Looking after a home when you have your partner there is challenging enough. Even with two of you on the job, you need to do a lot of work. But trying to manage a property by yourself when the other person is away is even more difficult. There’s just so much that could go wrong, and so much work that you have to do.
Fortunately, this guide is here to help. We take a look at some of the tips and tricks that you can use if you’re home alone while your spouse or partner is away. Check them out below.
Create A Plan
If you’re by yourself, you’ll want to create a weekly and monthly maintenance plan for keeping everything shipshape. Break it down into things that you need to do daily for the whole house and then weekly and monthly. Rotate through your options regularly.
Deal With Damage Quickly
It can be hard to know what to do if your garage door gets damaged. They’re complicated contraptions that rely on electronics, motors and complex opening mechanisms.
Leaving the task of sorting out damage until later, however, usually isn’t an option. Often, you have to resolve the issue now. If you have a broken garage door, call your insurance provider. They will be able to tell you whether they cover the costs of repairs or not.
If you encounter a burst pipe, immediately turn the water off at the mains stopcock and then switch off your water heater. This will stop water from continuing to flood into your home and causing damage to the flooring and walls.
If electrical fittings get wet, do not touch them. Instead, immediately turn off the electricity for your home at the mains.
If you notice that your ceilings are bulging, then place a bucket underneath and call out a handyman service for repairs. In some cases, you will also need to call a plumber.
Have A Cleaning Routine Checklist
Your biggest (and most time-consuming) home maintenance task is cleaning. It takes up hours and hours every week but needs to be done to prevent your home from becoming a mess.
As before, start by writing down the cleaning tasks that you need to perform daily. Then move onto other tasks that you might only need to do once per week or month. For example, you might need to wipe down and sanitize kitchen countertops daily, but the oven might only need cleaning once per month. Once you create a home cleaning routine, you automatically feel more in control and less overwhelmed.
Daily chores include making the beds, doing the dishes and putting in loads of laundry for the children’s uniforms. Weekly tasks might include things like vacuuming the carpets and changing the bed sheets. Monthly tasks include dusting the blinds and running the cleaning cycle on your dishwasher.
Keep A Calendar On The Wall
If you’re the only person running your home right now, keeping a calendar on the wall is a nice touch. It reminds you about upcoming events and the things that you need to do on any given day.
When you’re running a house by yourself, it is often surprising just how quickly dates and events come around. For instance, your kids’ dental appointments have a habit of arriving just when you need to get on with an important project at work. Planning them in advance allows you to more effectively organize your week.
Prep Your Meal In Advance
Advanced meal prepping feels like a massive chore while you’re doing it. But it is such a life-saver during the week when you are low on time. Often, you literally don’t have the hours in the day to make and prepare food for the family when you are shuttling kids to school and soccer practice.
Advanced prep saves you time in many ways. It negates the need to continually go to the store to pick up supplies. It reduces the temptation to eat junk food. And it allows you to properly plan your family’s nutrition in advance, making everyone healthier and happier in the process.
Track Your Household Expenses
Tracking your household expenses is critical. That’s because it can eat up a substantial chunk of your overall budget. Keeping an eye on where you’re spending money allows you to ensure that you’re not wasting any of your family’s income.
Some people like to set a budget and stick to it. This tells them how much money they can spend on their homes over the course of, say, 12 months.
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