With 2017 right around the corner, the brand new year is brimming with possibilities! Why not be a little unconventional and pledge to focus some of your New Year’s attention on your home? You know what I mean … those repairing, painting, and organizing tasks that always seem to work their way to the bottom of your list!
For today’s blog post, explore the 1st Half of our Top 10 New Year Resolutions for Your Home:
1. Lose Weight (cut your energy use)
A good place to start is your HVAC ductwork. Ducts are notorious energy-wasters, leaking your heating and cooling air through holes and loose connections. Sealing and insulating your ductwork can improve the efficiency of your heating and cooling system by as much as 20%, saving you $200 per year or more, according to Energy Star. This will make your home more comfortable and a more-efficient system helps extend the life of your furnace, air conditioner or heat pump.
Use duct sealant – called mastic – or metal-backed tape to seal the seams, holes, and connections. Don’t use the confusingly named “duct tape”, which doesn’t provide a permanent solution. Be sure to seal connections at vents and floor registers – these are likely places for leaks to occur. After sealing your ducts, wrap them in fiberglass insulation. Most hardware stores and home improvement centers have insulation wrap products made for ducts.
If you choose not to DIY, your professional HVAC contractor will most likely charge somewhere between $1,000 to $4,000 for the work, including materials, and depends on the size of your home and accessibility to your ducts.
2. Quit Smoking (purify indoor air)
Indoor air is full of potential contaminants, such as dust, mold spores, pollen, and viruses and is at its worst when windows and doors are shut tight for long periods of time. Help eliminate harmful lung irritants in your home with these maintenance and improvement tips:
- Maintain your HVAC system and change filters regularly. Use the highest-quality filters you can afford and change every month during peak heating and cooling seasons.
- Keep indoor air pristine by using low-VOC (volatile organic compound) paints.
- Use localized ventilation in kitchens and bathrooms to remove cooking fumes, smoke and excess humidity. Make sure ventilation systems exhaust air to the outside of your home, rather than your attic space or between ceiling joists. Use a portable air cleaner to help cleanse the air but be cautious of air cleaners that generate ozone as it is a known lung irritant.
- Burn real firewood in your fireplace rather than pressed wood products that may contain formaldehyde.
3. Get Out of Debt (budget for capital improvements)
Creating a yearly budget for home improvements and maintenance costs helps prevent overspending and helps with saving for those major capital improvements, such as a new roof or HVAC system.
Protect your home finances by knowing how much you’ll probably spend each year. Experts agree that a homeowner should expect to set aside at least 1% per year of their home’s value for yearly maintenance and upkeep costs.
4. Learn Something New (educate yourself on your home finances)
Want a little education that goes a long way toward your financial health? Improving your credit score can help you keep your homeowner’s insurance premiums from getting out of hand. Here are a couple of easy lessons:
- Letting credit card debt build up is a red flag on your credit history and an indicator that you’re likely to file an insurance claim. The more claims, the higher risk, based on insurance company standards, which then lowers your insurance score. Therefore, low scores mean higher rates for homeowner’s insurance.
- Keep payments on any outstanding loans up-to-date. Don’t miss payment deadlines as delinquent payments signal insurers that you can’t manage your money – resulting in a lower insurance score.
5. Get Organized (streamline your stuff)
One of the best and least expensive ways to feel better about your home is to de-clutter. Without some regular purging, cabinets and drawers get jam-packed and it becomes hard to find the things you use and enjoy the most. This year resolve to periodically donate to your favorite charity anything that you don’t use, wear or love.
Stash functional, but not beautiful, items such as DVDs, remotes and those kicked-off shoes in simple woven baskets. Clear your counters of everything you don’t use on a daily basis.
We hope you found this post to be helpful, informative and interesting … Watch for the 2nd half of our Top 10 New Year Resolutions for Your Home in our next BLOG POST on December 29th .
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Until then… it’s all about YOU!