3 New Year’s Resolutions For Your Home
A new year means a new you! But it can also mean a new home. No, we’re not saying you have to move houses every January, but there are a few things you can do around the house to save money, reduce hassle, and make your home feel like a brand new place to live.
Get Your Energy Usage Under Control
January tends to be cold, so it’s a perfect time to think about saving on your electric and heating bills. A good place to start is by covering vents and turning off radiators in rooms you never use — invest in a couple of good space heaters to keep the rooms you’re in warm, then turn down the thermostat in the rest of the house.
Smart thermostats are also a great investment. For only a few hundred dollars, you can get a WiFi connected thermostat and temperature sensors to place around the house that will let you manage your heating much more precisely. You can set the temperature in specific rooms, schedule changes, and even have the heat or A/C turn off automatically when you’re not in the house.
Get Organized
When’s the last time you went through your basement or took a look in those big tubs on shelves in the garage? Too long, right? This year is the year that you catch up on all your clutter. Take your time and go room by room, opening up forgotten drawers and storage bins and honestly thinking about whether you still need what’s inside.
A good rule of thumb is that if you haven’t used something in a year, you probably don’t need it anymore. Throw away stuff that’s old or broken, sell the things that still have some value on Facebook Marketplace, eBay, Craigslist, or wherever you prefer, and donate the rest. You’ll clear up a lot of space and might even be able to make some pocket money along the way.
Finally Get That Old Carpet Replaced
Chances are, your house still has the carpet it had when you bought it. It’s probably starting to show its age in places, whether it’s stained, dirty, or just wearing thin. Now’s the time to swap out that old carpet for a new look!
You can save a lot of money on your new carpet by buying carpet irregulars. Irregulars are batches of carpet from the factory with tiny manufacturing defects, too small to feel underfoot or even see. At Sloane’s, we use our decades of carpet buying experience to buy up these batches of irregulars straight from the factory, which allows us to pass steep discounts on to you.
Replacing carpets in one room or even the whole house means you’ll have to move furniture around, but there’s a silver lining — moving everything gives you a chance to experiment with furniture placement, rejuvenate a space with a new layout, or even take stock of which pieces you don’t need or use anymore.
Think Long-Term Gains, Not Short-Term Savings
If you’re doing big projects this year and you plan to be in your house for years to come, think about your projects in terms of years or decades, not just the price tag on the shelf.
Fiber-cement siding is more expensive than wood or vinyl, but it’s weather-proof, dent-proof, fire resistant, and doesn’t warp with changes in temperature or humidity. Paint jobs will last longer and flake less, saving you thousands over the lifetime of the house. This siding might even outlive you!
LED bulbs are another great investment for future-proofing your house. Not only will they save money over their lifetime, which is good for your wallet, your power bill, and the environment, but they’ll last a staggering 20,000 to 50,000 hours — 20 to 50 years, depending on how you use them. LEDs are slightly more expensive up front, but their cost has plummeted in recent years — where a single bulb used to cost around $40, now you can get a 16-pack for around $25.