By using this site, you agree to the Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.
Accept
Start Your Business Magazine
  • Store
    Merchandise
    Subscribe
  • Features

    Grow, expand and leverage your business..

    Grow your start up business with our experts and industry insiders…

    Get Started

    Quick Links

    • Agenda
    • Business Books
    • Marketing
    • Technology
    • Wellbeing
    • Finance
    Reading: Beat Lockdown Boredom

    Our Newsletters

    Our website stores cookies on your computer. They allow us to remember you and help personalise your experience with our site..

    Read our privacy policy for more information.
  • Book
  • Trending
    agenda

    Blurred lines between work and home are harming SME productivity – here’s how to fix it

    For many small business owners and their teams, the modern workday no…

    UK Revealed as the Worst European Country for Commuting

    With many employers reinstating back-to-office policies post-pandemic, the cost and toll of…

    agenda

    Business Investment 2025

    How Much are UK Entrepreneurs Willing to Invest in 2025? New Survey…

  • Topics

    Topics

    • Agenda
    • Blogs
    • Book Review
    • Business Advice
    • eCommerce
    • SME Update
    Reading: Beat Lockdown Boredom
    • Events
    • Business Experts
    • Featured
    • Franchise
    • Growing Business
    • Health
    Reading: Beat Lockdown Boredom
    • Finance
    • Franchise Experts
    • How To
    • Interviews
    • Just for fun
    Reading: Beat Lockdown Boredom
    • Lifestyle
    • Making money
    • Manufacturing
    • Marketing
    • Money
    • Property
    Reading: Beat Lockdown Boredom
    • Starting Up
    • Taxation
    • Technology
    • Wellbeing
    • Women in Business
    Reading: Beat Lockdown Boredom
Reading: Beat Lockdown Boredom
Connect
Start Your Business MagazineStart Your Business Magazine
Aa
  • Magazine
  • SEO – Backlinks
  • Book: Start Your Business
Search
  • Agenda
  • Book Review
  • Blogs
  • Finance
  • Growing Business
  • How To
  • Interviews
  • Marketing
  • SME Update
  • Starting Up
  • Technology
  • Wellness
  • Contact
Have an existing account? Sign In
Follow US
  • RSS
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Privacy Policy
  • Contact
  • Licensing
  • SEO
Copyright © 2014-2023 Ruby Theme Ltd. All Rights Reserved.

Beat Lockdown Boredom

Start Your Business
agenda COVID-19
Share
11 Min Read

While it’s still early days for Lockdown round two we know from the first stint that the monotony of being stuck in the house will soon take its toll.

The latest research by estate agent, Barrows and Forrester, has pulled together 10 home improvements that you can make without any major renovations and they will generally take you less than 34 hours to do.

Of course, it’s up to you whether you tackle all 35 hours at once or space it out over the month ahead.

Silencing creaky floorboards – 30 minutes

Squeaky floorboards can be a real pain and it’s a job we often fail to tackle, accepting them as part of our property’s personality. They occur when floorboards either rub against each other or the sub-floor but can be easily rectified. Just take some talcum powder, soapstone powder or powdered graphite and sprinkle it between the cracks of the offending board or boards and this should do the trick.

Modernising your furniture – 40 minutes per item

Furniture can make or break the look of your house but a lick of paint really can work wonders. Particularly if it’s cheaper imitation wood finish. All you need to do is rub-down the surface and prepare it for painting, pick your preferred colour and get painting. It will take you roughly 40 minutes for an average piece of furniture but will save you a considerable amount against the cost of having it done professionally or picking out new pieces.

Fix squeaky hinges – 50 minutes

Like floorboards, a squeaky hinge can really get on your nerves. Grabbing some WD-40 and taking on every hinge in the house will take no more than 50 minutes and will prevent you from going mad. If you don’t have any to hand, olive oil or vaseline also works perfectly.

Deep cleaning the bathroom – 60 minutes

No one wants to really do it and that’s the reason our bathrooms often fall into domestic disrepute. But with heavier footfall during lockdown, it’s the perfect time to tackle the job and should take no longer than an hour. Giving it a real deep clean with a good amount of elbow grease costs very little but it can also make a dramatic difference. With the extra time on your hands, go the extra mile and use a grout pen to give any tiled areas a showroom finish.

Perform a full safety check – 60 minutes

You should be staying on top of your property’s safety at numerous times throughout the year but when better than during lockdown.

Create a list of all the devices in your home from electrical to other safety measures. These can include testing smoke, carbon monoxide, and burglar alarms and also checking that the locks on all doors and windows are all working correctly. Make a list of anything that isn’t working, prioritise the task based on the level of danger it presents, and make sure you sort these jobs as soon as you can.

Paint a room – 1 hour 35 minutes

It’s one of the most cliche home improvements but like your furniture, a fresh coat of paint can transform any room. We often say we’re going to repaint a room and then neglect the task due to it being labour intensive, But if you plan to tackle it one room at a time it should take no longer than 20 minutes of prep time, 45 minutes for that first coat and a further half an hour to slap on a second.

Clean out your junk – 2 hours

We’re all guilty of hoarding some form of junk and you probably won’t realise until you have to live with it during lockdown for a month. Whether it’s old clothes, brick-a-brack, old furniture or anything in between, use this time to get rid. Not only will you have more space in your home and attic, in these tough times someone else might benefit from the things you want to get rid of. Double win.

