Americans Spending Time, Money On DIY Home Projects In Pandemic
Some are using their would-be vacation fund to pay for these projects.
I'm willing to bet that you've spent more time at home this year than you have in the past few years combined. Thanks to a lot of our favorite activities being shelved for a good chunk of the year, we've been home. I'll admit, I've enjoyed it. However, I haven't been able to avoid the home projects that I've been putting off any longer. They've just been staring at me.
And it seems like I'm not alone.
A recent survey with the lock company Schlage has found that 53 percent of Americans have done some sort of home improvement project since the pandemic started. Most of those projects include creating a multi-functional space. I can only imagine many of these spaces became designated work/school spaces. Many of us found ourselves in need of a professional and productive area in our home.
Other projects include home theaters (for the hours of Netflix we've been watching), revamping a new eating space (for all of the meals we've been eating at home), and establishing a home gym. Although we have never had gym memberships, my husband and I converted a space in the garage into a home gym. I guess the pandemic made us realize we needed to take better care of ourselves.
The survey also found that people have been using would-be vacation money on these projects. On average, that's around $1,500 going into the home. I would also assume people have used their stimulus checks to invest in these projects.
Home improvement stores have also seen a rise in sales in 2020. Sales at Lowe's actually increased 35.1 percent this year with online orders doubling. Home Depot also reported similar numbers.
Have you done any DIY projects this year? Feel free to send us your before and after photos.