“It Changed Everything For The Better”: People Are Sharing The Reaaally Affordable Home Projects That Made Their Daily Lives So Much Better

I've written a lot about the minor purchases and projects done by homeowners that made major differences in their everyday lives. All of them are smart, low-cost ways to enhance your space on a budget — but some are game-changing. Of the hundreds and hundreds (and hundreds) of ideas I've read, these are the very best ones, according to the Redditors and BuzzFeed Community members who now swear by them.

1."I installed Wi-Fi plugs in every room of the house. I live in a two-story townhouse, and there is nothing worse than getting comfortable in bed only to realize you didn't turn a light off downstairs. Now, I say 'goodnight,' and everything is off. Those lights were the catalyst for so many other smart devices in my home."

2."I spent $50 per closet to get the hardware that would allow me to convert bi-fold doors into French doors. They open so much wider and quieter now, and after putting the new hardware on, it truly feels like I have fancy closets."

3."Finally installing a bidet. For less wipe, it's worth the hype."

4."We have kids who, I swear to god, would leave the bathroom fan on 24 hours a day if they could. We took out the traditional 'on or off' switch that was hooked up to the bathroom fan and installed a timer switch in its place. Now, they shower and press the '30 minutes' button, and it shuts off automatically 30 minutes later."

5."We bought remote-controlled LED rope lighting for the above-cabinet lighting. It can turn multiple colors, too, which is nice for different holidays."

6."I ordered a vinyl, textured adhesive backsplash instead of tiles when I bought my apartment. Much cheaper, and nobody realized it wasn't tile until I told them. It was supposed to be a temporary solution until I saved some money, but I like it so much I still haven't changed it three years later."

7."My kid will draw on the walls in marker until she gets tired, goes to bed, and does it all again in the morning. I spent an hour painting one of the walls in her bedroom with chalkboard paint for $40, invested in some liquid chalk (she doesn't like the 'feeling' of regular chalk), and it's become her favorite thing in the entire world."

8."Instead of paying for new cabinet door pulls, I spray painted our current gold ones matte black on top of a spare piece of cardboard. It cost $4 and changed everything."

9."Even though my stove is positioned next to an exterior wall, it took us years to realize that it wasn't vented to the outside; I always assumed that was a given, but apparently, I was wrong. We hired a guy to cut a hole in the wall effectively and install a vented range hood, and oh my god, I could light a steak on fire and burn it to a crisp, and there would be no smoke in my kitchen. Highly recommend!"

10."I installed pull-out shelves for all my bottom cabinet shelves. It is so much easier to get a pot or anything else from the back rather than having to take out everything in front just to get what you're looking for. Putting the pot back once you're finished is much easier, too. The same can be said for canned goods or anything else you store on a bottom shelf."

11."Do some thinking on which non-windowed rooms you walk into the most over the course of a day and buy motion-sensing light switches. I added one to the bathroom, as well as another to my main bedroom's closet. Those rooms are always so dark that the auto-switches have been a total blessing."

12."The minute I bought and installed a $50 rain shower head — with a renter-friendly handheld spray attachment, no tools required — was the minute my life changed for the better. I'm no plumber, and all it took was about 30 minutes of work and a few YouTube videos, though I'm pretty sure I could do it in 10 minutes now with any new showerhead."

13."Adding a keypad lock to my front door. No more keys, plus I can have codes for any friends or family who visit and stay over, along with notifications on my phone every time the door unlocks."

14."When I first moved into my home, my backyard was an absolute catastrophe; the grass everywhere was dying from the full sun, and I didn't want to just seed a new lawn if it would die after all that effort. I thought about landscaping everything, but it would've easily cost $10k. Finally, I decided to seed a mini wildflower meadow, and my god, it was the best decision! The flowers are drought resistant, come back year after year, and the pollinators are so happy; we're constantly being visited by butterflies."

15."I changed my light switches from 'flips' to 'paddles.' Having all of them be brand new and the same color and type made a huge difference and probably cost around $50 or less. Even better, it wasn't nearly as hard as I was expecting."

16."We DIYed a storm door on the outside of the entry into our kitchen. In the summer, our kitchen gets shockingly hot due to poor airflow, so we're always choosing between opening that door and letting our house become infested with bugs and mosquitos or keeping it closed and sweating through all of our clothes. Not anymore! For just about $200 and an afternoon of work, cooking in the summer is enjoyable again."

17."The best thing we ever installed in our home was the touch-operated faucet in our kitchen. It's such a life-changer."

18."I got a set of modern brushed steel adhesive wall hooks for $10. I stuck one in the kitchen by the sink and one in the bathroom. Now when I take my rings off to cook or shower, I have a place to put them that isn't susceptible to me knocking into them and sending them down the drain. I have no idea why it didn't occur to me to do this years ago!"

19."Replacing the knobs and hinges on our doors from the original, '80s peeling brass to a more modern black matte made a massive difference. Even though we'll eventually have to refinish the doors themselves, it's a great Band-Aid until we get around to it!"

20."Doing something as simple as installing a dimmer switch in my bathroom changed my life, so I don't have to deal with bright light first thing in the morning anymore!"

21."I quickly installed Wi-Fi dimmable and color-changing lightbulbs for the outside of the house. I got a two-pack for $20. I have a schedule set so they turn on and off automatically daily. And I can even set special colors or even strobe effects for the holidays. I love them."

22."When we moved into our house, we slowly realized that every door looked dull and ugly. Turns out they were all painted with matte white ceiling paint (??), which I didn't realize was a big no-no when it comes to doors and trim! (For what it's worth, semi-gloss or even gloss if what you want.) We took one Saturday to re-paint the doors with the correct $35 gallon of paint, and it made a difference instantly."

23."Adding a power strip for every inaccessible power outlet hidden behind furniture. No more bending, fumbling, reaching, or moving furniture just to plug and unplug anything — and less than $10 a strip."

24."Right now, I'm most happy with the cheap water sensors I added to areas where leaks could go unnoticed. I only had one that I got for free and tossed it under the sink, never thinking about it. Last week, I got a notification on my phone that there was a leak and assumed the thing was acting up. Nope, the garbage disposal failed during a dishwasher cycle. Caught it early enough that no damage resulted."

25."The $25 it costs to buy those garage door magnets, just to make it look fancier, is the best money I've ever spent."

26."We installed a pair of motion-sensing 75-watt bulbs in the carport and just leave the power on in there all the time. If it's dark and you pull in or walk out, they pop on and stay on until 30 seconds go by without motion."

If you're a homeowner (or renter), what's the minimal-cost home project you completed that improved your space or solved a super annoying problem? Tell us what you did and why it worked in the comments below, or feel free to submit using this anonymous form. We may feature your responses in an upcoming BuzzFeed Community post.

Note: Some submissions have been edited for length and/or clarity.