live away from your family and start living independently.
It is the nature of human beings to constantly improve ourselves, but how about improving our place of abode? Our home also speaks a bit of ourselves too. You wouldn’t want visitors to see how messy your room is. Much more you wouldn’t want uninvited guests, be it bugs or thieves, to get in.
If you’re having trouble deciding where to begin, below are some tips on what you can replace or upgrade at home.
Clear Windows
Chopped glass, broken frames, flimsy blinds, worn-out panes— don’t windows take enough beating? In fact, the wrong kind of windows ends up enabling hot and cold air to infiltrate the room, affecting overall energy consumption and raising the temperature up and down. Moreover, a damaged window is a warning sign and you should replace them immediately before the bad guys outdo you first.
There are varying types of windows, as well as window glasses and materials in the market. Choose the ones that are attractive but at the same time secure you from outside elements.
Surge protectors
Compared to a basic wall socket, the power strip is a multi-plug bar of four or more electrical sockets which is attached to a cable. Keep in mind though that not all power strips provide surge protection. Surge protectors are essentially like power strips. The only difference is that the latter has special built-in electronics that prevent connecting devices get damaged by power surges.
When it comes to the cost, the former is of course cheaper. But are you willing to risk safety with a price? No, you would not. If you plan to buy a surge protector, make sure you’ll be able to distinguish the difference between both as they highly look similar to each other.
High-security doors
With the advent of smart technology, it will be no wonder that simple, everyday things are going “smart”. One of those that will be beneficial to your home is switching to doors with a smart lock. Either accessible by a pin you only know or through your phone, this is an investment that you should save for.
Even so, not all can afford that and would rather stick to the traditional door. Don’t fret since you can test how secure your door locks are by yourself by using a handy lock pick set yourself. It’s also quite useful just in case you got out lockout and accidentally left your keys inside.
Toilets
Less thought upon, your toilet might be the reason why your water bill is high. You might ask why you should bother to replace it when in fact it’s just where you take a dump and flush it. Aside from the visible signs like a cracked tank, wobbly seat, and yellowing covers, some toilets consume water without you noticing it.
There are now more compact and smart toilet systems that flush efficiently and save water. Saniflo toilets, for example, have flush models and include advanced pumps. These low flush toilets are perfect for eco-friendly homeowners.
From the entryway, guest room, attic, all the way to the backyard, it’s important to keep a regular survey of the parts of the home. You never know if a friend might surprisingly visit. You don’t want your family to think you’ve been living in such conditions.
Replacing and upgrading the home with new items and tools isn’t just about making it look brand new, it’s also equipping it into something far more cost-effective and pragmatic. When you’re able to handle a home with the utmost care, then you’ll know you’re a real home sweet home keeper.
This is interesting considering we bought a home last year and we’re constantly adding little details here and there.
Windows are the next on our list of things to replace in our house. We just need to get some quotes and go from there.
I love the open space kitchen and minimalist design and white cabinet. We’ve been planning to upgrade our kitchen and add some backsplash on it,
I don’t own a home yet but this is a great reminder about upgrades that can totally transform the way we see our homes.
We definitely need new toilets in our house. These are just tired and overworked lol.
Wow! This is such a good guide for homeowners. Surge protectors are so important and they keep our devices safe from power surges which is a huge bonus considering how expensive these devices and appliances can be.
My home could use an update in all of these areas. I could imagine how efficient our home would run with the upgrades.
Yes, my home will need all of these. We do want to replace to windows. We’re interested in the solar ones. I know we need better surge protectors!
Totally need to update our bathroom toilet. The guest bathroom got that upgrade a couple of years ago, it made a world of difference.
Funny enough I was just telling my husband we need new toilets. That is something I don’t think I ever thought I would say lol
oh we have 4 windows that need repaired. My son broke these windows playing with this bb gun! I have tasked my husband to find repair company at the beginning of the summer. Let’s see if this gets done?!
I have to say we need a little upgrading in our kichen especially. We did our windows and bathrooms a few years back so those are up to date. It is a constant battle when you own a home.
Our house was built 4 years ago and we have a lot of these features. At the time, the toilet was cost prohibitive, but I hear the prices are better now.
These are some great tips! I have to admit I really need to do some replacements around our home, we need some new windows in our bedroom as at least a couple are blown.
Everything on this list I need. We are slowly saving money to be able to replace Windows and security doors. I am hoping we can get it all done in the next couple of years.
I love the kitchen in this picture and it’s my dream kitchen. As for new Window, I would like to get them but we rent and I am not investing in a home that doesn’t belong to me. I do use Suge Protectors everywhere in our home as we have so many Electronics I need to keep safe.
Seems like there’s always something to update in my home. I have a running list. We replaced the windows a few years back with double-paned windows and I can really tell the difference in the electric bill.
We replaced all of our toilets which lead us to replacing the vanities. Now we are remodeling the kitchen. Going to be wonderful when we get done
We got new windows 4 or 5 years ago and it made a HUGE difference. A lot of the houses here in New England are super old and I know a few people that need to replace theirs!