The New Necessities: A Guide to First-Time Home Maintenance

So, you’ve unpacked all your boxes, arranged your furniture, and now find yourself sitting contentedly on your couch with a mug of tea. Welcome to your dream home! Getting to this point may have felt like an uphill battle, and rest assured the hardest part is over. However, like any new venture, home ownership comes with a set of responsibilities and steps you’ll need to follow to maintain your peaceful abode. Let’s explore the path that lies ahead.

Invest in Cleanliness

Versatility is always best here. Vacuum cleaners by Bissell are a a good example of quality vacuums that come ready with other interchangeable, compact heads to cover hard-to-reach, and thus usually neglected spaces. I know that virtually nobody sees investing in a quality mop or vacuum as ‘treating yourself’, but in actuality using good cleaning supplies will save you much time and money in the long run.

You’ll need to do some minor research in order to purchase the supplies that are most suited to your home environment. For instance, if you have pets, you’ll need a decent pet vacuum with a fur brush. If your house is mostly carpet, you’ll also need to invest in brushes with long bristles, and potentially even a dedicated carpet cleaner - for those lighter, high maintenance tones.

Behind the Scenes Maintenance

All homes are made up of a myriad of utilities, and the best thing you could possibly do is to be proactive about maintaining these. Toilets, showers, sinks, ovens, stovetops and rangehoods, refrigerators, and even light fixtures. All of these features need to be maintained, each with their own specific care routine.

Generally, issues like leaky or blocked pipes and cracks in your foundation, originate when left unchecked over long periods of time. You can keep track of these less obvious home maintenance duties before they become larger issues simply by keeping a bi-annual checklist to inspect your utilities.

Blinds and Awnings

Like other utilities, blinds and awnings require routine maintenance to extend their lifespan and optimise performance. Making sure they remain clean and dust-free not only enhances their visual appeal, but can also contribute to indoor air quality improvement. Conducting regular inspections to detect structural damages or wear and tear early - for instance a blind's mechanism may need lubricating during harsh weather conditions or an awning's retract mechanism might need tightening when necessary. Incorporating them into bi-annual checklist will keep them running optimal condition throughout their lifespan. Should replacement or repair become necessary, ABC Blinds & Awnings offer solutions tailored towards fulfilling individual's specific requirements.

Weeds and Other Pests

A good dose of the great outdoors can cure just about anything. But when the natural world starts encroaching into your home and garden, it’s not unusual to feel immensely stressed. Weeds pop up out of nowhere and during the very worst of times. It’s not enough to fill your garden beds with colourful evergreen shrubs when the heights of summer or winter could easily take them from you. Plus, when the beds are vacant, the weeds will undoubtedly grow tenfold.

There are a variety of steps you can take to make sure that the weeds appear less and less! The very same can be said for your indoor pests, like mice, roaches, flies, and those dreaded ants. Again, regular vacuuming and cleaning down benchtops should do the bulk of the job, and if it doesn’t there are always specialists. However, if you ever find yourself with an infestation, you’ll need to investigate its source to ensure it won’t happen again.

Sometimes, pest infestations can be a blessing in disguise, as they can also help you find any cracks or substantial gaps in your walls, windows, and caulking. And you can always use the extra support when it comes to handling your ‘behind the scenes’ maintenance.

The style of your home can also dictate how much maintenance you’ll find on your plate. So, if you prefer a low-maintenance lifestyle, it’s worthwhile adopting some minimalist principles, and going for hardy, drought-tolerant plants in your garden. Whatever elements you want to introduce, it’s all about making your new home the best possible environment for a lifetime of peace and happiness.