With January on the horizon, now is the time to consider exciting resolutions for the new year. What do you most want to accomplish next year? What gave you the most grief last year? And while you’re busy taking inventory in each of the typical categories–weight, money, family, and habits–now is the time to set some goals for your home. Goals for the house? Yes! If your home is causing you stress in any way, it isn’t functioning at its full potential. A healthy home goes a long way in producing a healthy occupant.
Here are 3 of the most popular resolutions for the house from home management experts.
Streamline Your Stuff
One of the cheapest and easiest ways to improve your home is to de-clutter and downsize. We don’t need nearly as much as we think we need. The Internet is brimming with creative ideas about how to pare down belongings–including everything from dumping the duplicates to relentlessly tossing items you haven’t used in a year. Not sure you’re ready to part with an object? Put it in a box on a shelf for three months and see if you miss it. As for the Bermuda Triangle known as the bedroom closet, Oprah suggests turning all hangers in your closet the same direction and flipping them whenever you wear something. At the end of six months, donate the untouched clothes. You’ll do yourself (and possibly someone else who needs the clothes) a favor.
Bottom line: Spending as little as 5 minutes a day and keeping only what is beautiful, useful, or meaningful will give your home an impressive makeover. Better still, it will be easier to manage (which means more time and energy for you)!
Refine Your Routine
There’s no better time to take inventory of your daily/weekly/monthly/seasonal tasks than when you’re looking at a fresh calendar for the new year. And whether you’re someone who craves routine (and knows exactly when the insulated covers are supposed to be added to the exterior spigots), or whether you are someone who loves spontaneity (what are exterior spigots?), we could all do well to examine and refine our routine. Before your calendar has filled up with work and social commitments, pencil in tasks like washing the windows, checking the smoke detectors, and taking bedding to the dry cleaners. Set monthly goals for home improvement projects.
Bottom line: As the old proverb says, “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.” It takes only a few minutes to schedule something, and those few minutes could save many hours and several dollars (and countless headaches). What gets scheduled typically gets done.
Evaluate Your Expenses
Looking to save money next year? (Who isn’t?) Start by looking for ways to save money at home. Instead of collecting clutter, sell it. Install energy-efficient light bulbs (and turn them off when you leave the room). Cancel subscriptions and unused memberships. Learn to garden. Sign up for online bill pay (and set reminders so you never pay late fees). The options are endless. Gone are the days of looking for spare change in the couch cushions. Extra money exists in your junk drawer, under your bed, and in your bedroom closet.
Bottom line: The best place to begin evaluating expenses is your own house. By purging unused items and avoiding needless purchases you can streamline your expenses and simplify your life.
