I know from the comments and emails that I get that many of my readers are short on two things – time and spare cash. These days we are all busy. There is just so much going on. Many of us are balancing work with family obligations, as well as trying to find time to stay fit and take care of ourselves properly.

For many families, cash flow is a big issue. Stagnant or falling wages combined with less job security and rising prices means that the majority of us struggle to make ends meets.

It was while pondering this that I came up with the idea for this post. We all like to keep our homes looking nice. Doing so makes them a more pleasant place to live and helps our properties to retain their value. Realising this, I have put together a few decorating ideas that can be done on a low budget, and only require a few hours for two people to complete.

Replace a floor in an afternoon

If you need new floors, without a doubt, laminate flooring is well worth considering. It looks fantastic and provided you buy the right grade for the job, it will look good for many years.

You can buy it for very little money from places like the Discount Flooring Depot, who offer fast delivery, a full guarantee and advice about laying and maintaining their flooring products. The fact all you need to do is to click it together means it is super fast to lay. Of course, your first room will be the trickiest, but once you get the routine down you will easily be able to do the rest in no time at all.

Paint a room in a few hours

Provided you are organised and prepare as much as possible in advance two people can easily paint even a large room in a morning. There are dozens of videos on YouTube that claim to show you how to do it in an hour. Having watched a few, I am a bit sceptical about those claims. However, they still offer sound advice that you can use to speed up your painting efforts and get the job done faster. This one is particularly good. Just click the link to watch it.

Break jobs down into short chunks

A classic mistake we all make is trying to do everything at once. This approach soon wears you out and leaves you feeling disheartened. For most people, a far better approach is to break the job down into manageable chunks. It is far easier to come home from work and mask up the room one evening, then finish the job off by painting it at the weekend.

Let others help

The saying many hands make light work is true. Things always go faster when you work together. Decorating tasks are more fun when you do them in that way. In addition, when you decorate as a family, you end up enjoying each other’s company and chatting about things more.