5 EASY New Year’s Resolutions for Your Home

Most New Year’s resolutions are about self-improvement. Other people want to start a new habit, like regular exercise. But not a lot of people think about new year’s resolutions for their homes. That’s what I am going to explain here.

 

 

A healthy home is ground zero for a healthy life. To me, that’s a no-brainer. I think anyone experiencing issues with their home would agree with me. It invades every part of your life and your family’s lives. So I’m giving you my top New Year’s resolutions for your home to help you stay ahead of the game and your home ready for a new year. 

 

 

#1 Take Care of the Home’s Exterior

---

Homeowners are always thinking about renovating the kitchen or a bathroom, knocking down a wall, or making a room bigger. They spend all their time choosing tiles, flooring, appliances, and lighting. But do you know where the money should be spent first? On your home’s exterior.

 

I always say- Fix from the outside in.

 

Too many homeowners don’t realize that anything inside the home is at risk if they don’t take care of the outside. So they spend their savings on a kitchen renovation or a bathroom remodel.

 

 

If you have problems with the roof, the foundation, the weeping tile, or the insulation—anything that has to do with your home’s building envelope—that new kitchen or bathroom might have to be torn down to address the problems behind them.

It’s only a matter of time before those problems make their way to the surface. Cracked tiles, ceiling leaks, and indoor air quality issues can all happen if you don’t take care of the exterior.

 

Here are some resources to help with the exterior of your home:

Types of House Foundations Explained

New Windows – Here is What You Need To Know

Protecting Your Roof

How Serious Is A Crack In The Foundation?

 

#2 Test Your Home’s Indoor Air Quality

---

When it comes to the air you breathe do not take chances. You should be testing for radon—which is the leading cause of lung cancer in non-smokers—mould and VOCs.

The best advice I can give anyone interested in having a healthy home is to get a healthy home inspection. This is an inspection that looks at specific areas and systems in your home that impact your health. A qualified healthy home inspector will then compare your test results to national health and safety guidelines to verify if your home has potentially harmful levels.

I don’t like DIY indoor air quality tests. A professional should be conducting it for you because they know how to do it properly and what to do with the results.

My Mike Holmes Inspectors operate in select areas in Canada and will do a thorough assessment of your home.

The good news is making smarter, healthier choices for your home and your family is getting easier. You can make it a Happy New Year by making it a healthy one, too.

 

A healthy home is ground zero for a healthy life.

 

READ MORE:

What Is Radon Gas In A House?

Have You Considered Radon Reduction System

 

How to Improve Your Indoor Air Quality

 

Here are EASY ways to improve your indoor air quality:

• #1 Get your air tested
• #2 Have your ducts professionally cleaned
• #3 Open your windows for about 15 minutes every day
• #4 Invest in an ERV or an HRV
• #5 Invest in an air purification system. I personally LOVE the whisper air repair from Panasonic (no ductwork required).
• #9 Use your kitchen and bathroom fans

 

 

RELATED:

HEALTHY HOME TIPS

5 Tips for Creating a Healthier Environment

 

#3 Keep Water Away From Your House

---

We always want to direct water away from the home, especially around the foundation. That’s why we have grading, roofs, a system of eavestroughs, and downspouts—all working together to do one thing: drive water away from your house.

Help it out over winter. Shovel snow away from the foundation. You don’t want all that snow and moisture sitting up against it, because when it eventually melts you know where it will end up. 

Look for water stains in the attic, especially around the rafters. I’ve said it before, but your home’s first line of defense is its roof. The attic can tell you if it’s holding up.

 

RELATED

Finishing your basement? Read this first.

Do You Have a Leaky Foundation? Here is How To Fix it.

 

 

Our foundation walls are under a lot of stress. Expanding and contracting soil, excessive moisture, and drainage issues are some of the most common threats to your home’s foundation. We want the foundation to keep water on the outside.

 

RELATED:

How Serious Is A Crack In The Foundation?

 

#4 Keep up with Seasonal Maintenance Checklists

---

This one is very important. When problems start happening in the home most people want to blame the builder or contractor or someone else. You think they used cheap materials or installed them incorrectly. But sometimes the source of the problem isn’t a bad contractor, sub-trade or builder—it might be a little closer to home.

 

Nothing lasts forever unless you make sure it does. That means building it right and doing the proper maintenance.

 

There are maintenance tasks you can do yourself every season. Some of these are:

• Change your furnace filters
• Check your bathroom and kitchen exhaust fans for blockages, and make sure they’re removing moisture
• Check for cracks or holes in your home’s exterior walls and foundation
• Clean out the gutters and check if they’ve corroded or disconnected

 

Hire a professional to come to your home and do a thorough check of all its major systems. Have them check the roof, HVAC (heating, ventilation and air conditioning), plumbing, electrical, the basement, the garage, the attic, and the basement crawlspace—get them to check it all. This will help you know what the issues are and what needs to be addressed first.

If you are planning on renovating, your inspection checklist will give you an idea of what needs to be addressed first.

 

The Ultimate Home Maintenance Checklist

 

 

#5 Take A Look At Your Energy Usage

---

Do you unintentionally leave all the lights on when you leave the house? Is your thermostat always set too high?

You can start paying attention to these habits and adjust them, or you can work towards a “smart home”. A smart thermostat will save you money on your monthly bills. You can control your heating and cooling remotely (so you can turn up the heat just before you come home). You can also review your home’s energy consumption in real time.

 

For more information on building an energy-efficient home and utility programs check out this guide by Eaton Electric

 

I also love automation hubs that allow you to control your lighting. Left the house and accidentally left the lights on? With an app, you can turn them off.

I recommend looking into the Phillips Hue collection both indoors and outdoors. That’s what I installed at my place. You can control the lights with your phone, and you can change colours as well. Really beautiful!

 

 

#6 Test Your Water Quality

---

I had my water professionally tested after noticing my water was cloudy. And when I pulled out some of my pipes to look inside, I saw A LOT of scale buildup. I thought, seriously, have I been DRINKING this water? I had a very high level of Total Dissolved Solids (TDS), which is the concentration of organic and inorganic dissolved solids.

 

 

Not to mention, I had hard water as well. I now have a whole home water treatment system and a reverse osmosis drinking water system (from Kinetico) in my house.

Most companies will offer a free water test, and I highly recommend getting your water tested professionally.

 

Here is a full guide on improving your water quality.

 

 

RELATED

How To: Improve The Quality of Water Flowing In Your Home

How To Choose The Best Reverse Osmosis (RO) Water System

What Is The Best Water Filtration System For Your Home

 

So there you go! A quick list of new year’s resolutions I want every single homeowner to make. PROTECT IT RIGHT!

 

READ NEXT

The Complete Home Maintenance Checklist

A Holmes Guide To Renovations

Related Articles