After pulling into your driveway the other day, it suddenly dawned on you: The outside of your home looks like a hot mess. Now, granted, you’re a busy mom with lots on your plate. In fact, most days it takes all your energy to wrangle your kids and keep the interior of your house reasonably clean, let alone tackle some exterior work.
Fortunately, you don’t have to spend a ton of money to make some noticeable home improvements. And, depending on the age of your kiddos, they can certainly get in on the projects.
Here are a few ideas to get your home’s exterior in tip-top shape.
1. Do Some Serious Clean Up
If your lawn is littered with Big Wheels, bikes and toys, enlist your children to help you move them off the grass and into the garage or back patio. Likewise, if you have furniture on your front lawn that looks weather-beaten, you might be able to paint it with a waterproof spray paint that will bring the pieces back to life.
Chance are the siding of your home is dirty or has spots of mildew. If that’s the case, use a pressure washer as part of your summer cleaning efforts. Add some detergent to the water reservoir, which can help to remove stubborn dirt from your home.
If mold or mildew is present, a mixture of four parts water to one part bleach in the sprayer can help — just be sure to use rubber gloves if you’re working with bleach and cover any bushes near your home. Pro tip: When using the pressure washer, keep it on a relatively low setting so you don’t add groves to the wood on the side of your house.
2. Install a Home Security System
Another home improvement project that your neighbors will be sure to appreciate is installing a home security camera system. Even if you live in a seemingly safe neighborhood with low crime rates, it can give you and your nice neighbors better peace of mind.
Fortunately, you can order a state-of-the-art security camera system online, a nice bonus for busy moms like you who have plenty on your plate. For example, Lorex sells a variety of camera systems, including wire-free and wireless versions, that feature an ultra-wide lens capable of capturing footage of a large area.
Point out this improvement to your neighbors the next time you’re outside chatting and they will undoubtedly be pleased with this upgrade.
3. Spruce Up Your Landscaping
Pristine landscaping not only looks great but can also help improve the value of your home. Once you clean up the toys and other items from your front lawn, check out your bushes, shrubs and other plants. If they’re overgrown and/or dying, enlist your teens to help either trim them back or pull them out entirely.
Then, head to the local plant nursery with your kids and select new bushes and shrubs, along with flats of colorful flowers, and buy several containers of various sizes. The new shrubs will look great, and by planting the flowers in the pots and placing them around your yard, it will help the front of your home to look beautiful and well put together.
Make a Major Impact with Little Effort
While you might still have more work to do on the exterior of your home, these three projects will get you off to a great start.
By adding security cameras and cleaning up your yard, along with the upgrades to your landscaping, you’ll no longer want to hide from the neighbors when you pull into your driveway.
