Happy Monday, urban housewives! Did everybody have a great weekend? I spent mine enjoying the beautiful summer weather and hopefully trying to combat my pitiful winter pale. (Don’t worry; I was liberal with the SPF!)
I also spent this summery weekend starting to tackle a few home renovation projects that have been demanding attention around my apartment. When the weather gets warm, I tend to focus my efforts on outdoor, spring and summertime home projects. Lots of people do! But the truth is, summer is the best time to take care of those more wintry improvements, because it allows you the time to take them on without having to actually use said appliances or home features. So take a look at my list of the three most important home renovations you should consider this hot, summer season!
Get On Top of Your Gas Furnace
Most people know that your furnace ought to be serviced each year before you actually have to start using it. But that doesn’t mean we all actually follow that sound advice! Set a date this summer for a maintenance professional to come take a look at your furnace. If there’s nothing wrong or that needs to be updated, it should be a really quick visit. If there is something to address, well then you’re darn lucky you found it before you actually started needing to turn your heat on. Trust me – your chilly ol’ bones will be mighty grateful you took care of it now come wintertime, when a piping hot – and fully functional! – gas furnace is the perfect accompaniment to a bowl of soup and a good book under a blanket.
Seriously Clean that Stove
I don’t know about you guys, but I generally turn my stove off after Easter and leave it that way until around about September at the earliest. It turns kitchen into, well, an oven! I like to enjoy a cooler kitchen by leaving the oven off and the windows open. So with the exception of an occasional batch of cookout cookies, I am vowing to have my oven professionally cleaned this summer and serviced for any quirks or ailments. It’s my turn to host Thanksgiving in September, so the last thing I need is a last minute problem before popping in a turkey to feed 12. It’s the perfect season to have the stove cleaned inside and out (either professional or done yourself, you proactive thing you.)
Winterize Your Windows
If you live in an apartment like I do, windows become critical in terms of keeping out the cold in wintertime and keeping down the costs of heating your little box. If you have any windows that are broken, cracked, separating, or something else along those lines, it’s time to cal your super and have him fix or replace them. If you can get him or her to replace windows that are past their prime with double-pane windows, that’s ideal. But if not, you can replace the caulking to seal cracks against cold air coming in. That’s a really easy, inexpensive solution that can save you a lot of money once Old Man Winter comes around.