Do you own your own home? If so, congratulations – you are living the American dream. But some of us are happier with this accomplishment than others.

If you have an older home, you may feel like you’re spending more time making updates and repairs than you are actually enjoying it. Here are 10 home improvement tips you can do inside and out in 30 minutes or less that will have an impact not only on your home’s value, but your enjoyment as well.

1. Seal leaky windows and doors with caulk and/or weather stripping.

2. Pull out your old furnace filter, vacuum the intake grill and replace your filter regularly.

3. Repair driveway cracks to protect the surface. Before winter sets in, be sure to buy some inexpensive concrete or asphalt caulk and repair small cracks in the driveway or sidewalk.

4. Clean out those gutters of leaves and debris. This is especially important if you live in a northern climate. It will help prevent ice dams.

5. Plant bulbs in the spring and fall so you will have flowers to look forward to during changes of season.

6. Invest in a low pressure paint sprayer that will allow you to paint a room, door or trim quickly and easily.

7. Replace old warped doors with new ones. This repair job is typically just a matter of removing the bolts and switching out the doors.

If you don’t consider yourself much of a handyman, consider the following home repair tips on how to asthetically improve the appearance of your home. Further suggestions can be found at Bankrate.com.

8. Do you have walls that are pretty banged up? If it’s not in your budget to do drywall repair, just buy a large rug and hang it on the wall. Not only will it hide the dings, but change the look and feel of the room as well.

9. Are the hallways and some of the rooms in your home smaller than you wish they were? A good way to expand a small space, is to hang up mirrors. It will take you longer to go to the store to purchase them than it will to hang them on the walls.

10. Change up your hardware. Switching out knobs on cabinets and doors can change the look and feel of your home in an instant. Not only is it easy to do, it’s inexpensive as well.

Looking for more ideas? Check out the extensive video library on the diy network’s website, or head to your library for home repair books.

Illustration by Alesha Bailey

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