If you spend all day dashing around attending meetings, answering emails and picking the kids up from school, it can be all too easy to overlook that broken door lock, leaky kitchen tap or chipped front gate.

And, according to recent research, if you find yourself putting off repairs and home improvements you're not alone - a survey by Artex has revealed that 20 million homes currently have work that needs attention.

But with two long weekends coming up just calling out for a DIY project, now there's really no excuse not to dig out the toolbox, don some grubby overalls and carry out all those pesky odd jobs around the house.

Interiors journalist Ellie Tenant points out that with Mother Nature offering us no respite from the dreary weather, the upcoming May bank holiday weekend is the perfect opportunity to get stuck into some DIY and spruce up your home.

"You've got an extra day off work, you can get all of the boring chores like laundry done over the weekend and you've got the extra day to get your house all sorted before the summer," she says.

"We're going to have a really busy summer with the Olympics and Jubilee celebrations - you're not going to get anything done then, so seize the day."

While this doesn't mean that should start ripping down walls, tearing up floorboards and embarking on serious renovation work, there's no reason why homeowners can't save themselves a bit of cash by carrying out a range of simple home improvement tasks, from bleeding towel radiators to sanding down banisters.

"There are so many things that you can do in your home that are easy to do and also cheap to do because you're doing it yourself," Ellie adds. "We are as a nation quite nervous sometimes about doing things ourselves, because we think we might mess it up. So I think we need to have the confidence to attempt smaller jobs."