Lifestyles by Estelia…  New Year Resolutions for Homeowners

Everyone has a New Year’s resolution or two that he or she will set in motion for 2014. Whether it’s to join a gym, write a book, take a cruise or manage money better, resolutions can be hard to stick to.  That’s why I’m suggesting you consider to resolve to make your home more beautiful and clean in the coming year.  Here are my top three picks.  Hope you’ll make them yours.

1. Clear the clutter: Each year most of us acquire a mountain of stuff. Without some regular purging, cabinets and drawers get jam-packed and it becomes hard to find the things you use and enjoy the most. (All that clutter also makes your house look dated and dirty, designers say.)  This year resolve to go room-by-room periodically clearing anything that you don’t use, wear or love and donate it to charity.  Clear your counters of everything you don’t use on a daily basis.

2. Make your home safe and sound:  Your home may be beautiful, but is it safe? There are a few things that every homeowner should do to ensure that they’re not living with a potential health hazard or fire risk. First, check your house for radon. This colorless, odorless gas causes about 21,000 lung cancer deaths each year from the radioactive particles it traps in your lungs as you breathe, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. One in every fifteen homes has elevated levels. And with test kits costing as little as $20 at your local hardware store, there’s no reason not to get right on that.

Watch out for dryer lint. We know you clean the little trap inside the door, but most people neglect to clean the vents and ducts behind the dryer. Lint may seem innocent, but it’s highly combustible, according to the U.S. Fire Administration, accounting for more than 15,000 building fires a year. And if you’re considering a remodel and your home was last built or remodeled before 1978, consider testing for lead paint and asbestos flooring. It will have to handled properly during removal, or particles can be released into the air for you to ingest

3.  Work out a weekly system for keeping your house clean:

Daily:

• Dishes go in the dishwasher every night – no excuses! Dirty clothes go in the hamper and jackets or clean clothes are hung in the closet. Bring everything back to its assigned place.

Weekly:

• Keep all of your cleaners, as well as rubber gloves and spare cleaning cloths – in a portable carryall that moves with you from room to room.
• Stash cleaning implements such as a toothbrush, scraper, sponge, a few cleaning cloths and plastic bags in a builder’s apron that you wear when you clean. Hook your glass cleaner and all-purpose cleaning spray on the loops to keep your hands free as you work around the room clockwise, cleaning from high (cabinets) to low (floors.)
• Focus on one type of cleaning at a time. It’s faster. Wipe down fingerprints on all of the cabinets, for instance, before moving on to spraying and wiping counters. Then move on to windows and mirrors and appliances. Once that’s done move on to sweeping and then mopping floors.
• For optimum efficiency, enlist the help of your family. If you can, divide the jobs among at least three parties: One of you can do the dusting/vacuuming and changing beds, the other can do the bathroom cleanup, leaving only the kitchen and trash emptying for you to handle. The upside? You can get the whole house done in 45 minutes.

In the meantime, if you are interested in SELLING or BUYING a home,

please call me at 727-686-2859