It’s the perfect time of year to start making lists—whether they consist of things accomplished in the past year, or goals for the upcoming 365 days. When it comes to your home, here are three important resolutions to keep in mind.
First, it will be important to de-clutter. Over the course of the year, and especially during the frantic holiday season—during which time everyone is busy buying gifts, making food, and generally adding to the mess as opposed to subtracting from it—things add up. Messes become uncontrollable and it seems almost impossible to get anything done amidst the wreckage. Start with having the kids sift through old toys and clothes and fill up bags to give away to those in need. Begin organizing a section of your basement for things that can be sold out front once the spring rolls around. Or even organize all your paperwork for tax season. These things can be done to help minimize clutter and relieve the tension that disorganization can create.
Secondly, create a weekly cleaning system. Thinking weeks or months ahead can be daunting. But laying out a weekly calendar with all the chores listed and the initials of the family member next to it for each day can prevent those build-up days where hours are needed to catch up. No one wants to spend their day off dusting, vacuuming, and doing laundry. These tasks can be accomplished during the week through delegation and careful planning.
Third, go over the security features of your house and make sure everything is up to date and working properly. This can mean asking your electric company for an audit to ensure that your house is not letting out unnecessary heat.
Cape Light compact has a program
http://www.capelightcompact.org/resrebates
Also look into the carbon monoxide detectors and confirm that they are working properly. Do you have enough candles and batteries in the house? It is also a good time to check the windows and doors and examine whether there are any weak spots or deficiencies, and make sure all the locks on the house are in working order.
Writing your resolutions down and make them actionable. This will lead to holding yourself accountable and putting things in perspective. Your home should be a place of leisure and joy. Try implementing a few of these techniques and ward off that sense of overwhelm and suffocation that home owning can sometimes bring.
