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8 New Year’s Resolutions for Your Home

The New Year is all about starting fresh, making new commitments and honoring those you have made in the past. It’s about dreaming big and setting goals in your life. Since your home is part of your life, why leave it out? Here are eight home-centric New Year’s resolutions to make for 2014!

I Will Be Happy With What I Have
A new year doesn’t necessarily mean you need to start from scratch; it can mean learning how to appreciate what you already have. It’s easy to get caught up in the bigger, the better, the newer; but the satisfaction of constantly upgrading is fleeting, and the bills and waste stick around for the long-term. Challenge yourself to work with what you already have. If you want change, consider repainting furniture or swapping pieces in different rooms, instead of totally purging and starting from scratch.

I Will Finally Rid Myself of Excess
While the minimalist look continues to be en vogue, your home should always have a personal touch, whether it’s your kids’ artwork or trinkets you have picked up on trips abroad. The key is to be able to distinguish between meaningful momentos and, well, junk. Honestly assess the articles in your home which serve no real purpose. Should they be kept, stored, sold, donated or trashed? Whether you do a mass overhaul or tackle one room per weekend is up to you, but know that the end result will be a peaceful, harmonious home.

I Will Take a Risk
Maybe you’ve flipped through home décor magazines before, pausing at a bold trend that you love. “It looks great there,” you think, “but it wouldn’t work for my home.” This year, don’t let your self-imposed limits hold you back. If you’ve had your eye on something a little different for a while now, let yourself finally take the plunge. It’s easy to be conservative, but being adventurous is way more fun.

I Will Invest Where It Matters
Just like with clothing, there are some household items that are simply worth a good investment. For instance: your mattress. Mattresses can be expensive, but the difference between a good one and a bad one is invaluable. Being well-rested impacts your day-to-day life in almost every way. Depending on your stage in life, what furniture pieces you use the most, and what your budget allows, identify one or a few significant pieces that you’d like to upgrade this year. Establish a plan to save money over time, and aim to invest in a quality piece by the end of 2014. If you take good care of it, you’ll have it for many years to come.

I Will Put Things Back Where They Belong
Baskets, decorative boxes, complicated shelving matrixes, hidden drawers, and hooks everywhere—there are so many wonderful storage solutions available that there really is no excuse to have a disorganized home. The reality is that, despite there being a perfect place for every item, things don’t always get stored properly. It then becomes a habit to stop putting things away, and all those handy little storage options become perfectly useless. Promise yourself to start establishing new habits in the New Year, and use these storage solutions for what they were intended for. Once it’s part of your routine, you will love the clean feeling so much that you won’t be tempted to veer off track.

I Will Enjoy My Home
Many homes have entire rooms that sit empty much of the year. Formal dining rooms host Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Easter dinners, and then collect dust throughout the summer, for example. And then there are the beautiful pieces of furniture that are simply too beautiful to touch. Or the wedding china that is too expensive to use. Remind yourself that your home is meant to be lived in, and beautiful things are meant to be enjoyed. Spend time appreciating the wonderful things that make your home your own.

I Will Maintain My Home
Out of sight, out of mind—this should definitely not be your mantra when it comes to home maintenance. As with your car, your home needs regular servicing to operate smoothly. Schedule required inspections and address minor issues as they arise. Spending a little money up front can save a lot of money down the road.

I Will Tackle the Room I Hate
There’s one in every home: the neglected room that just doesn’t look quite right. The paint job that looked so good at the time now looks terribly outdated. The all-beige palette prevents it from having any personality. The smorgasbord of furniture looks cluttered and chaotic. This is the year you will finally address the room you hate. Confront the issues, whether it means a fresh coat of paint or repurposing the room entirely. Do you really need a guest room, or does it make more sense to turn it into a home office? Identify the reasons you don’t like the room, come up with a solution, and make it happen!

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