1. Disguise a hideous buzzer or interior fuse box with a trendy macramé hanging you can move when you need easy access.
2. Or hide the box behind your favorite tea towel with the help of a magnetic wood frame, and you'll solve the same problem *and* be able to easily switch it out with the seasons, or just your mood.
3. Give your garage doors a dose of instant character and detail with a set of carriage-style magnets that take only seconds to attach and arrange so they look just right. If you can put a magnet on your fridge, you can achieve this look!
4. Hang floor-to-ceiling blackout velvet curtains anywhere you a) just want a dramatic finish or b) do want to block out as much daylight as possible, whether your kiddo needs to nap or you just want to sleep in on Saturdays.
5. Or if you can't be bothered with a drill and curtain rods, try NoNo Brackets — they clip right onto the blinds you already have in your window so you can hang those curtains without having to lean on a friend who actually knows how to use tools.
All you need is a screwdriver! You first adjust the depth of the gadget to clamp onto blinds so it's sturdy — it works whether the top of your blinds are almost flush with the windowsill or above the windowsill entirely — then you set the curtain rod in the round section and secure it with an easy righty-tighty twist.
Get a set of two from Amazon for $19.95 (also available in brown).
6. Block annoying drafts that make it just that much harder to heat and cool your home with a nearly-invisible door draft stopper. It'll look indistinguishable from the rest of your door — unlike those long pillows that you have to manually move around — and simply sticks on with an adhesive.
7. Update your circa-1990s appliances for less than the cost of dinner for two: simply cover them in stainless-steel-effect contact paper. One reviewer said "It legit looks like my dishwasher is stainless steel now"!
8. Mask an eyesore of a view without blocking any precious light thanks to some rainbow-y self-adhesive window film. Besides looking jaw-droppingly beautiful and applying as easily as 1-2-3, it'll also provide a little extra privacy.
9. Consolidate the mess that is your TV's cords in a cable raceway because there's no reason your grown-up living room needs to remind you of your college dorm years one little bit. Paint it the same color as your walls, and watch it seemingly vanish!
10. Create a beautiful gallery wall with very little effort thanks to a ready-to-hang frame set. It even comes with three different full-size templates to help you put the nails in all the right places.
11. Slap on a coat of simple primer to brighten up a dingy brick garage over the course of a lazy Sunday afternoon.
12. Hang a roll of faux ivy to solve several problems at once: conceal an ugly railing or wire fence, create a little extra privacy, and block a view you wish you didn't have to see.
13. Create a ~drop zone~ for your mail, keys, dog leashes, scarves, and other miscellaneous things by hanging this tidy wall shelf — it'll be much nicer than unceremoniously piling all of that stuff on your countertop.
14. Upgrade your rental kitchen's non-existent backsplash with moisture- and steam-resistant removable wallpaper that you can simply peel off when you're about to move out.
15. Ditch the awkward gap between your couch and the wall or eliminate the not-so-pretty mess of plugs right next to your pretty bar cart (I literally just bought this for this reason) with this ultra-thin-plug powerstrip.
16. Refresh metal fixtures with metal-look spray paint to make them look completely new in just an hour or two.
17. Paint your cabinets if you want them to feel fresh or different. Since hiring a pro's not what you want at the moment, a cabinet paint set is one of the easier ways of making this happen, and reviewers say it can be done in one day!
18. Then overhaul that outdated Formica in your kitchen with a granite-look countertop paint kit for an inexpensive upgrade that'll last for years — it's the same kit they used for the counters in 16 above, too.
19. Or a roll of self-adhesive marble film if your handy-person skills start at stickers but stop at painting (hey, we're all different). It'll require some careful measuring, cutting, and laying, but look at that awesome transformation!
20. If you don't love the ones you have right now, swap out your cabinet and drawer pull handles. Find ones that are the same length (and use the same holes) as the ones you have already so you can simply change 'em out with a screwdriver, no drilling required.
21. And for a finishing touch, mount some stick-on, plug-in, dimmable, remote-control lights under — and maybe even on top of — your cabinets so your prep and cooking workspace has some nice extra light, not to mention a luxe look. And it should only take about an hour to set up!
22. Block a utility box, trash cans, or anything else you want to make disappear but still need to access regularly with a simple privacy screen.
