The first of January is a blank slate; a time where we can set our goals for the coming year with a fresh sense of optimism. Typically, if you’re making a New Year’s resolution, you’re most likely to make a personal one such as getting fit or stopping smoking. But why not make some for your home as well?
Here are a few resolutions that could help your home in 2023.
1. Clear out the kitchen cupboards
If there’s one area of the home that delivers interesting discoveries, it’s the dark recesses of your kitchen cupboards. Long-forgotten tin cans, out-of-date packages with hazardous contents, dusty bottles of unlabelled spirit – every kitchen contains at least one item from the old millennium, and weeding them out is a simple way to give 2023 a fresh start. Taking up valuable storage space at best, spawning new life forms at worst, purging old items is a strangely satisfying process – it’s just rarely at the top of your to-do list.
2. Get DIY-savvy
Competent DIY is one of those skills you’ll keep for life. The learning curve is steep but climbable, and YouTube tutorials mean that even intermediate tasks are within novice reach. Bleeding radiators, putting up shelves, and filling cracks in the masonry are all simple starters for the enthusiastic beginner, and before you know it, you’ll be building your own garden shed.
Read: How to get back on track with a DIY job
3. Establish a proper home office
If you’re still working from home, a proper desk, a chair that won’t turn your spine into a boomerang, a filing system that keeps the paper piles at bay, a well-stocked stationary cupboard and ample charging ports will change your life.
4. Declutter
It’s quite remarkable how much ‘stuff’ the average human can accumulate in a short space of time. From unopened mail to the margarita maker you used once in 2015, and whatever horrors lurk down the back of the sofa, it’s always the season for a spring clean. The Marie Kondo method (‘does it spark joy?’) is tried and tested, but the simpler ‘will I ever use this again?’ may well suffice. Homes are just more usable and relaxing when they’re less crammed.
Read: Viral decluttering tips that will transform your home
5. Cut your energy use
One to work on through the year, this win-win resolution can cut both your carbon footprint and your utility bills. There are any number of ways to slash your energy usage, from turning lights off when you leave the room to using energy-efficient light bulbs and installing a smart thermostat. Power off appliances rather than letting them stew on standby, and fix dripping taps to save a surprising quantity of water. Save the planet and your wallet, a few small steps at a time.
6. Book annual maintenance
Some parts of your home need annual maintenance, and although you might remember to schedule them in the coming months, you can save yourself the doubt and the hassle by booking in bulk now. Different seasons bring different demands – air con units before summer, chimneys with open fires before winter, and gutters at least before Autumn – and some ever-present items require regular attention.
7. Deal with bills immediately
There aren’t many things as tempting to put off as paying bills and dealing with fiddly contracts, but there’s very rarely a good reason to put off something only likely to get pricier as time passes. If you’ve been meaning to switch supplier: just do it. There will never be a ‘right time’, and the longer you put it off, the more likely it is that you will continue to do so. Otherwise, the best part of this resolution is that you probably don’t have to do anything right now. How’s that for not procrastinating?
8. Clear up your shoes and jackets
Your front hall is the window to your home, and all too often our instinct on entering is to discard shoes and jackets respectively on the floor and the backs of chairs. A proper shoe rack and coat stand will clean up your home’s aesthetic, while making outerwear much easier to find.
Read: Why spring cleaning is good for your mental health
9. Make your home more pleasant
Your home is your constant companion, and the only location you can truly call your own, so use this January to make it a really nice place to spend time. Scented candles, extra lamps, a new lick of paint, and as many unnecessary soft furnishings as you fancy. Why not? Indulge.
Have you made any New Year’s resolutions? Let us know in the comments section below.
– With PA
