RE/MAX Housing suggest eight tools every homeowner should own. Maintenance on every home is inevitable. Whether you are first time homeowner or have owned a home for years, making sure you have some of these simple, inexpensive tools will surely make your life a little bit easier!

1. SCREWDRIVERS

Duh, right? Just make sure you both a Flathead and a Phillips-head in various sizes. They are wonderful to have around to use for tightening a loose fixture or putting together new furniture.

2. HAMMER

You would be surprised how many things you could use a hammer for. They are inexpensive and an absolute staple for home fixings! Make sure you have one with the claw head for nail removal, too.

3. UTILITY KNIFE

More often times than not you think you don’t need one, until you actually NEED one. For those pesky boxes or other materials that you can’t seem to open with dull scissors.

4. WALL LEVEL

Another tool you don’t think to purchase when at the store, yet it seems completely justifiable! New homeowners or not, a wall level is ideal when hanging things on your walls or putting together furniture pieces.

5. MEASURING TAPE

Have you ever moved that really heavy desk or couch to the other side of your room and realize it just doesn’t fit? Measure it beforehand so you aren’t stuck moving furniture around and around. There are tons of different sizes and shapes, but a standard 35 foot will do just the trick (or even a smaller 12 foot measuring tape).

6. FLASHLIGHT

Not only should you have a flashlight for safety reasons, but always making sure it is in the same place for easy finding and has working batteries is important, too. Power outages can happen at any moment and it’s important to be prepared. They also help with house fixings in dark places or trying to find that bolt that rolled under the refrigerator.

7. WRENCH AND PLIERS

Start with an adjustable wrench first for tightening of sinks and toilets especially. The most popular sizes seem to be six-, eight- or 10-inch. Pliers are ideal for many maintenance fixes around the home and the ones with serrated jaws help grip any object firmly.

8. TOOLBOX

Of course you will need something to store the above 7 tools in (depending on where you decided to store your flashlight). Often times you can find a toolbox already stocked with the above items, or you can buy each part separately.

Small fixes around the house with simple tools can help the longevity of your appliances and home fixtures, as well as eliminate further damages ultimately costing you more money in the future.

Original blog taken from RE/MAX Blog