New Year's Goals for your home

New Year's Eve is a time of renewal for most people. Lots of people make New Year's Resolutions, which generally fail within days. But it's also a great time to make realistic goals for the year ahead. Aside from personal goals to lose weight or make healthy improvements in your life, consider making some goals for improving your home.

One good place to start is removing clutter. Most people have at least one area of their home that gathers clutter. A good goal for the New Year is to work on removing clutter. Set a realistic goal to clear one surface a week or one room a month. Having clear spaces and clear surfaces makes it easier to keep the home clean. A cleaner home is healthier for all who live there.

Once the clutter is under control and the home is kept cleaner, maintenance issues can be addressed easier. Set a goal to address maintenance issues promptly. Set a realistic time frame based on your personal schedule that will be your goal for addressing maintenance issues. Whether it's to change the furnace filters monthly or fix that squeaky door within 2 months, setting realistic goals will help you keep the house maintained. A well maintained home holds it's resale value and is generally more pleasant to be in.

A third area that you can consider setting goals in is energy efficiency. I heard all the time growing up "turn the lights off!" and "close the door! We aren't cooling the outside!" At the time, it was annoying, but the habit stuck, and I find myself teaching these habits to my kids as well. We can practice energy efficiency without spending money simply by following common sense tactics. Turn the lights and electronics off when you leave a room; set the thermostat a few degrees cooler in winter or warmer in summer; and keep the doors and windows closed when using the HVAC systems. These habits not only save energy, they save money.

Here at Provident, we are committed to helping landlords and tenants set and keep realistic goals. We can't turn the lights off for you or clear your clutter, but we can maintain your unit in a timely fashion. We are committed to using earth and wallet friendly practices whenever possible. You can be sure we won't be wasting your money. We want to be your management team, so please contact us today.