Declutter This December: Donations & December To-Do Tasks for Home Maintenance

December is certainly a busy time of year, so this list isn’t too extensive. However, you will want to check these items off your list to avoid any larger home maintenance issues– especially, if you have guests coming in for the holidays or you’re traveling, you’ll want to fix any problems as soon as possible. 

Here we go! Here’s the list to tackle before the New Year: 

Check Sinks & Toilets For Leaks

Pipes bursting or water leaking is always a possibility when that cold, winter weather hits.  Be sure to check your sinks and toilets for leaks. For your toilets, simply drip 10 to 15 drops of food coloring into each toilet’s tank. Then wait 10 to 15 minutes. If the colored water appears in the bowl, you have a leak. Most leaks occur around the plunger ball or the flapper valve at the bottom of the tank. 

For sinks, simply run the water and then grab a flashlight and paper towel to check underneath each sink in your home. Start top to bottom. If you have a leak anywhere, you may want to call the plumber if you can’t figure out if it’s a drain pipe, faucet, or drain seal leak. Otherwise, there are easy tutorial videos online and step-by-step guides.

Clean Circuit Breaker

Next, we move to the circuit breakers. You may want to orient yourself with your circuit breakers now anyway– just in case you pull a Clark Griswold. But cleaning your circuit breaker and removing any dust and debris is a quick and easy task for you to check off your list this time of year. 

Clean Garbage Disposal

Your local handyman could tackle this task if you’d prefer, but your garbage disposal should be cleaned this month– that is if you have one. Many houses on a septic tank or perhaps just older in general, may not even have one. If you’re big into composting, you should expect less of a mess, but there are still food particles that get into your sinks, drains, and pipes. If you don’t have a garbage disposal, now is a great time to toss some Drain-o down the sinks just to keep them in tip-top shape. 

If you do have a disposal, a quick YouTube search should land you where you need to go if you’re a visual learner. Here are the three easy steps to cleaning your garbage disposal:

1. Turn your disposal OFF & disconnect it from the power source- To be extra safe, you can flip that circuit breaker you just cleaned and turn that area of the kitchen off. Double-check and test your power switch to ensure your safety. 

2. Remove any objects- Take a flashlight and take a look inside your drain to see if there are any objects trapped. If so, remove them with long tongs or pliers. DO NOT STICK YOUR HAND IN THE GRINDER (that may not end well for anyone!). 

3. Reconnect your disposal & flush it- Once you’ve reconnected your disposal, plug your sink and fill it with hot water. Then, pull the plug and turn on your disposal until all the water flushes down through. 

4. Clean inside your disposal- Once your disposal is flushed, turn off your disposal and, once again, disconnect your power source or turn off the breaker. Using a long-handled scrub brush or your least favorite family member’s  toothbrush (just kidding, use an old toothbrush), clean inside your disposal. Add a small amount of Dawn or any grease-cutting dish soap to clean all the surfaces inside. Then, remove the brush, and turn your disposal back on. Repeat step 3 above and flush your system once more. 

5. Lastly, pour ice and rock salt down your disposal- Pour two cups of crushed or cubed ice and one cup of rock salt down into your disposal. Turn on the disposal and turn on the cold water from the tap. Allow the water to run the entire time the salt and ice cubes are ground by the disposal. 

You can, and should, also freshen your disposal every-so-often with some baking soda, white vinegar, hot water, and even some orange or lemon peels for an extra-fresh touch!

Remove Ice & Snow Build-Up From Roof 

That beautiful, white powdery stuff hasn’t fallen yet for most of us in the DMV, but snow build-up and ice could become an issue down the road. You want to carefully and, probably with the help of a friend to hold your ladder, remove excess snow from your roof. When and if the time comes, performing this ice and snow removal task will ensure you don’t run into larger issues with roofs collapsing or a potential leak down the road!

Donate Any Old or Unused Items

Lastly, it’s time to declutter and donate what you haven’t used this year, have grown out of, or lost interest in around your house. If it is just collecting dust or taking up space, it’s time to say goodbye! It’s also just a fantastic time of year to donate to those less fortunate as well. Local charities and thrift stores can use warm, winter clothing especially if you find items that no longer fit and a new-to-them toy may just make a young child’s holiday! Plus, it’ll help reduce some stress and you’ll have more space for any new gifts or simply less to clean or maintain!

Our Realtor Team Wishes You a Fantastic New Year!

That’s all for December! While, again, this list isn’t too time consuming, be sure to get these items checked off your list so you can welcome another year in your home without worry! And, if we don’t see you before then, we’d love to wish you all a very happy, healthy holiday season and a fantastic New Year! All the best to you and yours! Happy Holidays!