23. Hang up some pre-made wainscot wall panels. They take just an afternoon's work with some glue or nails — or if you're a renter or just non-committal, Command Strips! — and add a little architectural charm to a boring, blank wall, door, kitchen island, or hallway.
Reviewers have figured out all kinds of ways to attach these, and if you own your home, gluing or nailing them on is the way to go! But I'm a renter, and I think that Command picture-hanging strips would be a super easy way to hang them without having to worry about damage. Oh, and they come in a bunch of different sizes and dimensions, so you'll be able to find one that works for your project.
Single panels start at $9.33+ on Amazon, but you can also get them in packs of 10 in the same listing. Or for something a little more whimsical, try a scalloped version!
24. If you're not lucky enough to have a mudroom, this shoe cabinet is a good start — it'll at least be better than the ever-growing pile of shoes threatening to trip you every time you walk past the back door. And it just looks like a regular old cabinet, not a weird shoe rack!
25. Turn back time on your slouchy sofa with some cushion supports, and continue spending happy evenings there for years to come, no need to splurge on a new couch.
26. Quickly and easily pinch off those pesky little pills on your throw, pillow, chair, or any other piece of fabric with a battery-powered fabric shaver to make everything (including upholstery!) look completely new, no need to throw it out!
27. Instantly make your pillows look brand new (even if you've had them for longer than you can remember) with a set of four velvet pillow covers — you can try to save them with the shaver first, of course!
28. Scrub off even the most impossible stains you never thought would come up, even with hardcore elbow grease, thanks to Barkeeper's Friend cleanser. It's famous for a reason: it actually works wonders on anything ceramic (from plates to sinks), stainless steel (pans, sinks again), as well as *deep breath* porcelain, copper alloys, fiberglass, Corian, brass, bronze, chrome, and aluminum.
29. And easily eliminate the built-up residue on shower doors *and* the burnt-on grime on glass cooktop stoves, all thanks to the Bar Keepers Friend Cooktop Cleanser.
30. Or if you have no elbow grease to spare, three Drill Brushes because they'll transform essentially any grimy surface — from cooked-on grease on a stovetop to built-up dirt in a bathtub to the accumulated years of grime on tile and grout — without requiring any hard scrubbing on your part.
31. Run some mold and mildew remover made from a no-odor gel over the grout and caulking in the shower, especially anywhere it's moldy. It sticks and stays to surfaces so it can actually do its job efficiently: banishing the grossness from your bathroom.
32. Swap your branded plastic soap bottles throughout your home with some nice amber soap dispensers instead — no one will know that you have the same discount soap in there, and it'll look so much more like a spa than the plastic ones.
Promising review: "These are amazing soap dispensers. The amber glass is sturdy and strong, and the pump works great. They're easy to fill and they look so good on your bathroom or kitchen countertop. Highly recommend!" —Emily
Get a two-pack from Amazon for $14.99 (available in three different pump colors).
33. Pull your brass fireplace out of the 1980s with a coat or two of high-heat spray paint. Sure, you'll have to mask off the rest of your fireplace, but that's simple enough to do with some newspaper and some masking tape!
34. Replace the blah-looking house number next to your front door with a modern option for a quick curb-appeal boost.
35. And achieve your dreams of a bright, friendly (or dark, moody) entry with some specially formulated front door paint. It doesn't require any sanding and is fast drying, so it's a project you can do in a morning or an afternoon!
This review gives detailed instructions to help everything come out perfectly, and most people will also need: a drop cloth, a regular paint brush, a small roller brush, touch-up brushes, and some painter's tape for the edges and windows. Oh, and you do have to clean your door quickly before you get started!
One reviewer says it's a thick consistency paint that doesn't drip or run, which makes it very easy to work with. And it comes in 15 different colors, so you're bound to find one you love!
You can get it from Amazon for $38.95+.
36. Conquer many of the seemingly impossible messes you encounter with a powerful no-rinse stain remover. Simply spritz it on, wait a second, then blot it up to see most stains truly vanish like magic.
37. Basically give yourself a refund with a few spritzes of leather stain remover spray because even though leather's usually relatively stain resistant, years with kids, pets, spouses, or just our own messy selves eventually take their toll.
