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How to Improve Curbside Appeal on a Budget

Making the front of your house look nice doesn’t have to be expensive. Check out how to improve curbside appeal on a budget.

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Now that spring has arrived, that means more yard work!  I love the warm weather and getting outside.  I love planting my garden and watching my vegetables grow.  However, there are a few things I have to do around the yard that I don’t enjoy as much, just the regular maintenance to keep it looking nice.  It’s still spring time and it’s not too late to get started.

How to Improve Curbside Appeal on a Budget

You can be updating the outside of your house for many different reasons, but one is to make good first impressions for a potential buyers. You can make a lot of changes using minimal money. Just head outside and start making your list of curb appeal ideas.

Weed the flower beds  

This make such a difference when people come up to your door.  If your house is close to the street, it can make a huge difference.  I know some people that do this daily.  They may just pick a few weeds on the way to the mail box or car.

 I usually do it once a week.  Since it’s not my favorite thing to do, I just do it all at once.  We have this huge area that needs to be weeded all summer.  It’s pretty tough to keep it under control.  Please don’t look to closely at this picture!

Big hill with pine straw and green creeping plants with stair up the middle

Prune and cut back bushes and trees

We have a lot of bushes and the pruning normally takes forever.  When you prune your bushes back, they come back fuller and the flowering plants have more blooms.  It’s important to do this every spring.  You may feel this is a waste of time, but it really will pay off in the long run.

Clean porch furniture, front door and windows

This is easy to do and perfect for kids when it’s warm out. Clean the outside of your windows and doors. Wash your furniture down with soapy water. I’ve recenly washed my wooden rocking chairs off and they looked old and dingy. I just bought some spray paint and they look good as new.

Don’t forget to wash your garage doors!!

Plant flowers  

Now, this is a little more rewarding!  I love getting out my pots and going to the nursery and picking out what I want.  I just plop down in the middle of the drive way and get to work.  Flowers give your house have great curb appeal.  I have some in the back and front and I love the way it makes my house look. Potted plants don’t take long, but make a great impression.

Add flowering plants to your flower bed or around your mailbox. They brighten up your yard and people are drawn to the colorful flowers. Adding plants that have different colored leaves in different seasons looks nice too. You can talk to your local nursey to get good ideas for what works in your part of the country.

white flower pot with red geranium on a front porch glass table

Pick up toys and trash

This is easy to do. My kids go around every week with a grocery bag and pick up all the trash. We find all kinds of cans, straw paper and junk laying around. I’m not sure how it even gets there. Pick up even the smallest pieces of trash.

Toys and bikes need to put away from the front of the house every night.

Fix broken windows, fences and porch furniture.

Broken things can be put off for a long time because they seem challenging. However, there are a ton of youtube videos so you can get instructions to fix anything these days.

I’ve recently replaced the window screens on the front of the house with supplies I bought off Amazon and watching how-to videos.

Buy some products to spruce up the area

  • Add window boxes or add a planter to your porch railing.
  • Add outdoor lighting- Solar lights are inexpensive and provide a good ambiance.
  • Replace light fixtures- This is so easy to do and you can find a ton of how-to videos on this.
  • Replace old door hardware- Changing out the doorknobs or handles that are old can make a big change.
  • Replace your mailbox.
  • Replace your house numbers to be bigger and brighter.

Tanya (@bizzymommies)

Sunday 5th of July 2015

Great tips and I love your pictures. You have a beautiful yard. I use AdvilĀ® PM too and it works great!

Christy Stucker

Tuesday 30th of June 2015

Gorgeous + EXCELLENT AdvilPM advice - THANK YOU! XOXO, MotherStucker

RFC

Saturday 27th of June 2015

Beautiful yard! We live in an apartment building, so no yard work for me. I do miss the act of mowing a lawn though, haha!

Jennifer F

Tuesday 23rd of June 2015

thank goodness for advil PM!

Travis

Monday 22nd of June 2015

Great tips on how to make your yard look great.

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