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How to clean up your home’s exterior – on a budget

By Amy Patterson

Clean_up_your_home-01Curb appeal is important, and often, first impressions are hard to forget. But it can be hard and expensive to keep up the appearance of your home – especially the exterior. Here are some tips and tricks to spruce up your home’s exterior on a budget.

  • Clean siding – This doesn’t have to be a big process and you don’t have to hire a power washing company. In fact, you don’t even need (and really shouldn’t use) a power washer at all. Simply hosing off your siding with water will do the trick. However, if it’s been a while since you’ve washed your siding, and water alone isn’t doing it – add a tiny bit of bleach in with your water (4 parts water: 1 part bleach).
  • Add a path – Walkways or paths generally draw lines for your guests and passersby, from the curb, up to your door. Despite the common consensus, you can do this within your budget. Instead of laying a thick stone walkway, try stepping-stones.
  • Decorate – Add some hanging plants or lanterns to the front of your home. If you have a deck or porch, you have a lot more to work with for this. Try sprucing up your front porch by adding some vintage, re-purposed chairs with bold colored cushions.

Sprucing up your home doesn’t have to cost you a fortune – it’s important to shop smart (check out your local thrift stores) and focus on details that will pull the attention from some other items that might be less possible to fix. 

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Tags: DIY, Green Living, First Time Home Buyers, Design, Home, Homeowners, Home Loans, Money, Renovate, Economy