New Year’s Resolutions
for Your Home
Few things fall by the wayside after the
New Year faster than needles on a
Christmas tree than personal resolutions.
So, instead of making a resolution to
exercise, cut calories, stop smoking or
other things you know have failed in the
past, resolve to make some changes
at home. These resolutions are more
likely to stick – and be good for
everyone in the house, too.
Do the right thing
One of the first New Year resolutions
you could make this year for your home
is to go a little greener. This could
include setting up a recycling center in your home or making a greater effort at recycling items such as newspapers and magazines, glass, plastic, and cans. Home centers carry large stacking bins that you can place right next to the garage door and will help you sort and hold your recyclables. Doing right by your house also means doing right by the earth. Making a few simple changes like recycling and changing your light bulbs to fluorescent bulbs is good for the earth – and your utility bills. It’s a green thing.
Clear clutter
Yes, you’ve heard me say it before, but clutter is a huge problem and when you ask most people what their No. 1 household problem is, they’ll tell you it’s clutter. We continue to buy and buy and that makes our homes stuffed to capacity and barely livable. Make a resolution to spend a small amount of time on a regular interval (say, daily) to throw something away, recycle, or donate. You know you have stuff just hanging around the house that you don’t use anymore, so why hang on to it? Get clear this year.
Resolution to improve
Topping the list of my favorite things to do at home is to make annual goals for my house. These goals range from mulching landscape beds, to painting a room or even redecorating or buying a new piece of furniture. I write down all the things I want to do on my list going from smallest or least expensive down to the largest, most labor intensive or most expensive. That list usually lives on the refrigerator door and it’s amazing how great it feels to scratch those items, one by one, off my list.
If possible, make resolutions that will improve your quality of life. These can include an item such as a new mattress – especially when you consider that one third of your life is spent in bed – a quality mattress makes sense. Some of the home improvements I’ve been happiest about include my pull-out trash can that I installed under the sink, the television that we put in the kitchen so I don’t have to miss the evening news while I make dinner, and every single organizing item I have ever installed because they make things easier to find, look neater, and make me more efficient in my home.
Thanks for having me into your home this year. It’s an honor to write about something that is so important to me personally and to be able to share my home and my own struggles with you as well as exciting trends, interesting décor ideas, and helpful cleaning tips. I know 2007 will be another exciting year for us to share over coffee again. Please drop me a note this year. I always write back and I always enjoy hearing from you. All the best for a wonderful 2007 for you, your family and your living space.
© 2007 Kathryn Weber, all rights reserved
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Kathryn Weber is the publisher of the Everydayclean.com Cleaning Calender, that calender that puts you in control of your home by ending the power struggle. For more information log on to http://tinyurl.com/d9rh5.
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©2001-2007 Kathryn Weber
All rights reserved.
