New Year's Resolution for Your Home-Metro Detroit Real Estate, Oakland County Properties, Macomb County Properties, Wayne County Properties

It wouldn’t be a New Year without New Year resolutions right? Well, resolutions don’t have to be just for yourself, you can also make a resolution for the biggest investment in your life…your home!

Whether you make this resolution to fix up, pretty up or make your home more pleasant for yourself, family and friends or if you plan on putting your home on the market, now is the time to break out the to do lists and tools.

HouseLogic has compiled a comprehensive top 10 New Year’s resolutions for your home.

1. Lose Weight

Gain control of your home by cutting back the energy use. Sealing and insulating your HVAC 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. After sealing your ducts, wrap them in fiberglass insulation.

A professional heating and cooling contractor will charge $1,000 to $4,000 for the work, including materials, depending on the size of your home and accessibility to your ducts. Also, insulating your ductwork may qualify for a rebate from your state or local municipality. Click here to check!

2. Quit Smoking

Indoor air is full of potential contaminants, such as dust, mold, spores, pollen, and viruses. Unfortunately, the problem is worst in the winter, when windows and doors are shut tight. You can help eliminate harmful lung irritants by doing the following:

– Change furnace filters every month during peak heating and cooling seasons

– Use low-VOC paints when remodeling rooms

– 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

– Burn real firewood rather than pressed wood products in your fireplace and woods stoves

– Use a portable air cleaner to help cleanse the air in single rooms

3. Get Out of Debt

Creating a yearly budget for home improvement and maintenance helps prevent overspending, and encourages you to put aside money for major replacements that come up every few years, such as new roofing or a kitchen appliance.

HSH Associates and LendingTree.com place average costs of yearly maintenace and upkeep at 1% to 3% of your home’s initial price.

4. Learn Something New

You can do the following to improve your insurance score to keep your home insurance premiums lower:

– Do not let credit card debt build up

– Keep payments on loans up-to-date

5. Get Organized

The clutter must go! Start by creating more storage space so you can stash stuff easily. You could put up a high shelf between the walls of a narrow hallway, and tuck storage in out-of-way nooks, such as under-stairs spaces and between wall studs. Also, you can always utilize storage containers for more space such as shoe organizers or cabinets.

6. Volunteer

A little altruism helps restore balance in this crazy world. You can volunteer ot help others, while promoting safety and preserving the value of your neighborhood. Here are a couple of ideas:

– Neighborhood watch program

– Start a community garden

7. Drink Less

Making a few simple changes, such as installing EPA-certified WaterSense products, could trim up to $200 from your annual water bill. Add that to the energy savings from reduced costs to heat water, and your yearly savings could reach $300 or more per year.

8. Spend more time with family

Rally your family around these fun-to-do projects to make every minute count:

– Plant a tree

– Make a home emergency preparedness kit – via scavenger hunt fof gathering items.

9. Get fit

Routine home maintenance and repair is a double win – you’ll burn calories while keeping your house in tip-top shape. Try these fix-ups and improvements:

– 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

– Chopping firewood: 340 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 that are designed for durability and long, trouble-free service.

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