Top 10 Tools and Equipment Every Home Owner Should Have

Whether you own a new Ideal home in Oklahoma City, or you are just looking for a new home right now, there are several items that come in handy once you move in. Start working on this collection of tools and workshop items and you will save yourself a bundle when it comes to do-it-yourself projects around the house. Once you become a home owner you get the joy of knowing it’s all yours to paint and decorate as you want. There are some great things you can do with your own home that you never did when you were a renter. Some are fun, and some are a necessity. Here are our top 10 suggested tools and equipment and their suggested uses. Adjustable Ladder – This tall drink of water will become your friend for a variety of projects. Whether it’s for adding those decorative boarders in the kitchen or baby’s room, painting tall walls, cleaning gutters, or changing smoke detector batteries, you can never go wrong with an adjustable ladder. Laser Level or Any Level – If you know you will be hanging pictures, tapestries, shelves, or anything else to add depth and dimension to your rooms then a laser level, or any level really, is your friend. A laser level will really help you when you are looking at putting up shelves, or a formation of pictures on one wall. Levels are never a one and done prospect. You will end up walking through your house on occasion with level in hand fixing all the wall art. Electric Screwdriver – Lets face it, you can get hand fatigue using a regular Philips head or flat head screwdriver. For the myriad of projects that crop up around the house from assembling furniture to keeping things in working order, consider an electric screwdriver with a variety of sized bits to assist with any project. It’s more compact too. A box of bits and one main screwdriver vs. all the sizes you may need can live in an easy to grab location. Tape Measure – Every home should have at least 3…because most of the time you can’t remember where you put it. In a new home you will endlessly be measuring walls for new furniture, distance across a wall to figure out how to arrange the pictures, and a myriad of other things as you do your special planning in your new home. Hammer – Yep! You can make holes in your walls now because they are yours! Hang em’ up. Allen Wrench Set – Also known as Hex keys, these come in handy with just about any build your own furniture out of the box projects, bicycle adjustments, and set screws in faucet bodies. You will come across these little hex fittings in a lot of places and having an Allen Wrench set will really help. Garden Tools – Depending on the size of your lawn, you will probably need a lawn mower. But other things to think about are having garden clippers to trim back bushes and hedges, a spade and a trowel to loosen dirt and pull up weeds, a rake for leaves and debris, and depending on your climate, a snow shovel (or blower). These basics will go a long way in lawn and garden maintenance year around. Don’t forget the garden gloves. An identification chart of poison oak, ivy, and sumac will save a lot of heart ache (and scratching) later. Utility Knife – This little handy tool is great! From breaking down boxes for recycle, slicing through duct tape, and a variety of other uses, a utility knife is a handy item to have in your arsenal. Extension Cords – Christmas. Need we say more? But truly you can never have too many extension cords, and having a 100 foot extension cord is very helpful if you are doing outdoor projects and need to plug something in. Safety Equipment – If you are going to take on detailed products that involve sawing, prodding, chemical compounds, or breaking up something that will cause debris to fly - make sure you have safety goggles and a dust mask. If you are using loud noisy power tools consider having ear plugs or ear muffs to muffle the sound and save your ears, and finally if you are going to be handling heavy equipment and materials make sure to use gloves. Always have closed toed shoes on when working on projects. Stubbing a toe, dropping something on a foot, or worse is not worth the risk. Be smart about taking on common maintenance and projects around the home. These 10 tips will help make home maintenance and upkeep easy. There are lots of do it yourself websites that will help you save money on home projects.