Home Preparation for a Productive New Year!

You most likely have been preparing your home for the holidays already, but what happens after the parties are over? Think about putting together a plan for organizing and preparing your home for a less stressful new year ahead.

When your house is in chaos, we can’t ever seem to get things done in a time efficient manner. Are you always searching for an elusive item you need? When a major repair is needed, do you find yourself saying “I wish I would have taken care of this earlier!”? Let’s look at some items that should be addressed in your home to set yourself up for household harmony.

1. Organize Your Holiday Decorations. Before storing your holiday decorations, take some extra time to package them in containers that will make decorating easier next year. Group your decorations by the area of your home you display them and put them all in one container with that room labeled on the outside. Make any repairs to items that may need some attention before packing them. Donate any items that you didn’t use or don’t plan on using again.
2. Declutter. When things start piling up it is so overwhelming that most of us just shut down and don’t do anything. Plan to go through each room of your home to evaluate everything. Is there furniture you no longer like or use? Donate it. Do your children have toys they no longer play with cluttering their rooms? Box them up and store them or donate them to a good cause. Go through your kitchen pantry and get rid of food items or spices that are past their expiration date. Go through your kitchen cabinets and get rid of those gadgets you had to have or were gifted to you if you don’t use them. Once you have removed the items you no longer use or need from each room, re-organize so that the things you use most often are easily accessible.
3. Safety check. Do you have working smoke and carbon monoxide detectors in the appropriate areas of your home? The emphasis is on working! Test them and replace the batteries if you don’t remember the last time you did. Do you know that dryer lint is one of the leading causes of home fires? Be sure to have your dryer vents and ducts cleaned on a regular basis. Look around for area rugs that are causing a tripping hazard. Check all your doors and windows to be sure they secure properly.
4. Save energy. Think about using a programable thermostat so you are not heating or cooling your home at times no one is there. Turn off the lights when there is no one using the room. Install LED bulbs as you replace burned out bulbs. Paying attention to the energy used in your home can save you on your utility bills.
5. Create a cleaning plan. Having a plan for things that need to be done around the house from weekly routine maintenance to larger maintenance or repair items will help to keep you on track and budget for upcoming expenses. Create a weekly cleaning calendar. If you only have a few minutes a day to tend to household chores designate a day of the week to get something small done each day. By the end of the week, you may be rewarded by having a chore-free weekend. Calendar those bigger jobs which may require more time or hiring a contractor to do the job.

We spend a lot of time indoors during the winter season in the Pittsburgh area. Make use of that time to get organized and then your days will run more smoothly. Taking a few minutes each day to stay on top of everything once you are organized will be a breeze. And you may even be able to find those good scissors when you need them!

Call Julie at 412-352-8941 or Nancy at 412-480-6423 for your real estate needs. You can also email us at julie@thesnidergrp.com or nancysnider49@gmail.com. Visit our website at www.TheSniderGrp.com.