New Year's Resolutions for Your Home

We always seem to set goals for ourselves… but what about our homes? This year, whether you are selling or not, try these home resolutions, and try to stick to them!

Streamline the stuff

One of the best ways to feel better about the look of your home is to clear the clutter. Most of us accumulate a ton of unnecessary items, and without regular purging, cabinets and drawers get jam-packed and it becomes hard to find the things you need. This year make a resolution to go through every room in your house and clearing anything that you don't use, wear or love. Where possible, donate it to charity. After that, think twice about what you bring in to your home.

Reduce your carbon footprint

The best place to start is by cutting your energy usage in your home. Some easy ways to accomplish this is to switch off the lights when you leave a room, wait for the dishwasher or washing machine to be full before you run them and install LED bulbs and low-flow showerheads. Outside, you can water your yard less and give composting a try, your garden will thank you!

Ensure it is safe

We are sure you home is beautiful, but more importantly, it needs to be safe. There are a few things that every homeowner should do to ensure their home will keep their families safe and sound.

Make sure you install a carbon monoxide detector on every bedroom floor in addition to fire detectors. This is a small investment, but an important safeguard. Also, make sure your bathrooms and attics aren't vented to the outside (or the vents are covered over with shingles.) This problem makes you a prime candidate for mold issues. Finally, watch out for dryer lint. Most people neglect to clean the vents and ducts behind the dryer and although lint may seem innocent, but it's highly combustible and a leading cause of house fires.

Work out a weekly cleaning schedule

Keeping the mess under control on a daily, and weekly, basis helps keep your home looking and feeling beautiful. Every night, ensure your dishes go in the dishwasher, dirty clothes go in the hamper, and jackets or clean clothes are hung in the closet. Bringing everything back to its assigned place makes it easier to keep a clean home. Each week, have all your cleaning supplies organized and in an easy to access location. Looking for supplies is enough to slow anyone down! Also, focus on one kind of cleaning at a time. For example wipe down fingerprints on all of the cabinets before moving on to spraying and wiping counters. Then move on to windows and mirrors and when that’s done move on to sweeping and then mopping floors.