Home Resolutions: Pretty & Practical

As I’ve mentioned, I prefer the word “goals” over resolutions….here’s some practical goals for you to easily act upon this month that will make a difference all year.  

The Practical

1. clear out the clutter 🙂  Yes, I know this was on the “Pretty” list as well, but hey?  This is a practical tip as well.

2. Stay safe and sound – update your smoke & CO2 detectors with fresh batteries.  For Christmas, I got a handy little programmable switch for shutting off things (in my case my curling iron) remotely.  Check it out!  /WeMo switches)

   

3. Programmable Thermostat.  You don’t have one???  GET ONE.  Great cost savings and so nice to come home to a cozy house knowing the heat came on about 10 minutes before you walked in the door!

4. Weekly home cleaning system – there are lots of organizing websites that will help you create this.  My personal favorite is Flylady.net

   

5. Energy efficient light bulbs – (CREE at Home depot).  The up and coming wave of the future for lighting is LED.  NOT Fluorescent and NOT Halogen.  Incandescents are practically outlawed!  Fluorescents are not attractive, contain mercury and even Home Depot won’t recycle them anymore.  Halogen, while a nicer light and efficient to run, burn REALLY hot.  Not good.  LED’s are really the newest thing.  I purchased a task lamp for my  mother for Christmas.  She has been committed to those swirly, nasty colored fluorescent forever.  I gifted her a new bulb by CREE (from Home Depot) to go along with it.  I have started replacing them in my home and they’re pretty great.  Even dimmable!!

   

   

   

6. To-Do room list (room by room).  Grab your decorating notebook (you see how much you need this???), start a new page for each room and write down, in no particular order, the things you need to do in this room.  This can be anything at all, from clearing off a shelf, to re-nailing some trim, touching up paint or just wiping handprints off the light switches.

7. Clean out your cleaning supplies.  Gather ALL cleaning supplies from all over the house.  Toss what you don’t use at all.  In order to encourage a cleaner bathroom, have a mini-kit of supplies in each bathroom as well as under the kitchen sink.  Duplicates of stuff you DO use?  Create a single place (garage/laundry/utility room) to store the extra stock and shop there first, before heading to the store.  make a list of missing products then GO BUY THEM.  If you need specialty cleaner for your stainless, stop fighting it and go buy it!