January Maintenance Tips

January may be cold, dark and gloomy at times, but it can also be a time for adventurous beginnings. Make the most of this month and make it yours as you start out in a new year by clearing space, making repairs, doing preventative maintenance throughout your home, inside and out. Here are some items to give your home a little midwinter Tender Lovin’ Care.

Clean out the kitchen, pantry, fridge, and freezer spaces

My Wife and I recently did this to our Pantry. We removed everything from the pantry and tossed out stale and expired foods. We took the time to wipe down the shelves before putting everything back and even added some new shelfs to create more room and added a fresh coat of paint to the existing shelves. Before putting everything back in, take some time to look for pantry and cabinet organizers online. Look for ways to organize this space better. Clean out the fridge and freezer, and clear off your countertops. Let the revived space propel you to stick with your health resolutions for the new year.

Clear out any disorder and clutter throughout your home

Make a brand-new start with the new year and clear out any items that may not be in use. If dealing with the whole house feels staggering and hard to take on, focus on just a few items or areas, such as books, clothes and even children’s toys. Unwanted clutter, donate to a local charity such as Switchpoint thrift store or the Deseret Industries (D.I.).

Organize cold weather and warm weather accessories

Sort through your sock drawer, entryway baskets, hooks, boxes and anywhere else cold or warm weather accessories are at, and take time to see what you have. Organize and put things in order so everything is easier to find. Again, if you have unwanted items, donate them to someone that could use them.

Organize board games, puzzles, and toys

When bad weather has you held up indoors and you’re looking for a substitute to screen time either from the TV or your phone, board games and cards are always a game changer. Pun intended. I recommend pulling out everything you’ve got and take time to check that each set has all of the pieces from dice, chips, puzzle pieces and so on. Put games your family no longer enjoys aside to give away, and put the rest back in an orderly fashion. By organizing games or even toys slightly different, it may entice your little ones that are stuck indoors and don’t want to brave the colder weather to play with some of those items that they may have stopped playing with. Try adding new items such as a play tent or teepee, a chalkboard or whiteboard wall, a stage area for acting or an area for art.

Protect pipes from freezing

This time of year can cause all shorts of headaches and one of those is if your pipes freeze and burst, ending in costly repairs. Be sure to insulate any exposed outdoor pipes. Un hook your hose from the house and wrap your hose bib in a hose bib insulation wrap. Any pipe or hose bib insulations can be found at any of your local big box stores like Lowes or Home Depot. It’s a good idea to flush toilets and run water in unused bathrooms to prevent frozen pipes and hard water stains. Also, clean your water softener to keep it in good working order. If you’re planning to be away from home for an extended amount of time, ask a friend or neighbor to keep an eye on things. Make sure to locate and find out where your home and your irrigation water shut-off valve is so you can turn off the water quickly if a pipe does burst.

Check smoke and carbon monoxide detectors

With more heaters, wood fires or gas fireplaces being used, it is especially important during winter to make sure those smoke and carbon monoxide detectors are functioning properly. Use the test button on each device, and change batteries as needed. If your smoke and carbon monoxide detectors are like mine, they will let you know when they are low or out of batteries by beeping at you. I do swear though, I think they purposely wait till you’re asleep to do this. Check fire extinguishers and make sure they don’t need to be recharged or replaced. Review your emergency plan and make sure your family knows what the alarms on the smoke detectors sound like and what to do in case of a fire or an emergency. This may be silly for some, but practice what you’ll do in emergencies! Replace or clean your furnace filter and vents. Winter storms can bring power outages, so it’s a good idea to check other items with batteries and have extra batteries on hand. Check light bulbs throughout the house and on flashlights to make sure they are functioning, weather radios, and other emergency items such as a first aid kit. Keep plenty of cold and cough medicine and vitamin C on hand to prepare for flu season. Make sure to have enough water and food on hand for at least 72 hours or longer.

Clean the kitchen

If you’ve been hosting holiday events like us, your kitchen has logged some serious overtime hours. And let’s face it, it’s time to give your kitchen and you a well needed break so sit back and order some takeout. But before you do, take some time to clean the various parts of your kitchen so it’s fresh, clean and well-functioning when you decide to pick up a pot and a serving spoon again. Clean your range and your stove. Clean your range-hood filter in boiling water and baking soda. Cleaning the hood will not only rid your filter of ickiness, but will help to keep your kitchen’s air pure. Look in your microwave and clean out any splattered food debris. If any of the grease is too stubborn to clean, don’t lose your cool over this. Look up alternatives and other ways to clean hard stuck on items off of certain items. Refrigerator coils tend to attract dust bunnies as magnets. So if you want to boost your fridge’s efficiency, vacuuming the coils regularly. You can use a vent cleaning brush for cleaning both your refrigerator and freezer coils as well as your dryer vent. After, cozy up on the couch and take that well needed break.

Last but not least, give in to that urge to hibernate

In winter, it’s instinctive for some to want to spend extra time at home just simply relaxing. Make yourself your own personal haven for snuggling up to read a good book or to watch a movie. Layer on a warm blanket and some sweats, get that extra pillow, make some hot chocolate or cider, and settle in.