9 DIY Summer Projects
I’ve compiled a list of simple and cost-effective summer projects you can do around the house and yard to help make the most of your time at home while preparing for the seasons ahead.
1. Organize a garage/yard sale
No summer project list would be complete without a task to sift through your home’s clutter and organize a garage or yard sale. While you’re compiling items to be sold, identify which items can be donated to declutter your home most effectively.
2. Upgrade your front entry
Your home’s front entry or porch can make a lasting impression. Make a statement with a boldly colored front door, look for stylish house numbers, and add classic front porch elements like a sitting bench or swing for ultimate comfort.
3. Fix your fence
Whether your fence is in need of a simple wash, a new sealant or stain, or structural repair, July is high time to get this work done and extend the life of your fence. Power washers are a helpful tool in getting your fence clean before re-staining. Let the fence dry for one to two days before applying the stain.
4. Build a firewood shed
It’s best to prepare for winter ahead of time. In summer, conditions are perfect to build a firewood shed to keep your firewood dry throughout the fall and winter. Build a simple enclosure with an open front. This lets air pass through easily, drying the wood quickly.
5. Repaint kitchen cabinets
A fitting summer project in the kitchen, repainting your cabinets brings new life into the space without the hefty price tag of a full-scale renovation. For a complete refresh, repaint the hardware too, or replace them to match the new cabinet color.
6. Exterior painting
Giving the outside of your home a fresh coat of paint does wonders for its curb appeal. July is a great time to get outside and paint, as the chances for rain are lower than other months.
7. Install a window air conditioner
7. Install a window air conditioner
Depending on your local climate, the hottest time of year is either already here or fast approaching. If you don’t have central air, install a window AC unit to enjoy the time you spend indoors comfortably. Installation is typically a two-person job, so be sure to have help ready when it comes time to install.
8. Insulate your basement/crawl space
8. Insulate your basement
/crawl space
Although not the most glamorous of all summer projects, taking time to insulate your basement or crawl space during summer will pay off come winter. Because it may take multiple trips to properly install the insulation, the summer weather makes for more ideal conditions to accomplish the task.
9. Build a firepit
Common firepit materials include brick, stone, or cinder blocks. Outline your firepit before you start digging. Once the hole is dug six to eight inches deep, fill in the hole with gravel until it is level with the ground. Choose your materials, fix the stones into the ground, compact them together, and enjoy nights by the fire under the stars. Check for local burn bans or regulations.
review your checklist: At summer’s end, go over your DIY to-do list to see how much you’ve accomplished and if there was anything you missed. Transfer applicable projects to next season.
Summer Salad Recipe
What’s better than a healthy, tasty summer salad? This grilled vegetable salad recipe is the perfect dish for a hot day.
Instructions
Place 4 halved Roma tomatoes, 2 halved zucchinis, 1 halved yellow sweet pepper, and 1 red onion sliced into wedges in a plastic bag
Pour your favorite balsamic vinaigrette into the bag and seal it
Marinate for 30 minutes at room temperature
Drain the vegetables, keeping the vinaigrette in the bag
Grill zucchinis, sweet pepper, and onion uncovered until browned and tender
Grill tomatoes skin side down until the skin begins to char
Move the veggies onto a cutting board to cool
Brush 8 slices of a French-style baguette with 2 tablespoons of olive oil
Grill bread until crispy, rotating every minute
Combine 1 package of salad greens and ¼ cup fresh basil in a large bowl
Add the vinaigrette from the bag and mix
Chop the vegetables into bite-sized pieces
Place veggies on top of salad greens
Serve with grilled baguette slices
Bon appétit!
Home Pricing Guide
Here are the average three-bedroom home sale prices in some of the neighborhoods served by Windermere. Data from November 1, 2020 to April 30, 2021.
