The new year is a good time to review many things around your home. It’s easier to remember to do these things if you choose a time near a holiday to develop the habit. Just knowing it is New Year’s, so you need to do your home maintenance will make remembering it a no-brainer. What kinds of things can you plan for your New Year’s home review?
Safety Check
The beginning of the year is a good time to look around your house and do a safety review. When is the last time you checked your dryer vents? If you check your dryer vents in January, then you should be set for the year. You can mark off something from your to-do list and enjoy your sense of accomplishment. Along with your dryer vents, you can check your chimney to make sure it is clear, and the smoke can be removed from your home. If your bathroom fans are full of lint, they will not be able to vent your bathroom property. Grease and cooking residue can collect on your oven hood. To prevent a potential cooking fire, you want to make sure that the hood is clean, and the fans are working properly. It is also an excellent time to check the batteries for all of your detectors, whether smoke or CO2.
Purge
The beginning of the year is also an excellent time to walk around your home and determine what can be donated or thrown out. You can take the time to clean out your fridge and cupboards to look for expired food or food that your family thought they would eat, but you find that they aren’t. When you look through your food, you can also redo your storage and put the newest food in the back and the oldest food in the front, so then you have less of a chance of your food going bad in the future. You can also keep a running tab of your food storage, so you know when you are running low on staples.
Efficiency
Another review for the beginning of the year is to consider the efficiency of your home. Can you change out your light bulbs to a more energy-efficient kind? Are you noticing that your home is drafty? Does your toilet run, or does your sink drip? How are your appliances for efficiency? You can save yourself money for years to come if you fix any drips or leaks before it turns into water damage. Switching to energy-efficient lighting can reduce your electric bill and looking into water-saving appliances is another way to cut down on home costs.
These are just a few of the ways that you can start your new year off right!
