We all make New Years resolutions to exercise, to lose wait, to change habits, but what about your home? Here are some resolutions that will make your home a more beautiful, efficient, clean and green place in the coming year.
Here are our five picks for the best home improvement resolutions for the new year and how to achieve them:
1: Streamline the stuff
One of the best and least expensive ways to feel better about your home is to clear it of clutter. This year resolve to go room-by-room periodically clearing anything that you don’t use, wear or love and donate it to charity. Clear your counters of everything you don’t use on a daily basis. And get ready to breathe a little easier in your own home.
2: Make it safe and sound
There are a few things that every homeowner should do to ensure that they’re not living with a potential health hazard or fire risk. First, check your house for radon. One in every fifteen homes has elevated levels. And with test kits costing as little as $20 at your local hardware store, there’s no reason not to get right on that. Make sure you install a carbon monoxide detector on every bedroom floor in addition to fire detectors. Make sure your house can breathe and vented to outside, otherwise mold potential is greatly elevated.
3: Shrink your bills (and your carbon footprint in the process)
The best place to start is by cutting your energy usage in your home:
Switch off the lights when you leave a room.
Turn off your air conditioner when you leave the house and dial your heater down to 55 degrees at night.
Install compact fluorescent bulbs and low-flow showerheads.
Try drying some of your clothes on the line and wait for the dishwasher or washing machine to be full before you run them.
Turn off your power strips and/or set your home computer to revert to sleep mode when not in use.
Water your yard less. Put in drought-tolerant landscaping
4: Work out a weekly system for keeping your house clean
Daily: Dishes go in the dishwasher every night – no excuses! Dirty clothes go in the hamper and jackets or clean clothes are hung in the closet. Bring everything back to its assigned place.
Weekly: Set up certain schedules for different types of cleaning and keep to those schedules. Sweeping, Mopping, Windows, Laundry etc. choose the best times of the week to get each of these done and enlist other member of the household to help tackle these chores. Stash all cleaning supplies together by each job, accessible, but put away. Make sure you have all the necessary things in stock for each type of job – Costco is a great way to ensure you will have a cleaning stash and not have to run to the store at a moments notice, or be held up by missing a crucial cleaner.
5: Get your place ready for entertaining
Each year most of us vow to spend more time with family and friends. To make you feel like inviting people in, why not give the areas you entertain in a little update?
One easy update that makes your home seem more “finished” is the addition of plants. It will also bring positive energy into your home, and give a different ambience for each room.
Pulling out a new accent color from your existing decor can make the whole room seem fresh. Pick an underused color in the room and add more of it in the form of a new pillow or throw to update your look. A colorful rug or runner can also help anchor your space.