5 Easy Steps How to Maintain Your Home

Home maintenance tasks are always worth the investment of your time, energy and money. After all, they help to enhance everything from your curb appeal to safety within your home. Despite this, they often fall to the bottom of our to-do list, especially if we’re contending with a busy work schedule, parenting responsibilities and more.

However, it’s important to note that there are certain steps you can take to simplify home maintenance, as opposed to turning it into a chore that will take up endless hours of your precious time – and below are just a few examples! 

Brush up on your DIY skills.

According to a recent study, approximately “48% of homeowners believe that they don’t have the necessary skills or knowledge to carry out maintenance work around the house.” However, a lack of experience in this regard does not mean that you can let your house fall to ruin. After all, there are plenty of ways in which you can improve or develop your DIY skills. 

For example, while some aspects of home maintenance should be left to the experts (more on that later), brushing up on your DIY skills means that you’ll be able to tackle a large majority of these tasks independently. There are plenty of guides online that talk you through the more basic tasks associated with home maintenance, such as fixing a leaking or dripping tap. If you’re more of a visual learner, you can watch YouTube tutorials for a little more guidance. Finally, you can also sign up for classes specifically designed to help participants improve their DIY skills and abilities.  

Write down a list of essential tasks. 

One of the easiest ways to keep your home in good condition year-round is to put together a checklist of essential tasks that you must complete each season. This allows you to make better use of your time without neglecting essential tasks, such as boiler maintenance.

For example, each summer, you should:

• Check your pipes, plumbing and roof for signs of damage or disrepair
• Repaint external features, such as fences, walls and door frames
• Clean your external (and internal) windows
• Take care of your garden/green spaces.

However, it is important to note that some tasks should be carried out much more regularly, ideally every month. This includes checking or testing any alarms, such as your fire alarm, smoke alarm and carbon monoxide alarm. Despite the importance that these systems play in maintaining a safe environment for your children, studies show that 16% of Americans have never checked their smoke or fire alarms, and many have disconnected them altogether.

Start with the exteriors. 

When it comes to carrying out home maintenance tasks, it’s better to start with projects relating to your home’s exterior first. This is because they often receive significantly less attention than your home’s interiors for fairly obvious reasons. However, as your property’s exterior must be able to withstand a wide range of weather conditions, from blustery storms to high temperatures in the summer months, it’s important that you show it some love from time to time! 

For example, you could start by cleaning out your gutters. By eliminating blockages, you can ensure that any rainwater is able to flow safely away from your property, preventing significant (and often costly) damages. However, you may also want to look into installing a gutter guard during this time. This is a great preventative against the build-up of dirt, debris and leaves within your gutters and can drastically reduce the amount of time and energy you have to put into gutter maintenance. Click here to Find a LeafFilter near you and find out more about the services they offer. 

Know when to bring in the experts. 

As mentioned above, it is important to know when you’re realistically able to tackle a home maintenance project yourself and when you’ll need to call in the experts. While you may be tempted to save money by whatever means possible, the truth is that some tasks will simply fall far beyond your skill set. By attempting to carry them out yourself, you’re putting your safety at risk. For example, while you may be keen to replace damaged or faulty roof tiles yourself, a recent study found that 97% of all roof and ladder accidents happen at home. 

On a similar note, when you put yourself out of your depth when trying to complete a home maintenance task, you’re much more likely to make a mistake. This means that you’ll need to spend even more money on repairs further down the line. Working with a professional, however, such as a handyman or plumber, ensures that the task is done right the first time!

Focus on the finer details. 

Home maintenance isn’t always about repairs! It’s also about making your home look as stylish or aesthetically pleasing as possible, which could mean it is time to focus on more “cosmetic” tasks, too. For example, it could be that your driveway is in need of some TLC, whether you use a jet washer to wash away years of ground in dirt and grime or consider installing new paving altogether.

Alternatively, you may want to touch up the paint on the walls inside and outside of your home, especially if they have faded considerably since the paint was first applied. While this can be a time-consuming task, it is one that always promises great results, meaning that it is well worth the investment of your time and energy. 

Final Thoughts. In short, despite the misconceptions associated with this kind of home enhancement project, maintaining your home does not need to be a major headache. In fact, by focusing on one task at a time, brushing up on some of the basics ahead of time, and bringing in expert support when necessary, it can be a breeze!

As such, now is the perfect time to get started on a bit of home maintenance, no matter how long it has been since you completed your last maintenance project.