6 Projects to Brush Up on Basic DIY Skills

Looking to perform some DIY projects around the house but feel like your skills are a little bit rusty? No worries, there are tons of basic tasks you can complete around the house to sharpen your skills to get you ready for the more advanced stuff while simultaneously bettering your home.

1. Paint a Piece of Furniture

One simple DIY project that can totally revamp a piece of furniture is to paint it. Whether you put a coat or two of chalkboard paint on a table to turn it into a fun element to draw on or spray paint an old set of wrought iron chairs looking for a refresh, this project is simple yet allows you to be creative. Plus, it’s something that can be done relatively quickly and inexpensively.

2. Wood Pallets DIYs

Wood pallets are another inexpensive material for easy DIY projects. The beauty of these is that they’re versatile and easy to source, so you can really get creative with this project. One simple idea is to use wood pallets to make a bike rack in your garage. Do so by placing one pallet flat on the ground in your garage and lean another adjacent to the flat one against the wall, lining up the pallet openings. This gives you a simple place to slip bikes in when they’re not in use so that they stand up. You can make this fancier by painting the palettes or can leave them as they are for something easy and no-frills.

3. Swap Out Hardware

Looking to refresh your home in just a weekend? One simple way to do this is to change out hardware throughout your home. This can be in the form of lightswitch plates, doorknobs or drawer pulls. Doing this takes a bit of time, but few tools are necessary, and you can find hardware on the cheap as long as you’re committed to the search. Plus, this small upgrade makes a big statement in homes.

Pick up some cheap, cool furniture hardware on Amazon.

4. Hang a Gallery Wall

One essential DIY skill is hanging artwork and pictures around your home. Brush up on these skills by curating, mapping out, and hanging a gallery wall. This really transforms a space and can be done in hardly any time at all, making it a great project to do to refresh your living space or bedroom.

5. Up Your Storage Game

Another way to brush up on necessary DIY skills is to complete some storage DIY projects to stay organized and give yourself more room within your home. An easy way to do this is to hang PVC pipe sections or simple boards in “honeycomb” shapes on the wall, which allows you to store things like pens, pencils, binder clips, paperclips, and other desk accessories without cluttering your desk. If the piping you use is large enough, you can even do this in a bedroom or closet and use the piping to store individual pairs of shoes in an organized manner.

6. DIY Clothes-Drying Rack

If you don’t have much floor space in your laundry area for a standing drying rack, you can solve this problem with a quick DIY project. Take an old frame and take the glass out of the middle. You’ll want this to be a pretty sizable frame. If you don’t have one, try thrift shops or other low-cost second-hand stores for something inexpensive.

String some twine in horizontal lines across the length of the frame in the landscape orientation. Use a staple gun to secure the twine to the edge on each side. Then, take clothespins and clip them onto the twine pieces. Hang this on a blank wall, and just like that, you have a functional drying rack that doesn’t take up much room.

Uncomplicated DIY projects that enhance your home with little time or money commitment are a great way not only to jazz up your space but also to sharpen basic DIY skills. After you complete a few of these, you’ll feel more ready than ever to tackle larger-scale home improvement projects.

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