Welcome back for the 2nd Half of our Top 10 New Year Resolutions for Your Home … By pledging to focus some of your New Year’s attention on your home in 2017, you and your family, and your home, will benefit for many years to come!

6. Volunteer (support your community)

In a world that often seems topsy-turvy, a little goodwill goes a long way. Consider volunteering your time and energy to help others and at the same time help promote safety and preserve the value of your neighborhood. A neighborhood watch program fosters a sense of community. How about a community garden? Contact your local Humane Society to see how you might be able to assist at one of their nearby shelters.

7. Drink Less (curtail your home water use)

The average family uses more than 300 gallons of water each day, with approximately 70% of this occurring indoors! Making a few simple changes can help lower your costs as well as helping to preserve our valuable natural resources.

• Low-flow showerheads include technology that reduces the amount of flow yet keeps pressure up, resulting in shower streams that are powerful and satisfying. They cost from $10 to $150, and installation is an easy DIY job that takes only minutes.
• Replacing water-guzzling toilets with low-flow-toilets. High-efficiency toilets use compressed air and electric water pumps to flush with less than 1 gallon of water vs. older models that require up to 8 gallons.

8. Spend More Time with Family (share home improvement projects)

Spending quality time with your family takes quality planning – but it’s worth the effort. Rally your family around these fun-to-do projects to make every minute count:

• Plant a tree that will become a new member of your family. Have your kids name it and help care for it over the years.
• Assemble home-emergency preparedness kit. Make a game of it by having a scavenger hunt to gather all the necessary supplies, such as flashlights, batteries, duct tape, etc. It’s a creative way to help teach children about what to do in an emergency.

9. Get Fit (exercise your DIY skills)

Routine home maintenance is a double win – you’ll burn calories while keeping your house in tip-top shape.

• Building a fence: 340 calories per hour
• Caulking windows and doors: 280 calories per hour
• Cleaning rain gutters: 272 calories per hour
• Installing ceramic tile: 238 calories per hour
• Interior painting: 136 calories per hour
• Mowing the lawn: 306 calories per hour
• Planting shrubs: 238 calories per hour
• General gardening: 204 calories per hour

10. Be Less Stressed (use maintenance-free materials)

If you want less to worry about, install low-maintenance materials and products designed for durability and long, trouble-free service.

• LED bulbs last a phenomenal 20,000 to 50,000 hours between changes or about 18 to 46 years when used for 3 hours each day.
• Classic ceramic tile comes in many colors and textures, but at its heart it’s incredibly tough, stain-resistant, and impervious to moisture. You can count on ceramic tile’s good looks to last for decades on floors and walls without needing repair or replacement.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

We hope you found this post to be helpful, informative and interesting … Watch for our next BLOG POST on January 12th.

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