Alameda
Alamo
Albany
Alpine
Anaheim
Antioch
Bakersfield
Baldwin Park
Beaumont
Berkeley
Big Bear
Big Bear Lake
Blackhawk
Brea
Brentwood
Burbank
Calabasas
Cardiff by the Sea
Carlsbad
Carmel Valley
Carson
Castro Valley
Cathedral City
Chino
Chino Hills
Chula Vista
Clayton
Cloverdale
Concord
Corona
Coronado
Costa Mesa
Covina
Dana Point
Danville
Davis
Del Mar
Desert Hot Springs
Diamond Bar
Discovery Bay
Dublin
El Cajon
El Cerrito
El Sobrante
Encinitas
Escondido
Fairfield
Fallbrook
Folsom
$1,311,000
$1,741,000
$1,546,000
$741,000
$685,000
$506,000
$275,000
$568,000
$419,000
$1,542,000
$472,000
$654,000
$1,621,000
$829,000
$692,000
$1,100,000
$2,450,000
$1,788,000
$1,085,000
$1,440,000
$612,000
$998,000
$436,000
$589,000
$824,000
$638,000
$896,000
$440,000
$718,000
$617,000
$1,876,000
$1,080,000
$652,000
$1,853,000
$1,318,000
$688,000
$2,190,000
$298,000
$771,000
$793,000
$1,092,000
$639,000
$1,268,000
$677,000
$1,591,000
$662,000
$501,000
$689,000
$575,000
Fort Bragg
Fresno
Fullerton
Gilroy
Granite Bay
Hacienda Heights
Hayward
Hollywood
Huntington Beach
Imperial Beach
Indian Wells
Indio
Irvine
La Canada
Flintridge
La Jolla
La Mesa
La Quinta
La Verne
Lafayette
Laguna Beach
Laguna Niguel
Lake Arrowhead
Lake Elsinore
Lakeside
Livermore
Lodi
Long Beach
Loomis
Manteca
Martinez
Merced
Modesto
Monterey
Moraga
Moreno Valley
Morgan Hill
Murrieta
Napa
National City
Northridge
Novato
Oakland
Oakley
Oceanside
Ontario
Orinda
Palm Desert
Palm Springs
Palo Alto
$805,000
$340,000
$795,000
$856,000
$861,000
$665,000
$816,000
$792,000
$1,172,000
$761,000
$1,001,000
$418,000
$1,077,000
$1,789,000
$2,176,000
$722,000
$722,000
$761,000
$1,530,000
$2,454,000
$1,141,000
$683,000
$421,000
$627,000
$939,000
$463,000
$870,000
$758,000
$479,000
$742,000
$284,000
$389,000
$1,150,000
$1,385,000
$422,000
$1,032,000
$497,000
$986,000
$549,000
$851,000
$763,000
$1,072,000
$570,000
$639,000
$507,000
$1,506,000
$635,000
$906,000
$2,898,000
Pasadena
Paso Robles
Piedmont
Pinole
Pleasant Hill
Pleasanton
Pomona
Poway
Rancho Bernardo
Rancho Cordova
Rancho Cucamonga
Rancho Mirage
Rancho Santa Fe
Redding
Redlands
Richmond
Riverside
Rocklin
Roseville
Rowland Heights
San Bernardino
San Clemente
San Diego
San Dimas
San Fernando
San Francisco
San Jose
San Leandro
San Lorenzo
San Mateo
San Ramon
Sacramento
Salinas
Santa Clara
Santa Rosa
Santee
Solana Beach
Sonoma
Spring Valley
Stockton
Temecula
Tustin
Ukiah
Vacaville
Vista
Walnut
Walnut Creek
Whittier
Yucca Valley
$1,096,000
$520,000
$2,346,000
$682,000
$922,000
$1,261,000
$519,000
$792,000
$861,000
$429,000
$656,000
$803,000
$2,194,000
$380,000
$579,000
$633,000
$545,000
$547,000
$521,000
$668,000
$380,000
$1,405,000
$845,000
$719,000
$670,000
$1,546,000
$1,105,000
$836,000
$782,000
$1,626,000
$1,216,000
$451,000
$655,000
$1,442,000
$732,000
$626,000
$2,530,000
$924,000
$592,000
$381,000
$693,000
$886,000
$417,000
$522,000
$669,000
$832,000
$1,247,000
$669,000
$349,000
Arvada
Aurora
Boulder
Castle Pines
Castle Rock
Centennial
Cherry Hills Village
$558,000
$431,000
$1,145,000
$697,000
$533,000
$527,000
$2,486,000
Denver
Englewood
Evergreen
Fort Collins
Golden
Greenwood Village
Highlands Ranch
$573,000
$498,000
$847,000
$527,000
$740,000
$1,438,000
$545,000
Lakewood
Littleton
Lone Tree
Parker
Thornton
Westminster
Windsor
$516,000
$562,000
$1,028,000
$540,000
$443,000
$462,000
$447,000
Big Island
Hilo
Kohala Coast
Kona
Puna
$443,000
$886,000
$1,062,000
$298,000
Maui
Haiku
Kahului
Kihei
Lahaina
Wailea/Makena
Wailuku
$1,162,000
$748,000
$1,096,000
$1,924,000
$3,775,000
$764,000
Boise
Caldwell
Coeur d’Alene
Eagle
Grangeville
$523,000
$363,000
$577,000
$884,000
$304,000
Hayden
Lewiston
Meridian
Moscow
Nampa
$548,000
$292,000
$492,000
$329,000
