Start Fresh and Save Money with these 4 Easy DIY Room Makeovers

The New Year is all about clearing out the clutter and refreshing your life. One excellent way to make a fresh start in the New Year is by refreshing your home with a room makeover.

These key DIY tips will help you give your kitchen, bathroom, laundry room or basement a face-lift, create organization, and improve your home’s beauty and function, all while sticking to your New Year’s resolution for frugal living.

Read on to find out how!

1. Refresh Your Kitchen

Your family spends a lot of time in your kitchen–from cooking and eating, to doing homework and sipping hot cocoa on a cold evening, your kitchen is one of the most popular rooms in the house. A dreary, outdated kitchen can be a real downer, especially during the dark winter months.

You don’t have to gut your kitchen or replace major appliances to make your kitchen look new again. Even simply changing the hardware on the cabinets or painting the ceiling will make a much bigger difference than you would imagine.

For an even bigger pick-me-up, painting the cabinets is a quick, inexpensive way to really transform your kitchen’s look. If you decide to paint your cabinets, choose washable, durable paint, be sure to remove all cabinet hardware first, and use these DIY tips.

Another way to transform your kitchen is with new countertops or flooring. Click here for inexpensive flooring options, and here for a wide price range of countertop options.

Be sure to choose flooring that is water resistant, and wipe out mold and mildew with Wet & Forget Indoor Mold + Mildew Disinfectant Cleaner.

2. Revamp Your Bathroom with a Room Makeover

The bathroom is another key room in your home. Having things organized and at your fingertips will lower your stress level during those busy weekday mornings, and a soothing atmosphere will help you relax while you wash away your worries at the end of the day.

Bathrooms are often smaller than we might like. If this is the case in your home, these decorating tips will trick the eye and help you make your bathroom look more spacious, and these storage tips will help you maximize your space.

If you want to replace the vanity or other furniture, using repurposed items can save you lots of money and give your bathroom a unique, stylish flair. When it’s time to replace the flooring in your bathroom, these inexpensive flooring options can save you some cash.

Be sure to choose water-resistant flooring for your bathroom, and defeat bathroom mold and mildew with Wet & Forget Indoor Mold + Mildew Disinfectant Cleaner. For an easy, scrub-free way to wipe out soap scum, grime, oils and mold and mildew stains, check out Wet & Forget Shower.

3. Redo Your Laundry Room

Your laundry room is easy to overlook; its small size and unfun purpose mean it isn’t exactly your favorite spot. Your laundry room’s limited space makes good storage and organization all the more important, though, and adding a little style will make the time you spend there a little less tedious.

There are lots of laundry room makeover options: This family created a combination laundry room/mud room with lots of storage, and style to spare.

If you opt for new flooring in your laundry room, avoid carpeting and choose flooring that is water resistant.

Once you’ve got a brand new laundry room, keep mold and mildew at bay with Wet & Forget Indoor Mold + Mildew Disinfectant Cleaner.

4. Maximize Your Basement With a Room Makeover

Moisture can be a major problem in basements, so take care of any leaks or other issues before you start on anything else.

First, correct any problems outside your home that could be causing your basement to leak, and then do any necessary re-sealing within your basement. If you have mold and mildew in your basement, eliminate it with Wet & Forget Indoor Mold + Mildew Disinfectant Cleaner.

If you want to add new flooring to your basement, avoid carpeting and go for a water-resistant option.

Organization is another big issue for most basements. You don’t want to go rooting around looking for lost holiday decorations or, even worse, discover that items you’ve stored in your basement have been ruined.

Home Storage Solutions 101 offers a step-by-step guide to organizing your basement by zones, so items will no longer seem to disappear into the abyss, and Martha Stewart provides these tips for safely storing things in your basement.

Photos courtesy of Tami Hills (photo 1 and photo 2), Daniel Rothamel, Maegan Tintari, and Randy Pertiet.