Tackle your garden – 2 hours 30 minutes

Yep, the weather’s turning cold and the days are getting shorter and these aren’t the ideal conditions for garden work. But while you’re stuck at home make the most of the light and clean the patio, mow the lawn, clean, paint and repair your fence panels, trim the bushes, tackle the flower beds, tidy the shed and bring some life to your garden with some winter suitable plants. Not only will it be in a more manageable state come spring, but you’ll probably look forward to getting out of the cold and back on the sofa come the end of it.

Learn a new skill – 8 to 16 hours

Why not put your time to good use and learn something new that will also bring benefit to your home.

If your bathroom deep clean hasn’t cut the mustard you could try re-tiling it yourself. Start by attempting a small area that won’t require the full job to be done if you do give up and with the help of a tile cutter, spacers, grout, adhesive and a spreader, you could transform your bathroom for very little money. It will take around eight minutes to take on a small area so try it now and see how you get one.

Wallpaper is another challenge that many struggle with but once mastered it can be a great way to transform a room without opening a single pot of paint. The average room will take you a while though so it’s worth trying now while time is on your side.

Managing Director of Barrows and Forrester, James Forrester, commented:

“A second stint of lockdown is the perfect opportunity to tackle some of the household jobs that you’ve probably been putting off. Yes, your property will benefit but you might be surprised how good it makes you feel and how much it helps you cope with a month of not very much else.

By setting yourself daily or weekly goals, forming a plan and tackling them one job at a time, you can use your time for more than lounging around waiting for the world to reopen.

What’s more, if you’re currently selling then now is the ideal time to get your house in order. The current stamp duty holiday has caused a huge spike in buyer demand and as a result, homes are going under offer very quickly. So it’s better to get these improvements done and dusted now as they could well make the difference when it comes to securing a sale.”

Task
Average time to complete
Approx time (mins)
Potential savings
Links
Silence creaky floors
10 mins per board

Average of 3 boards

= 30 mins

30
> Handyman = ave £20-30 per hour
link
link
Give your old furniture new life
Around 10 mins to rub down and prep

Then 30 mins to paint

= 40 mins

40
> Carpenter = ave £27 per hour
link
link
Fix squeaky hinges / lubricate hinges
5 mins per hinge

Average of 10 hinges

= 50 mins

50
> Handyman = ave £20-30 per hour > Joiner = ave £27 per hour
link
link
link
Deep clean your bathroom
Approx 1h (depending on waiting time for cleaning products etc)

= 60 mins

60
> Cleaner = ave £19 per hour
link
link
link
Perform a full safety check
Approx 1h depending on number of items on checklist

= 60 mins

60
> Handyman = ave £20-30 per hour
link
link
Refresh or even add some colour to your rooms
Around 20 mins to prepare

Approx 45 mins for initial paint coat

Then 30 mins for second paint coat

= 95 mins

95
> Painter / decorator = ave £24 per hour
link
link
link
Clean out junk – and create space
Approx 2 hours depending on amount and size of space

= 120 mins

120
> Junk and waste collection from £30-£40
link
Tidy your garden
Approx 2-3 hours work depending on garden / outdoor area size

= 150 mins

150
> Gardener = ave £29 per hour
link
link
Try something new – tiling!
Depending on area size

Small area – approx half a day or one days work – around 8 hours = 480 mins

480
> Average cost = £50 per sq metre
link
Redecorate a room with wallpaper
Depending on room size – good condition walls – small to medium room

Approx 2 to 3 days

= 2 days work – around 16 hours = 960 mins

960
> Strip wallpaper = £200 per room

> Wallpapering = £400 per room

link
link
link

Sign Up For Daily Newsletter

Be keep up! Get the latest breaking news delivered straight to your inbox.

By signing up, you agree to our Terms of Use and acknowledge the data practices in our Privacy Policy. You may unsubscribe at any time.
Start Your Business November 9, 2020
Share this Article
Twitter LinkedIn Reddit Email Copy Link
  • RSS
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Privacy Policy
  • Contact
  • Licensing
  • SEO

Get the latest from us delivered straight to your inbox

Start Your Business Magazine: The Ultimate Business Start Up Guide provides information advice and guidance for entrepreneurs and new business start ups. Get the latest from us delivered directly to your inbox.

Our website stores cookies on your computer. They allow us to remember you and help personalize your experience with our site..

Read our privacy policy for more information.

Copyright 2023 Gambit Interactive Media Limited – All Rights Reserved.

Manage Cookie Consent
We use technologies like cookies to store and/or access device information. Cookies are used for ads personalisation We do this to improve browsing experience as well as show personalized ads. Consenting to these technologies will allow us to process data such as browsing behavior or unique IDs on this site. Not consenting or withdrawing consent, may adversely affect certain features and functions.
Functional Always active
The technical storage or access is strictly necessary for the legitimate purpose of enabling the use of a specific service explicitly requested by the subscriber or user, or for the sole purpose of carrying out the transmission of a communication over an electronic communications network.
Preferences
The technical storage or access is necessary for the legitimate purpose of storing preferences that are not requested by the subscriber or user.
Statistics
The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for statistical purposes. The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for anonymous statistical purposes. Without a subpoena, voluntary compliance on the part of your Internet Service Provider, or additional records from a third party, information stored or retrieved for this purpose alone cannot usually be used to identify you.
Marketing
The technical storage or access is required to create user profiles to send advertising, or to track the user on a website or across several websites for similar marketing purposes.
Manage options Manage services Manage {vendor_count} vendors Read more about these purposes
View preferences
{title} {title} {title}
Go to mobile version
Welcome Back!

Sign in to your account

Lost your password?