It’s the end of the year, and everyone is looking forward to the new year with high hopes and how they want this year to be different. There are hundreds of resolutions may make for the New Year, including cutting back on some favorite foods or drinks, getting in shape or losing weight. If you’re a homeowner, you can make some resolutions this year to get your home back in shape, too. Here are 5 different New Year’s Resolutions that you can adopt to make sure your home is in the best shape it could be, which will save you money and decrease your stress levels come this new year.
Lose Weight – De-Clutter and Organize your Home
According to Nielsen studies, the second most popular new year’s resolution for 2015 was to lose weight. You can help your house lose some weight too by de-cluttering and organizing your items. There are thousands of ideas on how to make sure you succeed in this resolution (seriously, just do a Google search of “How to Organize your Home”) but there are a few main things that are universal through these tips:
- Don’t try to do too much in too little time
Organizing takes effort, and it’s not the most exciting task you can take on for a weekend. Make sure you’re giving yourself enough time and not pushing yourself to finish in an unreasonable amount of time. You’re more likely to get burnt out.
- Don’t procrastinate donating
Do you have a donation pile? Or maybe you have a few things in your closets that you know are going to be donated eventually, you just haven’t gotten there yet. Don’t procrastinate boxing them up and donating them. You can always go in shifts to your local Goodwill – don’t feel like you have to donate everything in one go.
- Organize first, buy organizational materials second
Many individuals buy boxes and tubs, hoping it will help them get organized, but they end up not fitting their needs. Get organized first, and then determine what you need to purchase after. You’ll save money and have a better system.
Get Fit- Keep your Appliances Running
When you resolve to get fit in the New Year, you know that it takes a lot of upkeep and work. Just like your body, making sure your home is running properly takes a lot of work and upkeep. You have to complete maintenance on your systems and appliances in order to keep them in good working condition and to extend their lives.
In order to do that, you need to make sure you understand how to maintain your home. You should first look at the owner’s manuals on your systems and appliances and follow those recommendations. Then, take a look at online resources. Landmark has a great number of posts on how to clean, maintain and repair certain parts of your home (and for everything else, there’s our home warranty coverage). We have information on everything from maintaining your garage door, winterizing your air conditioner on to how your furnace’s heat exchanger operates.
Develop Healthy Habits - Save Energy
Bad habits like smoking and drinking can wreck havoc on your body and make it so you have less energy and money. You can have some energy hogging habits in your own home that may be making you use more energy and spending more money. You can save money and energy by doing hundreds of different things in your home. Here are a few tips to get you started:
- Use Energy Efficient Appliances
Even doing something as simple as changing your light bulbs to compact fluorescents can help you to save 75% of the energy you were burning earlier. Upgrading your larger appliances, like your washer, dryer or oven can save you even more money and energy.
- Clean and Maintain your Appliances
The more you clean your appliances, the better they run. For example, if you change our your HVAC filters regularly (like every 1-3 months) your system will be able to push that air through the system easier, making sure the motor doesn’t work too hard.
- Make sure Air isn’t Escaping
Warm air in the winter and cool air in the summer can escape through less insulated doors, windows and ducts. Make sure you’re caulking and repairing any places that could become drafts.
Become Less Stressed - Learn about Home Finances
What stresses you out most about your home? For most people it has to do with money and paying the bills that always come with home ownership. A great way to become less stressed about home ownership is to understand more about the financial aspects of it –for example, learn about what a home mortgage is, and what the different options are for refinancing your mortgage. Then, you can decide if you would be less stressed if you began to pre-pay off your mortgage, saving you money on interest payments in the long run.
Spend Less, Save More – Get a Home Warranty!
Of course, as you begin to think about your finances in the new year, you may resolve to spend less money and save more. Many individuals have this goal, (25% of resolution makers in 2015 did, according to Nielsen.com) but you can actually complete it with a home warranty. You can spend less money on your home’s systems and appliances, and save thousands of dollars with a home warranty. A home warranty covers repairs and replacements on your home’s systems and appliances (such as the HVAC system, oven, dishwasher, electrical and plumbing systems, etc.) for a $60 service call fee. So if you have a system or appliance in your home fail from normal wear and tear, all you have to do is pay $60 to have it repaired or replaced. Not only would you save money, but you’d also spend a lot less money. Most homeowners spend 1-4% of their home’s value on repairs and replacements per year. With a home warranty, you can reduce that percentage significantly.
For more information, you can go to our plans and pricing page to see which coverage you would want on your home, or learn more by going to our homepage.
