Looking forward to 2023? Now is a good time to look back at what you’ve achieved over the previous 12 months and what you want to do and what change you want to see in the months ahead. There are countless areas you can focus on here. You could set major goals. You can commit to significant lifestyle changes. You can set milestones. From health to fitness, quiting bad habits and more, there are so many things you can do to really improve your life. However, why not dedicate 2023 to your home? There are so many fun projects you can get involved in that will make your home a more enjoyable place to spend time and where you’ll be proud to invite your friends and family. Of course, everyone’s home is different and will require focus and investment in different areas. But hopefully, at least one area outlined below will help you to create a quality to do list that will really help you to improve your home as much as possible going forward!
Declutter
The first step on any home improvement journey is decluttering. All of us have some sort of clutter in our homes – unless you’ve just recently completed a declutter yourself. We bring home and buy all sorts of items and belongings that we think we’ll have use for, only to find aren’t as handy as we originally thought. Decluttering can make a huge difference to how your home looks and feels. Rather than an overwhelming space that poses safety hazards and can feel uncomfrotable and messy, you can sift through belongings, determining which you actually want or need and which you don’t, to clear space and provide yourself with a great blank canvas to work with. Sure, decluttering can be difficult. We make connections to items and find them hard to part with, or we convince ourselves we might need them one day, despite not having touched them for months or years. Instead, it’s time to get realistic. Pick each item up and determine whether you’ve actually used it in the past year. Does it have decorative value? Does it hold genuine sentimental value? If the answer is no, you probably don’t need it. But what can you do with the items you decide to dispose of? Here are some better alternatives to the bin and land fill.
Selling
You may find that certain items you neither want nor need do actually hold value. Someone else could get great use out of them and they may be willing to pay you for them. Try selling them. There are so many platforms that you can use to do this. Sites like eBay, Etsy and Depop tend to be the best. Just bear in mind that they do take a percentage of the profit as a fee. Alternatively for lower cost items include car boot sales or yard sales.
Donating
If you don’t have time to sell things, or they don’t hold as much value, you may want to donate the items. This could be to a charity shop or to friends or family. You never know who might love the items you’re getting rid of, so offer them around!
Recycling
A final resort is recycling. If the item can be recycled, make the effort to take it to the right recycling centre. At least this will ensure that it can go to good use and have another life as something else.
Deep Clean
Next up, deep cleaning. Once you’ve decluttered your home and have more space, you can turn your mind to the deep cleaning process. This could take place around spring. There’s a good reason so many people get involved in a good spring clean! This is an opportunity to take care of the tasks that are commonly neglected. The ones that don’t feature on your routine chores list, either because they don’t need to be looked at regularly, or because they entail too much time and effort to complete every week. Deep cleaning can be done yourself to save money, or if you have a bigger budget, can be outsourced to professional cleaners who will leave your home glistening. Whether that’s using a carpet cleaning machine on your carpets or really cleaning your oven and cooker hood. These tend to be tougher tasks, but once complete, will make all the difference!
Repairs
Do you have any repairs in your home that need to be taken care of? Create a list and decide who you need to reach out to in order to put wrongs to rights. Repairs rarely resolve themselves and often worsen, resulting in more damage and issues to pay for down the line. Whether you’re looking for reliable plumbing services, a qualified electrician, a roofer, a glazier or anyone else, it’s a good idea to read through reviews beforehand. This will give you insight into their portfolio and whether they have happy customers behind them. The better the reviews, the more you can count on this professional to complete the job to a good standard. Agree a price beforehand to avoid any nasty surprises down the line.
Renovations
If you’re looking for a larger scale home improvement project, you may want to consider renting your property. Of course, this is only an option if you own or are buying your house. You can’t renovate rentals. Check planning permission and make sure to use a proper architect and construction workers to complete the job to a high standard. There are countless renovations that can be carried out, from extensions to en suites, loft conversions and more. So, take your time and do your research. Set yourself a clear budget to work with. Also be realistic with timescales.
Home improvement really can be fun and could serve as the perfect resolution for 2023. Hopefully, some of the information above should help to get a few projects off to the best possible start. Give them some thought and see how you get on!
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