Every year, people want to improve their homes. Homeowners are not shy about spending money on home improvement projects, with estimated spending in 2024 reaching up to $485 billion. According to a study by the Housing Centers of Harvard University, that estimate is going up by about $13 billion two years prior, making it clear that modern designs and home trends are always at the back of people’s minds. While home improvements might take up most of the budget dedicated to the home, homeowners might do well with considering maintenance and repairs as well.
A well-maintained home will ensure that any improvements and renovations you can make will be sturdy and reliable. This prevents those changes from causing harm or more adjustments, which could result in unexpected expenses and inconvenience. Home improvements could happen once or twice a year, but household maintenance should happen all year round. Here are a few tasks to include in your household management checklist.
Maintaining Your HVAC System
The majority of homeowners pursue home improvements to expand their residences. The result naturally includes changes in structure, spacing, and layout, which means many of your home’s essential systems will have to adjust to those enhancements. Electrical power lines and plumbing networks often receive attention when making those adjustments, but it is actually the HVAC system that should be the top priority. Comfort will always be a vital point for a home, and ensuring the HVAC system is part of the household management checklist is a good first step to prepare it for home improvements. However, keeping it functional is generally an excellent idea.
The harsh winter season is something you should prepare for every time. The freezing cold will creep into your home, making your family uncomfortable. The heating feature of the HVAC system will ensure you can keep temperatures high enough to avoid multiple layers of clothing within your residences. You can check the thermostat to see if the heating system is working. Inspecting the furnace for problems should also be part of your household management checklist. However, DIY repairs are not recommended when you do find irregularities, making it necessary to contact an HVAC specialist. They have the tools and expertise to handle those problems, ensuring everything is functional for the winter season.
Air conditioning, meanwhile, will be necessary for the hot summer days. It can be challenging to stay refreshed when sweat pours on your body and when exhaustion becomes faster due to heat. Make sure to clean your AC filters and regularly inspect the air conditioner’s coils for your household management checklist. If you find problems or the AC is not working, consider getting an expert in air conditioning repair. The HVAC system is a vital feature of a comfortable home, making it necessary to ensure it remains functional all year round.
Taking Care of Your Driveway
When homeowners pursue home improvements, the driveway often remains untouched. The feature is known for its durability, capable of carrying heavy weight like vehicles and large equipment without sustaining damage. However, wear and tear will often lead to cracks, potholes, and stains after a few years, which could cause long-term damage and trip hazards. The driveway is also prone to being a catch-net for dirt, debris, and weather precipitation like rainwater. As a result, inspecting the driveway for potential issues should be part of your household management checklist.
Inspecting the driveway is the easy part for homeowners to perform. Getting rid of debris is achievable with a broom or a water-pressure washer. You can buy those items at the hardware store and make it a part of your household management checklist routine twice or thrice a year. However, you might need help from a paving contractor if cracks and potholes are already present. They can inspect if the driveway requires patching or structural adjustments, ensuring you always have a functional and, most importantly, safe driveway. Extending the inspection to the garage might also be a good idea. Check if your garage floor requires epoxy coating to make it a more comfortable area. If you do need to repaint it, getting garage flooring installation services can be helpful and efficient.
Checking All the Hinges
The home’s entry points will always be essential household management checklist items as they ensure protection for your home. Different types of doors and windows will be part of your residences, and ensuring they are all functional and durable will prevent attempts from people with ill intent from trespassing into your home. Unfortunately, you might neglect one of the most underrated features of those entry points: the hinges.
Doors and windows often have hinges, allowing them to move sideways and allow either people or air to enter your home. Those hinges, unfortunately, do not receive a lot of attention when people go through their household management checklist. As a result, rust might accumulate, and the hinge pins might come loose. Lubricating hinges will be vital for homeowners to prevent the hinges from becoming challenging to use. However, you might notice that the hinge itself is detached due to constant movement. If hinges are loose, getting a local welder might be essential.
Unfortunately, your entry points’ hinges might be old enough to cause constant inconvenience. You will open windows and doors a lot of times during the day, making it necessary to get replacements. Fortunately, it is a good time for you to make upgrades. To prevent rust, getting stainless steel products can be a good investment. A stainless steel hinge can be durable enough to last years, while also staying relatively healthy from rust or dirt. While most people might want to focus on replacing entry points to modernize their home, they must remember that hinges will always be part of its entire structure and functionality.
Preventing Main Line Spills
Plumbing is a vital system for the home. It carries water, a valuable resource, into the home. Water will be essential in many survival tasks like cleaning, cooking, and hydrating, making it vital to ensure there is nothing wrong with your home’s plumbing system. Unfortunately, you might not notice any problems until leaks and bursts start to appear. As a result, plumbing inspections should be part of your household management checklist.
