Having a low maintenance home makes life easier in a lot of ways. There are constantly things coming up, and life throws lots of curveballs. While owning a home does require regular maintenance, you don’t want to be stuck spending all your time and money on home upkeep. Choosing things that don’t require constant maintenance can keep you from wanting to pull your hair out.
If you’re considering building a new home, think towards an open floor plan. You want a home which has great traffic flow, and this means for your Roomba as well! Simple design goes along with all things which you own. It’s harder to clean when your vacuum cannot reach under tables or couches, and you want your rooms to be easy to clean. Think towards design when installing counters and islands in the kitchen as well. Although it might be a fun trend to have the center island a couple of inches off of the ground, if it means that you can’t get below it with a mop, that’s not an intelligent design.
You want your house’s surfaces to withstand the test of time, and this includes using strong materials which do just that. This can include such things as using stainless steel on refrigerators, and dishwashers. It includes using solid core countertops which aren’t going to stain or need repeated re-sealings like marble or concrete can. But, this trend can continue by using tile flooring in bathrooms, and even choosing concrete based siding or stone siding for your house. Thinking ahead can help you to know what needs less maintenance in general, and can prevent your hard work later.
Whereas in the seventies people covered their hardwoods with shag carpeting, now, the opposite is true! Thankfully there are some trends which are not coming back into style. If you’re considering flooring, hardwoods are a wonderful choice. There are a huge volume of styles and colors to choose from, and many woods are very ecologically friendly. Likewise, bamboo options give you another green choice that’s extremely customizable. They are easy to vacuum, sweep, or mop, and have low daily maintenance. Periodically some resurfacing might be necessary if you have many large animals in your home, or if, like some, you are raising a herd of velociraptors in disguise as children. Otherwise, a little wood-soap periodically, and you’re good to go!
You want your patios, carports, and driveways to be able to withstand the test of time as well, and this includes using sealed concrete. Temperature changes can cause your paving to expand and contract. This can make small cracks which expand over time. However, as small cracks are heated and cooled, they become larger and can need to be filled. If not filled, they become magnets for weed growth. Instead of taking care of weeks weekly, try pressure washing every few years, and resealing to protect your surfaces. This makes it less likely that cracks will develop.
If you’re building a new home, chances are your contractor will want to finish with contracting grade paints. This is a mistake! That grade has a matte finish which degrades over time, and is very hard to wipe down from dirt and debris. Instead, try an eggshell paint, which has a slightly shinier finish which can be wiped down easily. You want to be able to wash walls instead of repainting, should you have a spill or unexpected smudge. For trim, you want a shiny finish like a gloss or high gloss, because being able to wipe down things like chair rails, windowsills, and other edges makes it possible to maintain them easily as well.
When it comes to maintaining a home, it’s easy to consider the frustration of cleaning indoors, not outside. Whether you’re in process of a new build or looking to replace your older shingled roof after its lifetime is over, metal roofing is a great option. Whereas a shingled roof has to be replaced every ten to fifteen years on average, metal roofs give you a lot better timeline. Inspectors can’t certify a roof on a house for sale after it is ten years old if it is made of shingles. However, metal roofs have a lifetime of forty to fifty years. Besides offering a variety of colors and style options, metal roofing needs very little to continue to provide shelter for your home. Even better, the sound of rain on a metal roof is incomparable ASMR!
Not everything, of course. But if you don’t use it, need it, or love it, you really don’t have to keep it. Your home is far easier to maintain with less in it. Why? It’s difficult to dust books, frustrating to move and shift around clutter, and, worse even, to have your home decorated with cast off things which don’t represent yourself or your family. Even if it’s a family heirloom, it’s ok to not need it in your space anymore. Take pictures of your rooms and see if you can pinpoint items which might not suit your space any longer. It’s ok to be overwhelmed by this idea! Grab a trash bag and begin by throwing away two dozen things that are trash. Then begin by finding five that don’t belong in your space any longer! More for you and less to maintain!
The great thing is, when you use products and substances in your home which need less maintenance, and when you make sure surfaces are easy to clean, it saves you a great deal of time, money, and effort in the long run. It makes life a lot simpler when you purchase as high of a quality of materials and items that you can afford. Getting rid of things which you don’t need or love can protect the space you have for the use of the ones you love, as well.
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