Reflecting on another year can be so daunting. It can be sentimental. It could be happy or sad. We can even get lost in looking back; stuck in the year gone until the next passes us by. Welcoming in the New Year and saying farewell to the old is a complicated affair and there is no right way to do it. Time simply marches on. With or without us.
That's why, at this time of year, its considered practical to look forward. New years are new in every sense. A new you, a new career, a new home... In a way, there's a wholesomeness to it all. But it can also be quite overwhelming. That's why we're adding a Senelux special spin on the classic New Year's Resolution. We're going to take a look at 5 home-oriented, easy resolutions you can make for 2025.
Resolution 1: Saving Money
Let's be honest, this is a bit of a shoe-in. After the helter skelter of Christmas and New Year's preparation, everyone is going to be looking for ways to recover financially. If there's anything that we can all nod along to, its the financial concerns of that end of year rush.
So how can we save money? How can we scale back our spending and invest wisely?
In the United Kingdom one of the largest contributors to cost is electricity. As we've shifted more and more towards things like working from home, hotter Summers and colder Winters, it's not exactly surprising to find this out. There are, however, a lot of ways to loosen the purse-strings when heading into 2025.
From budgeting spending to taking more time to shop around to find better prices, there are ways to reduce costs. But what about our electricity bills? How can we start to clamp down on one of the biggest expenses for UK homes?
Energy efficiency. Plain and simple. Energy efficiency is a label applied to electric devices that use the minimum amount of power to achieve the best possible result. For example, an energy efficient heater will use less power to heat up faster- thus reducing the overall cost for the same, if not greater result.
Furthermore, energy efficiency take modes and features into account. So if you're going for the budget-heavy approach to saving money in 2025, you can make use of house hold appliances like dehumidifiers with timers, infrared heaters and other adaptable devices.
Resolution 2: Declutter the Home
One of the big ones and, again, we can tie this in to Christmas. We've got all the decorations up, we've had the wrapping paper strewn about the tree. And we've come away thinking "the place could look better."
Let's settle something; everyone's home looks a bit cluttered at Christmas. No matter how big someone's home is, no matter how small- Christmas time just has that effect on our homes. It's almost inevitable. Although, let's be honest, it's a bit inspiring.
If you look over your home and see bits and pieces surrounding areas of comfort, you'll probably want to start thinking about investing in storage, whipping out the hoover and getting nick nacks arranged as best as you can. There are hundreds of ways that you can tackle clutter. Probably even thousands. There will be people, places and experts that are infinitely better at advising home owners on decluttering than us.
But we're Senelux. We supply high quality electronics and appliances. So, obviously, we've got an exciting twist on the whole decluttering conversation. Our solution is compact. Literally. Mini dehumidifiers, pint-sized fans and tabletop air purifiers make all the difference when it comes to keeping the flow of your home smooth.
Downsizing when it comes to home appliances is a great way to seriously cut back on the clutter. Instead of a large, bulky heater, something a bit more slimmed down can really open up your home. Not only are more compact devices better for decluttering your home post-Christmas, but they are also (more often than not) just as effective as larger devices whilst also being more affordable. The perfect win-win scenario.
Resolution 3: Changing your furniture
On the face of it, this may seem like we're just copying resolution idea number 2 again. After all, it's very applicable for us, right? Well, I'm sorry to disappoint, but I'm not going to beat the dead horse. Let's get right into the entire point of this article which is easy new years resolutions that you can stick to.
This one is a bit of a tradition, it turns out. Not really too surprising considering that old adage; change is as good as a rest. Let's be honest- changing all of your furniture isn't exactly a recurring resolution. It's not something that you can really do on a whim, nor is it something that most of us can do year after year. Maybe that's for the best. After all, it's only really worth the change when you think that you're ready for a change. In other words, change of your own accord, not because it is the fashion.
You would be amazed with how proactive, resourceful and clever you can be when you take on a single project throughout the year. Making this resolution is one that gives you options. On the face of it- you can easily "change your home's furniture" within a few months. But that's not the crux of it. What the real aim is, is changing up your home whilst improving your home. Think of it less like a chore and more like an update. One that will change up the look of your home whilst improving your home comfort and the look of your home.
Resolution 4: Redecorate your home or even just one room
More or less an extension of our third New Year's resolution. Albeit this one is a lot more in-depth and probably would be considered more advanced. Especially if you're more of a hands-on type of person.
With rearranging the furniture, we're talking about laser focused dedication to a single aspect of the home. Furniture encompasses tables, chairs, sofas- maybe even T.Vs if they see enough use... But it doesn't encompass walls, wall paper, ceilings, light fixtures or flooring. That is where redecorating comes in.
In an ideal world, redecorating is something that we do solely because we want to. Why do we want to get new carpet in the living room? Because we're sick of the old. New lights? To fit our new light shades.
Sadly, this is very often not the case.
Reality is that we end up redecorating only after a big event or discovery about our home. Mould has set in on the bathroom ceiling. This leads to us getting fairly expensive work done. Which leads to us doing up the bathroom to prevent the same thing in the future. It's a vicious cycle to say the least.
To break it, we can make our New Year's resolution to redecorate our home. As thorough as we can, from top to bottom. It's not exactly an easy resolution to keep- it really can be a lot of work- but it's similar to our third resolution. You'll surprise yourself at how resourceful you can be when you get started and commit to tackling your own home in 2025. In terms of the reward at the end of it all though. There's nothing like a new home and, when you spend a significant amount of time redecorating, that feeling hits you in spades. Especially at the end, when you get to relax in your newly renovated, newly redecorated home.
Resolution 5: Protecting your home and seeing the value in doing so
Is this a cop-out? Probably. It certainly is strangely spiritual-sounding for a typical Senelux article, but if you think about all of our articles- it shouldn't really be surprising. We were not exactly about to let you make a New Year's resolution with turning it into a teaching opportunity. And really, isn't that what a resolution is all about? To immerse yourself into something in order to learn?
Protecting your home in 2025 is going to be an incredibly interesting prospect. Double glazing on your windows, new locks and doors. All of this is a direct way of protecting your home (especially from other people.) But that's not really what we're talking about.
We're talking about protecting your home from wear and tear. The sorts of things that reduce the value of your home over time and worsen your living conditions. Things like damp, mould and black mould during the rainy winter and Spring months. And on the other hand, we're also talking about things like pollen and air pollution as well as overbearing heat that can occur during the height of the Summer.
Protecting your home is, really, all about keeping cosy. Whilst the effects of damp and mould can be thwarted (and prevented all together) by a trusty dehumidifier, that leaves a gaping hole in your home defences during the Summer. Surely an air purifier for the pollen and a fan for the heat would solve it? But why wait until the problem reveals itself to tackle it.
And that- right there- is where protection comes into it. As a home owner, is it really enough to simply buy a fan when a fan is needed? Wait for it to arrive and to not have planned for it in the first place? Or is it actually better to plan ahead? To tackle the issue directly before it even becomes an issue? We'll leave that up to you.
