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4 Affordable and Relatively Easy Ways to Improve Your Campus Rental

After a year or two of living in the dorms, or commuting back and forth to college from your folks house, you finally have an apartment or rental home near campus. While you are excited to have your own place, you can’t help but notice that your new digs are pretty average looking. Fortunately, there are a variety of things you can do to jazz up your new home that won’t break the bank. For example, check out the following ideas; some you can even take with you when you move:

Change the Shower Head

If your shower head looks like it has seen better days, or perhaps about 20 tenants before you, you might consider switching out the shower head for a new and snazzy model that actually has a nice steady stream of water coming from it. As HGTV notes, head to your local home improvement store and pick out a nice-looking model maybe one with a bunch of settings. Then, when you are ready to move out, simply reattach the original one and take your shower head with you.

Install Security Cameras

A great way to set your mind at ease in your new place is to install security cameras. This way, when you are busy on campus and/or at your job, your home will be monitored 24/7. For example, Lorex offers an HD security camera that is weatherproof and budget-friendly. Unlike other companies that require you to sign up for endless contracts, you can buy Lorex cameras outright and install them around your new apartment or home. The cameras store a large amount of HD security footage that you can access remotely at any time, so if you head back to your folks’ during school vacations you can still check on your college home.

Paint the Walls

Many rentals tend to be painted in fairly neutral colors, like off-white or tan. To help make your new place feel like home, consider adding a fresh coat of paint to at least a couple of the walls. You should definitely check your lease first to see what the rules are about painting, but in many cases the landlords are fine with it if you agree to paint the walls back to their original colors before you move out. Start with an accent wall in the living room and if you like the way it looks, move on to your bedroom and bathroom; you will need to take the time to properly prep and wash the walls, but the end result will be worth it.

Add Throw Rugs

In a perfect world, your landlord should have had the carpets in your rental home professionally cleaned before you moved in. If this didn’t seem to happen, or if the carpets are still stained and torn in some spots, spring for some colorful area rugs. You can use the colorful small rugs to strategically cover high traffic areas of the home, and they also do a great job of hiding scratched hardwood – just be sure to get a slip proof mat for underneath the rug. Like the shower head and the security cameras, you can roll up the rugs and take them with you when you move. As a bonus, some area rugs are machine washable so if you spill your soda or coffee on them, you can take them to a laundromat and clean them up.

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