38. Speaking of leather, you can spend many more years reading in your favorite chair, reveling in the afternoon sun, *without* having to put up with furniture that looks like it's on its last legs, all thanks to a simple rub-in leather recoloring balm.
39. Transport water- or heat- or pet-damaged furniture (or cabinets or wood floors) back to its former glory with just a coat or two of this all-in-one wood cleanser and polish.
40. Or if your damage is more minimal, fix it with a set of furniture repair markers and wax sticks — light damage will practically vanish after a few quick swipes of the right color.
41. Refresh scratched or rusted metal surfaces — like fridges, washers and dryers, metal bed frames, and bathtubs — with an enamel paint designed specifically for easy transformations.
42. Install some vinyl peel-and-stick tiles on a Sunday afternoon to instantly make your kitchen, bathroom, or laundry room look more modern and brand-new (and to make it easier to clean than bare wall).
They're removable, so it's renter-friendly — yay! That involves heating it with a hair dryer to loosen the adhesive, slowly pull it off, then using something like GooGone ($15.89) to clean the residual glue. But maybe it'll look so good your landlord will want you to keep it!
Reviewers say you'll also need a level, sanding block and sand paper, measuring tape, ruler, screwdriver to remove outlets, and utility knife or scissors. And that you'll want to buy a few extra over what you need in case you make mistakes! For more tips, read this review.
Get it from Amazon, for $28.09+ (available in eight colors, and in dozens more designs and colors on their store page).
43. Check out how they can give you a "wow" moment in the bathroom too — just take a look at how glamorous this peel-and-stick tile makes a regular old sink look.
44. And use peel-and-stick vinyl tiles to get the look you love on your floors, too, for less money, less time, and less effort.
45. Effortlessly cover up any small drywall repairs or pretty much any other scratches, scuffs, or stains that refuse to clean off any other way, all thanks to some paint touch-up pens you can keep in your "junk" drawer, one with every color of paint.
46. Work wonders on basically any kind of stone (whether it's untreated *or* sealed and polished) with this oil stain remover, because you shouldn't have to live with the consequences of that one leaky bottle of olive oil.
47. Spritz some rust stain remover spray at anything in the bathroom coated in a thin crust of orange — a few sprays and a final wipe of this stuff will actually make your shower, sink, and tub look exactly like they did the day they were first installed.
48. Grab every last bit of the hair and gunk slowing down your sink and tub drains with a drain clearer covered with thousands of micro-hooks — it'll nab everything and pull it out, so your drains actually flow freely again.
You just insert it down your drain, twist it a few times via the handle, let the grabby micro-hooks on the tip (similar to Velcro) do their work on the stuck, clogging hair and debris. Then pull it up, and your sink will drain like it's new! This reader tried and loved it!
I used it myself a few months ago, and it worked wonders: It wasn't hair clogging my sink, but the remains of a luxury soap bar that made so much gross residue it built up over time. It was gross, yes, and I had to insert it, clean it, and re-insert it a few times, but it was sooooo worth it — and effortlessly removed all the grime until the sink drained nicely again.
Get one with five included refills on Amazon for $19.99.
49. Erase the evidence of all those years of delicious baked goods, frozen pizzas, and bacon with one overnight treatment of the super strong fume-free oven cleaner.
50. Or if you want something a bit less harsh: opt for an oven scrub cleaner made from pumice, baking soda, sodium citrate, two kinds of plant-based cleaners, and eucalyptus, peppermint, lemon, and tea tree essential oils. It may require a tad more elbow grease, but it'll still get the job 100% done.
51. If you recently stayed at a hotel with actually nice mattresses and realized your current bed could use a bit of an upgrade, try a memory foam mattress topper. It'll make your bed significantly more cushy, so you feel like you're laying down on a cloud every single night.
This one's two inches thick and has several ~zones~ that theoretically provide different levels of support. It also has over 36,000 five-star ratings, so you know people like it!! Many reviewers say they sleep better.
One caveat: if you're a hot sleeper, you might want to stay away from memory foam toppers and mattresses because they retain body heat. For a bunch of alternative options, including ones that will help with a bed that's too soft, check out the best mattress toppers and firm mattress toppers!
Get it from Amazon for $38.55+ (available in two colors, two thicknesses, and in sizes twin–Cal king).