The journey of homeownership only begins at closing. Any homeowner will tell you after all the papers are signed and the property is yours is when the list of to- dos really starts. It doesn’t have to be overwhelming. If you tackle a few home maintenance tasks every month you can manage and still keep most Sunday mornings free for brunch. In this article, I have highlighted those home improvements, which can be carried out in January, and which are necessary to be done before the winter or during the winter season because it has many harmful impacts on the health of individuals. 

Replace Air Filters

Air filters play an essential role in your home HVAC system throughout the year, but in winter, dirty air filters can make a big difference in your comfort. Because furnaces often use a heat transfer system to heat or cool the air in your home, the available air is pumped into some rooms by a unit storm. 

That means that dust, pet hair, fur, and other fine particles are also painted as part of the heat exchange. Air filters help prevent plumbing and prevent heat exchange in the heart of your furnace. Over time, this structure may shut down your air filter. 

The extra texture in your air filter means less air can get back into your home. Closed air filters are dotted with dust, pet hair, or dander, and, more commonly, chemicals have already been filtered out of the air.  

When the air returns to a dirty filter, it picks up the dust and debris and returns it to your home. This may be an additional health hazard for people who are allergic to certain substances or respiratory conditions, especially in winter when it is often too cold to open a window to let fresh air into your home.  

Keeping your air filters clean is a straightforward way to keep your air clean and reduce the risk of illness in winter. Ignoring your air filters for long enough, the gradual accumulation of dust and debris can cause your HVAC system to deteriorate. 

If your system works too hard to pump air into your house, and is required to do this for a long duration of time, it can cause fragmentation. These types of major problems can lead to lowering the life of your heating system – which means additional maintenance costs or the need for a whole new system. That kind of relaxation of your home heating system, often when you need your most heat, goes far beyond the difficulty of taking the time to check and change your air filters regularly. 

Clean and Organized Pantry 

When you manage the time to organize your pantry, as in any other place in the house, you create an easy-to-use place where you can store your belongings. 

With more room in your pantry, you can remove excess items stuffed into your cupboards and clutter up your tables. Reducing this mess will make your kitchen feel bigger, cleaner, and more enjoyable to use. 

Your kitchen becomes the best one if you know where everything is, and you can easily find it if you need it. Instead of shooting at the pantry shelves and kitchen cabinets to find the dishes or ingredients you need, you will know exactly where you are going and get into the next step of your recipe right away.  

A well-organized pantry allows you to prepare meals, cook, and clean faster and more efficiently, free up most of your time for hobbies and take care of other responsibilities. The organized pantry system makes it easy to see what you do and doesn’t have in one quick look. You will be able to track the ingredients and ingredients better, so you do not buy more than you need in the store because you forgot that you already have it at home.  

If you have any perishable pantry items, such as bread or fruit, you can simply track expiration dates to make sure you are not wasting anything you have already purchased. 

Deep Clean Inside Refrigerator 

One of my most dreaded tasks but necessary and not just because it’s disgusting not to. The most crucial reasons to keep your refrigerator clean is to prevent the spread of germs that can continue to cause foodborne illnesses. We often pile up the groceries without finishing the ones we have saved.  

This triggers the old vegetables and fruits to rot and make room for germs to start breeding. The same thing happens when there is frozen curry or sauce in the refrigerator, and it can be cleaned in time. The refrigerator is the backbone of the entire kitchen, and the kitchen is the backbone of your home. It is imperative to follow its maintenance. 

If you store your refrigerator with fresh food every week, it means that you are just wasting milk and other liquids like sauces and curry often. If so, it is recommended that you clean your fridge at least once a month with warm, soapy water. If you are not used to doing any of these jobs, clean your refrigerator at least once every two months. 

Testing of CO2 and Smoke Detectors

Now it is January, and as temperatures start to drop, we should be preparing our homes for the cold months to come. A person’s home is usually closed to the outside air during those months. This reduction of ventilation can lead to dangerous levels of carbon monoxide to build in your home. Fire hazards are also a constant concern. Some basic precautions must be considered to help prevent the consequences or injury caused my the increase of carbon monoxide.

• Install smoke alarms and carbon monoxide receivers freely. 
• Smoke alarms and carbon monoxide monitors should be on the floor of each house, covering all sleeping areas.  
• Generally, a single device can provide both smoke detection and carbon monoxide. Some smoke detectors and carbon monoxide are connected so that when one alarm detects the presence of carbon monoxide or smoke, all the house alarms go off. 

These connected detector systems are far less common than stand-alone detector units. Regardless of the type of smoke alarms and carbon monoxide receivers you choose, the detectors must be located everywhere so that everyone can hear the alarm, whether they are awake or asleep, when smoke or carbon monoxide are detected. 

Vacuum Refrigerators Coils 

Why? To understand how a refrigerator works — and why you should clean those coils, you need to know the second law of thermodynamics.

• When two objects of distinct temperatures are close to one another, the hot climate cools, and the cold is induced. 
• That heat transfer is the goal of the refrigerator, where the engine and pump pressurize the gas refrigerator (Freon in old refrigerators, tetrafluoromethane in new models) with coils, where it cools and becomes liquid, which heats in the refrigerator and refrigerator., and cooling everything inside. 
• If the coils are dirty with dust or the hair of pets, the refrigeration process is blocked, which can prevent the machine from cooling properly and effectively. 

Like with all other maintenance and self care routines, if you are consistent and keep to a schedule things run smoothly. The same can be true of your home maintenance routine. Just take care of a small list of tasks every month and it won’t feel like work after a while.