New Year’s Resolutions For Homeowners
When you’re a homeowner, you definitely get a lot of perks and advantages, but it definitely comes with a price. You are now solely responsible for the upkeep and repair of everything that is on your property. It’s not necessarily a full time job, but it can soak up a lot of your time each year if you let it get out of control. This year, we’re discussing some easy to get started New Year’s Resolutions that you can undertake as a homeowner that will help you and your home stay on track all year long and into the next year. Let’s get started.
Declutter Pantry/Kitchen
Outside of the bedroom, we spend a significant amount of time in our kitchen each and every day. It can be a source of frustration and stress if it gets too cluttered, messy, and disorganized. Commit this year to decluttering your kitchen and pantry! Set aside an evening after work or a weekend afternoon and take a few hours to go through everything in your pantry and toss the expired food while organizing the rest. Set up a schedule to do this at least twice a year so that you will always have what you need on hand and in plain sight to help you stay less stressed in your kitchen each day.
Commit To Regularly Cleaning Out Gutters
While not as appealing as clearing out your pantry, regularly cleaning out your home’s gutters can save you a lot of time, money, and hassle in the long run. If your gutters are clogged and dirty, then water can build up in them and spill over the edges instead of draining properly. In the winter, clogged gutters can cause ice dams and excess snow buildup on your roof which can lead to dangerous slide offs and leaks in your roof. So, to avoid all of that, it’s a good idea to put a recurring event in your calendar of choice to clean out your gutters at least two to three times each year. Now is the perfect time to get it in the books!
Commit To Paying Slightly More Each Month On Your Mortgage
It doesn’t have to be much. It can be twenty bucks here and there or even a hundred or more if you can swing it. Any amount that you can pay over your minimum amount can help you pay down your principal faster and shave months even years off of your entire mortgage lifetime. Your future self will thank you! You can set up a small savings account and have a portion of your paychecks (like 3% to 5% or so) go into this account which you can then use to pay down your mortgage bit by bit. Once you get in the habit of it, then it will be much easier.
Review And Audit Your Home’s Safety Plans And Features
How fresh are the batteries in your smoke detectors? Do you know where your emergency gas and water shut off valves are? If you aren’t sure about those two questions, then you may want to do a quick safety audit of your home. You can show your spouse all of these things as well. Then you can keep track and set reminders about things like changing smoke detector batteries, replacing fire extinguishers and charging them, adding carbon monoxide detectors, etc. Let this next year be the year of safety for you and your home!
