How to Get Your Home Ready for the New Year

The new year is just around the corner! More than half of Americans -- 60% to be exact -- make New Year's resolutions. These resolutions run the gamut. Just about all of U.S. men and women will resolve to eat healthier, lose weight, save money, quit smoking, or exercise more. Try something new in 2020. Make resolutions to improve your home.

Having a clean and organized home reduces stress and boosts your energy levels. According to a study by Indiana University, people with cleaner homes are happier, healthier, and more active. Put another way, picking up and keeping things orderly can directly help you achieve your run-of-the-mill resolutions, like eating healthier and losing weight.

So go for it! Clean your home more. Improve your surroundings, and meet your other goals, too. Not sure what resolutions to make for your home in 2020? Try these sample home improvement resolutions!

Get Ready to Entertain!

Entertain more. It's simple. We're social creatures. We're wired to be around other people--and to care what they think. Use other people to motivate you to keep things tidy. A quick tip by home care experts is to purchase some big, leafy green plants and take care of them. This immediately adds a new level of sophistication to your home without too much effort on your part.

Entertaining promotes healthy and positive social pressure. Having people over--and doing it often--will encourage you to keep up with appearances when it comes to your home. Barbecues, sports, potlucks, and birthday parties are all great things to encourage friends and family to come over.

Why not start out the year right with a New Year's Eve party? Buy snacks, encourage guests to bring a dish to pass, and purchase eye-catching, cost-effective decorations like streamers, confetti, and gold and silver balloons. Decorate an entire wall by purchasing individual silver balloons spelling out the words "Happy New Year!" Add 2020 if you need the balloons to take up more room. Relatively low-cost foil balloons are meant to be a spectacle. In fact, they were invented to celebrate the New York City Ballet in the 1970s!

Don't forget clean-up! Remember, your new resolution means cleaning up the dishes and picking up after guests and social functions.

Lower Your Energy Bill

Who doesn't want to save money? Installing new windows reduces heating and cooling bills while affording you the added benefit of new, fresh looking windows. Plus, having a clean home is about more than keeping things superficially clean. The average heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) system sucks in dust, dander, and chemicals and circulates them around your house five to seven times a day! New windows will make these systems run more efficiently, reducing the costs and air contamination associated with heating and air conditioning.

Add a layer of fresh paint to window trim for an extra sleek, extra clean look!

Resolve to Keep Everyone Safe

It takes more than just dusting to be a responsible--and therefore happier and more active!---homeowner. Do your part and keep you, your loved ones, and guests safe by keeping up with important maintenance. What does that look like?

To start, did you know that your roof needs to be inspected once or twice per year? Schedule a roof inspection, install surge protectors, and have your home tested for the presence of radon. According to HGTV, radon is a "colorless, odorless gas [that] causes about 21,000 lung cancer deaths each year from the radioactive particles it traps in your lungs as you breathe." Is it a common problem? Unfortunately, the answer is yes. "One in every fifteen homes has elevated levels," HGTV and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) add.

Remember, these costs are protective and well worth it in the long-run. It costs an average of almost $15,200 to sell the average American home. Investing a few hundred dollars in your safety and the safety of all your home's occupants and guests, by comparison, is just a drop in the bucket.

Schedule Cleaning, and Stick to It!

You've got a date to clean your home, and you can't cancel! Without some kind of structure in place, it's easy to let things go and for messes to build up without you realizing it. Make a point to keep cleaning a regular, daily activity. In fact, resolve to do it this New Year's Eve. Here are some things to consider when creating your very own cleaning schedule:

• Dishes are immediate. Always. There are some things that can wait until tomorrow. Dishes aren't one of them. Schedule doing the dishes as a daily activity. Put dishes in the dishwasher every single night, or do them by hand if you have to. Neglecting the dishes leads to weird smells and nasty critters, like roaches and fruit flies. Similarly, the trash needs to go out regularly. Throw out any trash with perishables in it on a nightly basis. Clean countertops and stovetops. Another task that can fall under the daily or nightly category is simply picking up after yourself. If you take a DVD out to watch it, put it back in its case and the case back in its spot after.

