Home Maintenance Made Easy

With more activities and responsibilities these days, we are all very busy people.  Keeping up with my family, my pets, my friends, and my job, I feel like I am running around all over the place and being pulled in several different directions.  Besides worrying about what to have for dinner each night,  whether everyone’s homework is done, and does everyone have clean laundry to wear, I still need to worry about the care and maintenance of my home.  Sure, the yard work gets done, the house is cleaned, and dinner is on the table, but, when was the last time the gutters were cleared out or the carbon monoxide detector was tested.  I don’t know about you, but these types of things seem to slip my mind and get put off until they absolutely have to get done.  I mean how many times does that little beep in the smoke detector have to go off before someone changes the battery. 

If you are like me, one of the smartest things you can do is to get organized and set up a schedule for all of your home maintenance.  There are certain things, like checking smoke detector batteries, or disinfecting the garbage disposal that need to be done monthly.  Some maintenance can be done annually, such as checking door seals or the chimney for cracks.  Additionally, there are some things that need to be checked every few months, and some that can be done every few years.  One of the best things I ever did, was start a Home Maintenance Checklist.  There are several to choose from that can be found online, so you don’t need to reinvent the wheel.  I print one out and follow it religiously.  It helps me keep track of all the little things I need to keep my home safe and running smoothly.  If only everything else in my life was that easy.

What to Do Before Selling Your House

 

 

If you are thinking about selling your house, read this before you start the remodeling process.  If you increase a buyer’s desire for your property, it will yield stronger and higher offers.  One of the most common questions from sellers are, what changes can I do that will help sell the property?  Home buyers first impressions are always the most important.  When home buyers drive up to the front curb of your home, their first impressions are made within fifteen seconds.  It is very important to keep the front yard looking neat and clean.  Adding a bag of mulch, black bark and some flowers will spruce up the front yard and give it a little extra sparkle, and, make it stand out from the neighbor’s yard.

A couple things that are important to review before showing your home are living space and room lighting.  When buyers walk in, it is important for them to have a spacious feel.  Make certain that furniture and items placed against the wall is spacious so the buyers can envision their furniture in the room.  Make sure all the rooms are well lit.  Having well lit rooms throughout the house is very important so the buyers can get a clear sense of the space and energy. The kitchen is usually one of the main selling points. Making a simple update of some new paint and cabinet hardware to freshen a kitchen’s look, will go a long way.

 

Drought’s Scarlet Letter

Gone are the days of summer that included running through the sprinklers, using the slip and slide, or cracking open a fire hydrant so all the neighborhood kids could cool off.  Living in an area that is suffering from severe drought conditions, we are in constant fear of being shunned and accused of wasting water.  Instead of a scarlet letter upon our chests, now “Draught Shaming” is the new rage on Twitter.  There are even apps on the phone, for your neighbors to report you for wasting water, such as VizSafe and H2O Tracker. 

All this suspicion has made me think that there are a few things that I can do to improve the water usage in my home.  The first thing to look for is if there are any leaks around the home, not only in pipes and faucets but also in your toilet.  Checking your water meter regularly during times when water is not running will help you to determine if there are any hidden leaks.  Another easy fix for water consumption is to update your equipment, such as installing water-saving showerheads, faucet aerators, low-flush toilets, or tank banks/float boosters in the toilet.  You could also insulate your pipes with pre-slit foam tubing so that it takes less time for the water to heat up, and, you are not wasting water during that time.  The best way so conserve our water is to just not use as much.  Only run your washing machine or dishwasher when they are completely full.  Collect rain water in barrels to water your grass and gardens, take shorter showers, and turn off the water rather than let it run when doing certain activities, such as, brushing teeth, washing dishes, or shaving.   Lastly, you could check out an app that will help you keep track of your water usage rather than just shame you with it, such as Dropcountr.  So, before you see me “shamed” all over the internet and I get a visit from the “water cops”, I think I will try some, if not all of these things.