some new homeowner tips

two and a half months in, here are the things that have made the biggest impact so far. some probably pretty obvious and perhaps some not so obvious

• rekey your locks (& new garage door opener). we also upgraded the front door to a keypad lock that can be used with just a key also. not wifi connected, i’m not about that life. no “smart” appliances in my home please and thank you. it’s great to be able to go for walks in the neighborhood and not worry about keys at all.
• put the little felt floor slider pads on your furniture. e.g. one on each leg for chairs around the table. what a simple but wonderful improvement being able to smoothly slide your chair with no screeching or scratching.
• countertop kitchen compost bin. if you have the space on your countertop, a little compost bin by the sink is a great way to cut down waste. i empty ours about once a week into a larger compost bin in the yard and in turn recycle that compost back to the garden. it also greatly reduces the smell of the other trash (that collects much slower without all the food waste).
• yellow butterflies and mosquito bits will take care of any and all fungus gnat problems you inherit from gifted houseplants or box store soil. put a few butterflies around your pots to catch the live adults. steep some mosquito bits in hot water for half an hour and then water your plants with that, and you’ll take care of any eggs laying around. repeat as necessary weekly until bye bye gnats.
• fix the little things that annoy you as soon as you can. you’ll feel so much better afterwards. like a squeaky blinds cord or re-aligning a door that’s slightly off… just take the time to fix it. very few of these problems take more than a few minutes to solve and your peace of mind will thank you.