Home Maintenance & UpkeepMost work from home articles you may read focus on the benefits of being able to spend more time with your family, having more free time, and being able to avoid the daily commute. But other factors such as home maintenance can play such an important role in what your weekly or daily routine can accomplish. Working on your own home can be not only cost effective, but also prevent troublesome breakdowns or unwanted headaches further down the road. As spring approached and the snow began to melt, I knew certain work tasks and maintenance duties were just around the corner. I plan for these events every spring and procure a summer list of things I want done, or things that really need doing. Home maintenance is not something that should be ignored. The years you spend in the comfort of your home is the payoff for the work and maintenance you will occasionally have to give back. It is not something that many of us like to so much as even think about, while others find working on the home a nice alternate activity and constructive distraction. Lets face it. Nothing lasts forever, and like the family car or van your home is no exception. One of the main problems you may encounter is the degradation of paint and wood, both on the interior and exterior of a house. And unless your house is made of brick and all the windows are vinyl coated or aluminium capped, you will have some work to do (sometimes annually) with paint. But this is just one aspect of home maintenance that needs periodic resolution. Rain gutters, shingles, ductwork, facia, chimneys and flues all need annual attention and maintenance. The grounds around the property such as driveway maintenance, and tree’s and shrubs, are also an important factor that can impact property value as well. When I first plan out my work list, I like to start with a list of things that need to be dealt with, or I know will be part of the work on home agenda. I find that making a list helps out a lot, (unless you have a great photo detail working schedule memory,) it is helpful to write down a list of duties or renovation jobs that need doing. I like to prioritize the list with home maintenance jobs that I consider important enough to get done sooner than later. Itemized jobs such as plumbing leaks, clogged rain gutters, bad and unsealed weather stripping, or even natural erosion all pose threats to your household. If you live in the colder climates like I do, or where we get snow in the winter months, working on the interior of your home in the cold seasons is the obvious thing to do and practice. But interior work can be done basically throughout the year unless you are doing some serious inside painting, in which the opening of windows would be necessary. Property maintenance however is just as important as the interior or immediate exterior of the home. And I find that when I work at home, it is a nice distraction to get outside and do a periodic evaluation of the property. Some really important home maintenance items you should also have on your checklist are items that need periodic review or replacement. Smoke alarms and carbon monoxide detectors should not be overlooked, and when your battery operated smoke alarms start to beep to remind you of replacement, do it. Furnace filters can also become a concern if not replaced or cleaned on a regular schedule, especially if you have cats or other animals in the house, fur and dander can collect rapidly. TIP: Also check the air intake and cooling on the bottom front side of your fridge. It needs to be clear of animal fur and other debris for proper circulatory function.
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