5 Projects to Work On at Home Right Now

Repaint a Door

Many of us probably have an extra can or two of paint lying around, so why not put it to use? Consider repainting a front or interior door in a contrasting color for a big impact. You'll be surprised to see what a dramatic difference a freshly painted door makes, especially on a front door. You can also use a spare gallon of paint to give an old piece of furniture a modern makeover or finally paint that accent wall you've been thinking about for a while.

With small containers of leftover paint, you can touch up scuffed paint and trim around your home. It's amazing how a fresh coat of paint can make your entire home look instantly cleaner.

Begin Weeding Early

Start by clearing off the lawn and removing any branches or debris that have accumulated over the winter. Then, check for weeds in the lawn and garden beds.

Grab a specially designed metal weed scraper or a sturdy brush with metal bristles to deal with pesky weeds that grow between patio pavers or bricks. Sometimes the tedious task of weeding can actually feel cathartic.

You can also mix a homemade and natural weed-killing solution with household products like vinegar, Borax, and dish soap. Add your mixture to a spray bottle and shoot your weeds with it.

Plant a Garden

Whether you have a large backyard or just a sunny windowsill, you can start your own home garden. If you have a tight budget, go for perennial plants instead of annuals. And growing your own vegetables can be a potential money saver, too.

Don't have a green thumb? Don't worry, just start with the easiest herbs to grow indoors, like rosemary and mint. Starting a backyard garden for the first time? Begin with our start-a-garden checklist, which will help you consider all of the essentials, from sunlight to the type of soil you have. Then, consult our month-by-month gardening guide for the vegetables to plant all year round. In April, you can start transplanting early-season crops like radishes and spinach.

Hang Artwork or Shelves

Have you been meaning to install a shelf or a piece of art? Us, too. You're ready for this project if you have a basic tool kit (starting with a drill and a level) and the necessary mounting materials. One stylish and budget-friendly option is to install floating shelves.

Have you been stymied by the problem of having too much artwork to hang and not knowing where to begin? If so, one suggestion would be to create a gallery wall. To hang up your art the right way, start by learning to choose the right type of frame.

And whenever you're hanging art, keep the 57 Inch Rule in mind: Galleries and museums tend to hang art so that the center of the piece is at average human eye level. That means the middle of your artwork should be 57 inches above your floor.

Condition Wood Furniture, a Leather Sofa, or a Cast Iron Pot

We know these home maintenance tasks should be completed regularly, yet we often put them off. We're looking at you, dry wood furniture in need of conditioning. You need wood polish for this task, but the time investment is mere minutes. And the payoff is potentially big since you'll be protecting furniture from cracking or warping.

As for your leather sofa, ideally, you've been wiping the leather down once a month with home furniture polish. But experts say you should also condition leather couches with a leather cleaner such as Chamberlain's Leather Milk ($18; amazon.com) twice a year for light-colored leather and once a year for dark-colored leather. No time like the present!

The same goes for that cast iron skillet that should be re-seasoned. This involves using a cloth or paper towel to apply a layer of cooking oil to your skillet, then baking it upside-down in the oven for an hour. You'll thank yourself next time you want to sear a steak for dinner.