5 New Year's Resolutions You'll Want to Keep for Your Home

It's traditional around the new year to make lists of resolutions that plan a new start. Chances are, however, about a week into the new year, you may decide it's just too much trouble to keep any of those resolutions. This year is going to be different—you're going to want to keep those five resolutions for your home. All you have to do is revisit them a few times over the course of the year to get good results.

Make a Long-Term Plan

Because none of these resolutions are things you have to do every day, one of the best ways to make sure that you'll stick to your goals is to plan the tasks out in advance. Make a list, whether monthly or quarterly, of what you need to do to keep an organized home. Then, consult it regularly to check off those tasks.

Clean Room by Room

The very start of the year is always about cleaning: You have to gather up the wrapping paper, get rid of the tree, and clean up after the party you had to ring in the new year. Because you have to do all of this already, it's easy enough to just keep going and do a deep-clean of your home. Take it room by room, making sure to tackle the rooms that have the highest foot traffic first. Scrub, vacuum, rinse, and repeat until your home looks brand-new again. At the start of every new quarter (that's mid-April, mid-July, and mid-September), do another deep clean room by room.

Purge Your Spaces

Cleaning is always a great place to start, but creating real change in your home will require you to take it a step further and purge some of the things you don't need. At first, this can seem a little daunting, but be relentless. If something hasn’t seen the light of day for an entire year (or more), then you've spent an entire year proving to yourself that you don't really need it.

The important part about this step is to be methodical. Don't just start ripping open closets and drawers and pulling everything out. You'll wear yourself out much sooner than you think, and the pile of things that will end up sitting on the floor is more likely to discourage than encourage you. Instead, use the same plan you had when cleaning, and go one room at a time. The process will take a little longer, but it will be much more manageable and far more likely to reach completion.

Bring Fresh Flowers Home

This may sound like a little thing, but you'll be surprised at the impact that a range of fresh flowers can have on various rooms in your home. Compared to some of the other options, florals are among the least expensive makeovers you can bring to a space. Finding the right colors, heights, and arrangements can really complement the existing decor in your rooms. And the right plants can do anything from cleaning the air to providing at-home aromatherapy to lift your mood or help you relax.

Schedule Maintenance Jobs

Parts of your home need regular maintenance throughout the year. For example, the air conditioning unit should be inspected before summer begins. Your chimney should be maintained before you light your first fire in the late fall. Gutters need to be cleaned in both the spring and the fall.

Instead of counting on yourself to remember to make those handyman appointments throughout the year, sit down and make the calls now. Ask if you can schedule the appointments months in advance, then note them on your calendar.

Source: The Spruce