Buying your home is one of the biggest investments you can make, and looking after that investment is of course going to be a high priority. Sometimes, though, the sheer volume of tasks can seem overwhelming, especially because so many of them can feel like there is no end in sight. With that in mind, here are a few things you can do to speed up these processes, making them easier to tackle and faster to get done, leaving more time to actually enjoy your home. Starting with…
The Small Stuff
All the little things that eventually build up into bigger problems — things like regular cleaning, repainting, and maintaining appliances around the home. All the handy, old-wives tales of cleaning tricks is not going to help you, however, without a range of quality cleaning equipment. It simply boils down to having the right tools for the job. A good vacuum cleaner can turn a full-day chore into just a couple hours work. Add to this the fact that a decent floor cleaner can actually make surfaces resistant to grime, making future cleaning even faster again.
Have a look through your home and see if you can actually find the source of uncleanliness. Improperly sealed windows and door frames, or open air vents to the outside, for example, can cause dust to build up at incredibly rapid rates.
It also pays to keep aware of the wet areas of your house, and be mindful of loose grout, or bubbling paint.
The Weekend Jobs
One of the big ones in this category is cleaning the gutters. It is incredibly important, especially in places with a high fire risk. Even without the risk of fire, clogged gutters mean that rain goes all sorts of places it not meant to; down walls, into prized garden beds, directly through your teenager’s bedroom window, you name it.
The best way to speed things up is to plan ahead and try to get innovative. Adding a hook to your ladder so that you can hang your bucket at a convenient height is going to save time spent cleaning up later, especially if you have a larger bin at the base of the ladder, with enough of an opening that you can just tip your bucket in.
The Yearlies and Twice-yearlies
A quick Google search will place a plethora of maintenance checklists at your fingertips. Not all of them will be relevant to your house, but have a look through them and determine the ones that are important to your home. Then, put them in your calendar. Finally, do NOT miss those days. If you absolutely must reschedule, make sure you actually write that down.
As with the weekend jobs, try to have a plan for how you’re going to approach things. Many professionals will actually offer follow-up services for any work that they do, and you can take advantage of someone who has more experience than could be available to your average person who only needs to do the task in question once a year.
