Cabinet Rollouts:

No project will add more convenience and organization to your home, short of moving and buying a bigger one. Rollouts actually steal some of your cabinet space, but they make every inch accessible, so the trade-off is well worth it. This is especially true for low cabinets where the stuff in back is essentially gone for good. You can build them for your kitchen, bath, even your workshop and garage, and in a weekend you could build a bunch. Rollouts give you access to everything in your cabinets, so no more struggling to find what you need on a jumbled, dark shelf!

Vinyl Composition Tile:

How can you beat a flooring that’s cheap, easy to install and almost bombproof? If you can trowel on adhesive, you can lay vinyl composition tile (VCT). It comes in interesting (though somewhat old-fashioned) colors that you can use to create checkerboard patterns, borders and whatnot. VCT is fantastic for easy cleanup and holding it’s appearance. If you damage one tile, just pull it up and put in a new one. There’s a reason this stuff is standard-issue in schools and hospitals. It doesn’t hold a shine like modern “no-wax” vinyl, but if you like a matte finish, it’s perfect.

High Garage Shelf:

Most people need more storage space in their garage. And often you can find that space up near the ceiling, all the way around the garage. Just put a shelf there, and you can store all sorts of fairly lighter items like holiday decorations, seasonal clothes, sports gear, etc. You can make the shelves aesthetically pleasing out of stained plywood with solid wood edging, or make them functional out of 2x2s and inexpensive plywood. If you need to support the edge of a long shelf, screw eye bolts into the shelf and a truss in the ceiling, and connect them with lightweight chain.

Motion Detector Lights:

Everyone knows motion detector lights are good for outdoor security, but they’re great indoors, too. Put one on a laundry room light, so it goes on automatically when you enter with your hands full (and goes off automatically, too). Put one on the switch in a room that you don’t go into much, like a spare bedroom, and it’ll guarantee that the light never gets left on. My favorite use: lighting up dark stairways, making them much safer. The lighting only takes two minutes to install, and could save you or someone you love from a trip to the emergency room.

An Easy Outdoor Bench:

Just about everyone can use a small outdoor bench, and you can make one in half a day or so. The design of this inexpensive wooden bench uses only two boards and is a great project to do with a youngster.