Taking a look at your plumbing network from time to time gives you an idea of what potential problems you might encounter. You can inspect for small drops of water or deteriorating pipes, allowing you to patch them up and prevent main plumbing disasters. However, spills might already be happening without you noticing them. As a result, getting services for spill control will be vital. They know how to handle pipe leaks with their equipment and knowledge. Homeowners, especially amateur DIYers, could make mistakes that could worsen spills. With spill control, you might not have a problem.
Unfortunately, you might notice that your showerheads, toilets, or faucets struggle to produce water. If that is the case, there might be a problem with your main water line. Main line clogs could happen, and unclogging those areas can ensure you can enjoy water whenever you need it. Still, you might need a plumber to help you unclog whatever’s trapping water in your home. Water is a valuable resource for everyone, and ensuring there are no main line spills will ensure comfort and convenience.
Working on Internal Plumbing
The plumbing network does not stop with water. There will be other piping networks that will carry other elements besides water, and the sewer line is one of the evident. The sewer line collects wastewater, whether from the toilet or the shower, and ensures they make it to the septic tank. Unfortunately, it might be an unappealing task to put in your regular household management checklist. Fortunately, you can get professionals specializing in sewer line cleaning to help you achieve that task.
The sewer line is not the only feature that collects waste from the home. Drainage systems will also play that role, and they are often the ones connected to the sewer lines. Unfortunately, there might be too much debris clogging those drains, making it necessary to remove them. While it might seem easy, there might be pieces of debris far out of reach for homeowners to eliminate. Fortunately, you can get experts on clogged drain repair to remove those obstacles for you. Internal plumbing systems might not be part of the items for your household management checklist, but it is a necessary task.
Ensuring Safe Gas Usage
While most of your home is run by electricity, there are those powered by gas that you might have to pay attention to. Kitchen appliances like the stove and the gas range will require gas to function, ensuring that you can prepare and cook meals without worries about the utility bill. However, using gas can be hazardous and dangerous, and ensuring you have no room for error might be essential to your safety.
Safe gas usage will require you to always turn off your kitchen appliances when not in use. The devices will not use gas when closed, ensuring there is no threat every time you cook. However, finding an alternative to gas might be an essential addition to the household management checklist. You can start with propane, which offers a greener and more sustainable solution for your gas-related problems. It will be vital to have the material installed by partnering with local propane companies. Not only are they selling propane, but they can also install it safely to remove the threat of gas. Gas leaks can be worrisome, but it can be surprisingly difficult if they are already happening. By then, it might be too late to deal with them.
Performing Deep Cleaning
Cleaning your home should be part of your daily household management checklist. Preventing dirt, dust, and debris from becoming a constant problem will be achievable through simple household chores that every family member can perform. However, you might want to dedicate time to deep cleaning, which involves complicated tasks that you might not easily accomplish in minutes.
Deep cleaning often includes the following tasks:
- Carpet and upholstery cleaning
- Storage space wiping
- Refrigerator cleansing and defrosting
- Bathroom and kitchen fixtures sanitizing and disinfecting
- Wall scrubbing
- Inventory washing and organizing
- More aggressive mopping and sweeping
Those are only a few deep cleaning tasks you should do. However, you might still struggle with performing them efficiently and correctly. If that is the case, getting deep cleaning professionals might be essential. They can perform deep cleaning tasks with equipment and knowledge, ensuring your home feels spotless after their sessions. Deep cleaning should be part of the household management checklist twice a year, making it easier to schedule them.
Maintaining a Garden
The interiors will be your primary focus because functionality will be necessary there. However, it doesn’t mean you should forget about your exteriors. One of the most visible traits of your outdoor area is the garden, which is a heavy contributor to your home’s curb appeal. A well-maintained lawn will boost property value, ensuring your house can fetch a price higher than you expect when you put it on the market. However, maintaining a garden requires a lot of work that homeowners must perform.
Start with understanding basic gardening tasks. Watering plants, mowing grass, and preventing pests from starting infestations will be ideal to learn because they might be essential everyday tasks. Investing in gardening tools can help you accomplish those yourself. However, there might be a few complicated gardening tasks that require professional gardeners with specialized equipment. Try to secure their services to ensure you always have an aesthetic and healthy lawn, allowing you to reap the benefits of what the outdoor area can provide. It will take a lot of work, both for yourself and the gardener, to keep the area spotless. However, you must ensure you have the budget to hire those pros.
It will take time to develop a regular household management checklist for the year, especially when problems might not be evident when you perform your inspections. However, it is possible that other issues will pop up and be included in the checklist. Regardless of how many tasks you need to perform, you can still enjoy a comfortable home.
