Turning the page on a new calendar year means a fresh start for you and your home. In addition to setting personal and professional goals for the New Year, why not set some for your house, too? Getting your home off to a good start can pay dividends now as well as later in the year. Here are five ways to usher in 2021:
1. Review your home’s safety plan.
Or, if you don’t already have a home emergency safety plan, now’s a good time to make one. A home safety plan helps to outline the steps that you and your family should take in the event of fires, floods, storms, or other emergencies that could happen in your area. Having a routine home safety plan in place and practicing it can help each family member know what to do in the event of an emergency and how to stay safe. It can also help you think through scenarios and save valuable time by making contingency plans for food, shelter, pets, important documents, and evacuation.
RELATED: 7 Ways To Refresh Your Home For The New Year
2. Organize documents.
Since you’ll likely be gathering documents soon for filing annual taxes, take the opportunity to get your household records in order. Clean out old paperwork, organize hard copy files, move data to digital files where possible (with backup), and verify that critical documents are current and stored in a safe location. It’s also a good time to update passwords and user names.
3. Get a jump on spring cleaning.
Use dreary winter days to get a head start on heavy cleaning chores, and you’ll be able to enjoy milder spring weather later. Tackle tasks like washing baseboards, deep cleaning floors, carpets, polishing wood, washing light fixtures, ceiling fans, vacuuming under appliances, and wiping down vents and air returns.
RELATED: 6 Tricks To Sticking To Your New Year’s Resolutions
4. Take care of regular home maintenance.
Check off routine household maintenance tasks like changing HVAC and refrigerator filters, cleaning gutters, removing leaves and debris from lawns and flower beds, and replacing outdoor light bulbs. If you have a wood-burning fireplace, have the chimney inspected and cleaned. It’s also a good time to perform an energy audit to make sure your home is operating as efficiently and economically as possible.
5. Add or renew home warranty coverage.
HSASM home warranties coverage can help protect your household budget from many of the expenses associated with covered home system and appliance component breakdowns. An HSA home warranty also gives you a reliable repair resource in the event of a covered breakdown, which could save you time and frustration. Adding affordable HSA coverage is easy and does not require a home inspection. The sooner you add or renew HSA home warranty coverage this year, the sooner you can start enjoying the convenience, and peace-of-mind it brings.
Since we’re all spending more time at home these days, it only makes sense to give your home the attention it needs to be a safe and cozy place for your household. In 2021 and every year, there’s no place like home.