$400,000
Post Falls
$419,000
Sun Valley
Hailey
Ketchum
$525,000
$1,725,000
Bozeman
Hamilton
Helena
Missoula
$753,000
$279,000
$365,000
$447,000
Boulder City
Henderson
Las Vegas
North Las Vegas
$439,000
$424,000
$358,000
$319,000
Albany
Ashland
Astoria
Beaverton/
Sunset Corridor
Bend
Canby
Cannon Beach
Cascade Locks
Clatskanie
Corvallis
Cottage Grove
Creswell
Dallas
Eagle Point
Eugene
Florence
Gearhart
Gleneden Beach
$348,000
$556,000
$433,000
$550,000
$598,000
$467,000
$1,127,000
$254,000
$366,000
$477,000
$323,000
$385,000
$462,000
$383,000
$409,000
$394,000
$546,000
$865,000
Grants Pass
Gresham
Happy Valley
Hermiston
Hillsboro
Hood River
Jacksonville
Klamath Falls
Lake Oswego
Lebanon
Lincoln City
McMinnville
Medford
Milton-Freewater
Molalla
Monmouth
Newberg
Newport/Seal Rock
$419,000
$417,000
$570,000
$291,000
$448,000
$654,000
$644,000
$254,000
$826,000
$340,000
$473,000
$412,000
$369,000
$238,000
$418,000
$389,000
$468,000
$474,000
Portland
North
Northeast
Southeast
West
$510,000
$525,000
$476,000
$644,000
Prineville
Redmond
Rogue River
St. Helens
Salem
Sandy
Scappoose
Springfield
The Dalles
Tigard
Tualatin
Vida
Warrenton
Wilsonville
$355,000
$457,000
$419,000
$350,000
$366,000
$481,000
$424,000
$370,000
$349,000
$530,000
$531,000
$259,000
$440,000
$546,000
Bountiful
Coalville
Layton
$417,000
$398,000
$403,000
Midvale
Orem
Park City
$509,000
$391,000
$1,556,000
Provo
Salt Lake City
West Valley City
$393,000
$557,000
$398,000
Aberdeen
Allyn
Anacortes
Arlington
Auburn
Bainbridge Island
Belfair
Bellevue
Bellingham
Bingen/White Salm.
Birch Bay/Blaine
Bonney Lake
Bothell
Bremerton
Brinnon
Burien
Camano Island
Camas
Cathlamet
Centralia
Chelan
Chewelah
Clarkston
Cle Elum
Colville
Deer Park
DuPont
Edmonds
Ellensburg
Entiat
Enumclaw
Ephrata
Everett
Federal Way
Ferndale
Gig Harbor
Goldendale
Granite Falls
Issaquah
$232,000
$474,000
$653,000
$522,000
$508,000
$1,206,000
$439,000
$1,282,000
$589,000
$710,000
$526,000
$471,000
$731,000
$423,000
$269,000
$597,000
$641,000
$531,000
$386,000
$336,000
$679,000
$224,000
$279,000
$747,000
$231,000
$397,000
$437,000
$777,000
$440,000
$474,000
$511,000
$237,000
$553,000
$484,000
$517,000
$696,000
$316,000
$490,000
$1,004,000
Kelso
Kenmore
Kent
Kettle Falls
Kingston
Kirkland
Lake Forest Park
Lake Stevens
Lake Tapps
Lakewood
Leavenworth
Liberty Lake
Long Beach
Longview
Lopez Island
Lynden
Lynnwood
Maple Valley
Marysville
Mazama
Mercer Island
Mill Creek
Monroe
Moses Lake
Mount Vernon
MountLake Terrace
Mukilteo
Newcastle
Normandy Park
Ocean Shores
Olympia
Omak/Okanogan
Orcas Island
Packwood
Port Angeles
Port Ludlow
Port Orchard
Port Townsend
Poulsbo
$323,000
$900,000
$515,000
$249,000
$614,000
$1,165,000
$805,000
$564,000
$726,000
$444,000
$740,000
$458,000
$357,000
$348,000
$1,086,000
$470,000
$645,000
$630,000
$476,000
$717,000
$1,803,000
$769,000
$598,000
$243,000
$498,000
$607,000
$815,000
$876,000
$868,000
$358,000
$470,000
$245,000
$1,340,000
$406,000
$372,000
$590,000
$457,000
$516,000
$567,000
Prosser
Pullman
Puyallup
Quincy
Redmond
Renton
Republic
Sammamish
$366,000
$320,000
$446,000
$315,000
$1,043,000
$650,000
$225,000
$1,244,000
Seattle
North
Northwest
West
Downtown/Central
Southeast
$910,000
$1,048,000
$826,000
$1,241,000
$791,000
Sedro Woolley
Sequim
Shelton
Shoreline
Silverdale
Snohomish
Spokane
Spokane Valley
Stanwood
Stevenson
Sumner
Tacoma
Tri-Cities
Twisp
University Place
Vancouver
Vashon
Walla Walla
Wenatchee
Westport
Whidbey Island
Winthrop
Woodinville
Yakima
Yelm
$445,000
$502,000
$356,000
$705,000
$502,000
$686,000
$330,000
$350,000
$574,000
$581,000
$474,000
$436,000
$351,000
$542,000
$544,000
$449,000
$946,000
$357,000
$419,000
$439,000
$571,000
$604,000
$1,034,000
$320,000
$403,000
