The holidays are less than four weeks away! While we’re sure there’s a lot to do (gifts to buy, decorations to hang, cookies to bake, etc.), it’s just as important to ready your home for the winter season as well. Having lists, such as this one, is guaranteed to help you prepare your home for both winter and the holidays.
Maximize Useful Space
Home to so much stuff – from sports and recreational equipment to seasonal decorations and garden tools – there’s rarely room to park one car; let alone two in a three-car garage. Let’s change that. Before decorating for the holidays, take a couple hours or if necessary, days to declutter your garage.
Start by donating, selling or trashing anything you no longer use, or have too many of. The idea here is to get items off the floor, into clearly labeled containers, and onto modular storage units. You can easily purchase everything you need – shelves, cabinets, hooks, pegboards, overhead storage racks – at local home improvement stores.
Replace Weatherstripping
After you’ve maximized space in your garage, inspect the weatherstripping around the garage door’s bottom, sides and top for any wear or tear. Replace as needed to keep rodents, debris, and rain from getting in. Weatherstripping can also improve energy-efficiency by keeping cold air out – an especially valuable quality in an attached garage. Don’t forget to improve weatherstripping on side entry doors as well.
Increase Lighting Outdoors
Transform your whole home in both curb appeal and function simply by increasing your use of LED or solar lighting outdoors. Path lights, spot/flood lights, landscape lights, deck lights, in-ground/well lights, and porch lights are all solid choices. Additional benefits include extending your living space and deterring intruders. Motion-activated lighting often provides the greatest benefits.
Decorate Your Front Porch
Deck out your front porch for the holiday season by stringing lights, hanging wreaths and/or garland, or setting up mini pine trees on both sides of the door. Line your walkway with luminaries or pathway trees for a festive touch. Another good idea is to cozy up any outdoor furniture with holiday printed throw pillows. Pinterest offers some excellent ideas for decorating your front porch for the holidays. Tip: Using LEDs will reduce the cost of decorating your home for the holiday season.
Schedule Garage Door Maintenance
By having the garage door periodically inspected and maintained by a professional garage door service company near Tulsa, you can extend the functional life of what is, arguably your home’s largest moving object. A garage door professional can identify excessive wear and tear, and parts in need of repair or replacement, as well as tighten any hardware that may have become loose over time.
Consider a New Garage or Entry Door
If you’re looking for a way to save energy and increase security, while also adding value to your home, consider replacing your existing garage or entry door. Replacing the garage door ranks as one of the top home improvement projects you can do, generating a 76.9% return on investment at resale, according to Remodeling magazine’s 2017 Cost vs. Value report. A new entry door has a 90.7% return on investment.