Are you looking for ways to make your home feel cozier this holiday season? Short days and colder temperatures mean more time spent inside and at home. You want to make your home as warm and inviting as possible to get through the winter and enjoy a happy holiday. These home care and decorating tips are sure to help you fall in love with the season.
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#1 Decorate with Evergreen
Scent is the sense that’s most closely associated with memory, and there’s no scent that will bring back memories of childhood holidays more than evergreens. Don’t limit yourself to just the tree. You can hang evergreens like holly, cypress, and pine throughout your home. Wreaths can bring the rich holiday scents of evergreen throughout your home.
#2 Light Some Candles
Candles add warmth, low light, and soft aromas to your home. They can bring life to a table in clusters, though unscented candles are preferable when you’re serving food. This time of year, candles with scents of spice, apple, pumpkin, and sandalwood will evoke the season.
#3 Furnace Repair
Furnace repair may not be the most glamorous or fun part of keeping your home cozy and comfortable for the holidays, but sometimes the basics matter most. All the blankets and decorating ideas in the world won’t make your home a happy one if the furnace breaks down. Take the time to do some basic furnace maintenance or contact a local furnace repair expert ahead of the season to make sure your furnace is in good working condition.
There are a few basics you should check before the snow starts to fall:
- Change your furnace filters. Dirty furnace filters are one of the leading causes of furnace breakdowns and they can hurt efficiency and air quality.
- Dirt around burners that can hurt fuel efficiency.
- Wear and tear on the furnace motor belt.
Keep your furnace in good repair and don’t worry about it come winter.
#4 Buy Better Burning Wood
If you’re lucky enough to have a fireplace in your living room, pay attention to the kind of wood you’re burning for the best results. The first quality to look for is wood that’s been seasoned for longer than a year. One of the great things about seasoned wood is that it burns better than green wood, since there’s less liquid content in the wood. Seasoned wood looks grey and dusty on the outside, and dry and white on the inside, so it’s easy to tell them apart.
Some of the best-smelling woods out there are apple, ash, birch, black thorn, hawthorn (which burns slow and is great for winter fires), pine, and rich-smelling yew.
#5 Bring Out Festive Throws and Pillows
Change out your blankets, throws, and pillows to bring in some more of the festive spirit. Accent items like throws and pillows are easy to swap out with the season, while you will want to switch out more lightweight linens with something thicker and warmer.
While the topic of home care is being discussed, always remember to take care of your appliances! While furnaces generally shouldn’t need any annual cleaning, chimneys can always use a good clean along with your ducts. Water softeners generally don’t need much work (as long as you keep them topped up) and for many homes, winter is a great time to upgrade your water softener, especially if you have guests coming to visit.
The holidays are a great time to do some home care maintenance, and these tips should help point you in the right direction.
Enjoy a cozy and comfortable holiday this season!
