New Year's resolutions to improve your home

There are many New Year's resolutions that people can make to improve their home. If you're interested in improving your living space at the start of the new year, check out these ideas.

• Consider starting a cleaning schedule for everyone that lives in the house. Spread the tasks out between people, and schedule different chores on each day of the week. This ensures that the work is split up evenly and your house stays consistently clean with little effort.

• Your house uses a lot of energy, but you can help save the Earth and cut down on your bills if you decide to live greener. Make eco-friendly changes like swapping out regular light bulbs for Energy Star light bulbs, conserving water, cooling your house with open windows, and unplugging unnecessary appliances.

• If you keep things on countertops or tabletops, make an effort to find a better place for them. Not only does clutter look unsightly, it also gathers more dust which can be bad for your respiratory health.
• Consider investing in a small storage space if you don't have room to fit everything inside drawers, cupboards, or closets.

• You don't have to do big renovations to make a space feel like it's brand new. Try picking a room that feels tired and boring and re-paint it.
• Choose a colour that's very different from the original, and try to match it with the colour and pattern of the furniture. You'll be surprised at how re-energizing a fresh coat of paint can be!

• All homes have appliances in them, but you may be using only a fraction of the features they have. Many people don't take the time to read the manuals of things like ovens, televisions, or washing machines.
• Sit down and go through the manuals of your appliances and you're sure to learn some cool things about them that you never knew they could do.

• Nearly all homes have a room that no one really uses. Commit to spending more time in that room in order to take full advantage of your house. You may be surprised to find that it has lovely light that pours in during the afternoon, or that the old couch from your grandmother's house is a really comfortable place to take a nap.