• What's semi-immediate? These are the tasks you should resolve to tackle every few days or on a weekly basis. That includes sweeping and mopping floors, wiping down all windows and mirrors, cleaning the refrigerator, washing and replacing bedsheets, and dusting.

• Sometimes cleaning tasks. Sometimes, cleaning may be necessary but it's not particularly urgent. Basically, you just need to make certain it gets done from time to time. These household chores include things like cleaning the oven, cleaning the dishwasher, vacuuming under furniture, and wiping baseboards, door frames, and doors clean.

Did you know your health and overall well-being depends on the cleanliness and safety of your home? This New Year's, resolve to get completely healthy--and that means taking care of the "health" of your home, too! Keep things clean, tidy, and safe by entertaining more often, scheduling cleaning and household chores, keeping up with required home maintenance, and choosing energy-efficient fixtures and practices.

Pro Or DIY: Questions To Ask Yourself Before You Start A Remodel

Summer is one of the best times of the year for renovation and remodeling projects when you're getting ready to put your house on the market. But before you pick up that sledgehammer to start taking out those old cabinets, it might be a good idea to hit the pause button. First, ask yourself whether it's best to DIY or hire a professional for the job. Those Youtube tutorials may make your DIY project look easy, but you don’t want to ruin your home by biting off more than you can chew.

You don't need to hire a contractor for every renovation job you do, especially if the project is small. But how do you know for sure when it's best to call someone else or when to pull on your safety goggles and save some money?

Here are a few key questions to ask yourself when you're not sure if your remodel requires an experienced set of hands.

Do you have all the tools you need for your project?

One important thing to remember when you plan to DIY a project is that your main goal is to save money. You won't be saving money if you need to invest in a series of expensive tools and equipment to DIY your remodel. You may want to have a machinist tool box for your upcoming project.

That said, when you're still in the planning stages of your remodel, make sure that you're considering every material and tool you might need and the cost of that material. Do you need specialized drills or flexible graphite, which is 95% carbon? Or do you just need a good saw and some new hardware?

If you need more expensive materials or equipment, it may be in your best interest to contact a professional to do the job for you. This way, you're only paying for the contractor's services instead of paying for all of the equipment, which you might not use again.

However, if the materials you're using are inexpensive or you plan on using the equipment you're purchasing again in the future, it might not be a bad idea to DIY your project. Just be sure to do the calculations and compare them with your budget before making your final decision.

Does your remodeling project require specific skills?

Approximately 50% of the world's steel is used for buildings, and you don't necessarily need a degree in engineering to use steel in a remodel if you're going for an industrial design.

However, you might need professional assistance if you want the steel you're using to look a certain way. For instance, powder coating is a popular dry finishing process that represents 15% of the industrial finishing market. Powder coating provides both protection and decoration for steel and other metals.

The same is true for wood materials. You can stain wood cabinets yourself during a kitchen remodel. But if you're looking to paint your cabinets, it might be a good idea to have a professional do the job to avoid any mishaps that might make a potential buyer think twice. After all, 8% of consumers said they "caused damage to my home" as the result of their DIY home improvement projects. In this situation, it’s far better to find a reliable, professional home remodeler to give you the quality and expert finish you’re looking for without causing any damage. 

Do you have the energy to take on a remodeling project?

Once you've established the materials, equipment, and skills you need for the project you've decided to take on, it's important to ask yourself whether you have the energy to do it. This might sound like an odd question, but there's a reason why millennials are more likely to take on a DIY project.

Just one hour of moderate intense exercise such as martial arts can burn up to 500 calories. If you can handle the sweat, you can take on a remodeling project by yourself, with a partner, or with friends and family.

However, if you're on a time crunch for selling your home or you don't have a lot of energy to do the project yourself when you get home from work, it might be a better idea to contact a contractor.

There are many factors to consider when deciding whether to DIY a home project or to hire a professional. But ultimately, the decision comes down to your budget, your schedule, and your capabilities. Small renovations that are on the cheap can easily be done on your own, but be careful with larger and more complicated projects.