A New Year is upon us and just like last year, it is time for New Year’s Resolutions.
So get ready to hear about promises to join a gym, “live life to the fullest”, or climb Mount Everest. This makes me wonder why we don’t focus our thoughts on the one place we spend the most time, our home. After all, the more fundamental, relevant and central a resolution is to you, the more likely you will be committed and successful. So if those statistics are correct, what are some resolutions that make sense for us? Here are five resolution ideas that involve your time spent at home. If you have any other great resolutions for the home, please share them in the comments section. However, if you do end up climbing Mount Everest, then congratulations and I’m going to take credit for putting that idea in your head. You’re welcome.
- Give your home an allowance
You are shopping and you see that holiday decoration that is a “must have”. Then you buy it and there is the guilt. “Did I just waste $25 on an ironic Santa Claus Toilet Seat Cover?” (Yes this is real, click here) Well if you set a fixed monthly budget for buying the little things that make your house a home, then guilt be gone! This would allow you to even save up a few months of spending for that necessary purchase of the Sumo Wrestler side table. (Yes, real again)
Implementation: Set a fixed amount, or percentage of your income, per month. For example, $50 a month. If you don’t spend that money, next month you will have $100 to spend.
- Healthy Home, Healthy You
The number one resolution American’s have is losing weight. Losing weight generally consists of changing your diet and burning calories. So why not factor burning calories into your home life? After all, whether you are raking leaves or washing dishes by hand, simple chores do burn calories. Yes, chores can be a pain and take up precious time, but so does the visit to the gym. So next time you bring the vacuum out, put on your best workout clothes, put the music on 11, and push those couches and sumo side tables out of the way.
– For reference here is a great list showing the calories burned in home activities.
- Create a New Tradition
Another popular resolution you often hear about is spending more time with family and friends. Well why not be specific and create a new tradition for your home that connects you to those you would like to spend more time with. The activities you can choose from are endless. From a monthly game night to a midsummer BBQ, you should choose an activity you enjoy enough to share. Come up with an idea and start planning it now, and make sure to invite a few people near and dear to you. Inviting those family or friends means you have started the planning and the sharing of the tradition. Sharing is a practice that increases the chances that you will stick to your resolution. Specific goals always outlast pie in the sky wishes.
– Here is a great book with ideas for new traditions.
- To Keep, or Not to Keep
Maybe you are like me and you might have one or two (or fifty) things lying around the house that will likely never be used. Ever. Never ever. Well your house would likely appreciate a hearty effort to “de-crapify”. Sure it can be difficult to identify what is “stuff” and what is better off in an incinerator, but the effort alone generally yields positive results.
– Click here for a good lesson in how to “de-crapify”.
– When you need a place to get rid of your “stuff”, don’t forget our local FamilyTree Thrift Shoppe located in our beloved Rosemont Plaza on Kiefer Boulevard.
– For an entertaining lesson on what is stuff and what is…well I’ll just let George Carlin tell you. (Click here, Video contains ADULT LANGUAGE)
- Make 2016 a Greener Year
No I don’t mean the actual color, but with the idea of conservation being so “hip”, try a few things and see what sticks. Check your utility and water bills before, and after, you put a new practice into place to see if your resolution is putting more green in your wallet. However if you feel the best way of being “green” is actually using green paint, then by all means go crazy. Do try to stay away from avocado green, as that usually doesn’t help your resale value, or your state of mind.
– Great infographic with 50 green ideas.
– Another good article with even more ideas.
Jesus Mendoza, MBA is the Broker and Founder of Home Forward Real Estate and is not responsible for your neighbors freshly painted lime green house. BRE #01387725