5 Tips to Help You Be Your Best Homeowning Self in 2022
1. Focus on Safety
When is the last time you checked the status of your smoke and carbon monoxide detectors? How about made sure you had working fire extinguishers in accessible areas, adequate supplies including canned food and fresh water in the event of a service outage, or emergency plans and supplies for pets in the event of a short-notice need to evacuate all occupants, human and animal? For 2022, make a plan at the beginning of the year. You can acquire supplies and strategize now to make things easier in the unlikely event of an emergency. Educate yourself on what your household needs to be prepared: https://www.publicalerts.org/get-ready
2. Indoor Air Quality is Key to Overall Health!
Not only should your air filters be changed regularly to improve your home’s energy efficiency, but it’s crucial for your family’s overall health to be maintaining your home’s air systems. We recommend changing out your home’s air filters quarterly during normal seasons, and perhaps even more during fire seasons.
3. Fix Dents, Divots, and Trip Hazards
It’s funny what we can get used to when we walk past it each day but don’t have the time to deal with it. Sometimes we notice things like loose screws, divots or dents in the pavement, or loose stair railings and we simply adapt to them and remind ourselves to be careful around them. It’s not that we don’t care about these issues, it’s just that our busy lives can cause them to fall by the wayside. We recommend doing yourself a favor and getting a list of these issues together. You can work on getting them taken care of throughout the year, and you’ll be surprised what getting these items checked off of the list can do for your mental health. Not to mention, your guests who aren’t used to avoiding your trip hazards will be much safer.
4. New, Expensive Holiday Gifts? Now is the Time to Start a Home Inventory
While being the victim of a theft is something unfortunate and unlikely for anyone to encounter, theft does skyrocket around the holidays- specifically ones that revolve around shopping and gifting. Besides basic security measures like locking your house and securing items away from guests when the home is occupied, one thing you can do to prepare for this type of emergency is to create a home inventory. High-ticket items like electronics, appliances, and outdoor equipment can be logged with photos into a spreadsheet to present to a home insurance professional to help them process your claim more efficiently.
5. If Coats are Collecting Dust, Someone Else Could Really Use Them
If the weather is as cold as it’s getting in your area and there are still piles of unused coats, snow pants, boots, and other winter warming gear in the garage collecting dust, this year is a fantastic time to consider donating those items to a charity. Keep a few odd sizes for guests, but if you’ve got boxes and boxes of old winter gear, they may make a huge difference in someone’s life during the freezing winter season this year.
