As the winter months advance, we’re all making resolutions for the New Year. Not all of them are about personal habits that need changing. Home repair buffs and gardeners all look toward the new slate of months as an opportunity to begin and complete projects we’ve only daydreamed of undertaking.

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You might begin drawing plans for an overdue kitchen restoration. Gardners might find the time just right to order seed catalogues or draw plans for a new wood or stone deck

It may be the right time to bring in a contractor to cut limbs on trees most susceptible to snow damage. If you’re doing winter planting, consider planting evergreens like hemlock, holly, pine, or spruce—all look great in snow and in your winter yard.

Considering Winter Home and Garden Improvements

If you’re doing any cold weather landscaping before the heart of winter, be sure to include the use of hardscape (fountains, masonry, statues, and walls). Much of this work can be done as long as it’s dry outside.

While you’re dreaming and resolving, consider installing synthetic lawns for the spring. You can save on water and maintenance.  If you live in warm climates with mild winters and scorching summers, the winter can be an optimal time to install synthetics that won’t be damaged now by cold and later when heat comes during the summer.

Indoors, there’s “plenty to-dos” you can add to your list of resolutions. Perhaps you have the time and budget to install that home theater you’ve been pining for. Or, as you take down the holiday lighting inside and out, perhaps it’s time to replace your bulbs with energy efficient substitutes (compact fluorescent or LED bulbs and fixtures).

Inevitably, spring will arrive.  You can get a head start planning home improvement projects for warming weather by creating mock-ups or designs, take indoor measurements, make parts lists, create a realistic timetable and budget.  Contractors may offer winter rates on interior projects and give discounts if you engage them now in planning for projects that burst into action come spring.

Meanwhile, during the winter months, inspect your windows and doors for air and water leaks, clean out your gutters after heavy storms, have your furnace checked, fire up winter tools like your snow blowers and make sure they’re ready for weather ahead.  And it’s a great idea to check all your fire extinguishers for charges and ensure that your carbon monoxide and smoke detectors are in working order.

The use of natural elements in home remodeling and energy-efficient products are more than a passing fling. Homeowners are looking at protecting their investment and the environment at the same time.  And while some so-called “green” lighting and flooring products can warm up the atmosphere of  your home, they can help you save money on your annual energy bills.

A great example is Toolbarn’s recommendation to replace existing light bulbs with compact fluorescent ones. The energy efficient bulbs can use as much as 75 percent less electricity, lowering your costs nearly $60 over the seven-year life of the bulb. You can also cut your power costs by installing motion detector bulbs indoor and outdoors. You don’t have to leave the lights burning all night on your patio to scare off burglars.

Looking at Green Homes
Contractors are now offering so-called green homes in special subdivisions. That means you can borrow their ideas and retrofit your home with devices to lower your bills. A new home in Northern California’s “Carsten Crossings” neighborhood offers $1,400 in annual energy savings, according to developers.  Flooring products and sustainable paint materials feature materials that don’t release volatile organic compounds.

Today eco-sensitive homeowners are choosing natural fibers like wool or sisal for their rugs, linoleum in place of vinyl, recycled wood, cork, and bamboo for flooring.  HGTV has a nice pictorial presentation of green flooring products on its site.  Bamboo is known throughout Asia for its durability and easy maintenance.  Like bamboo, cork can be expensive to install, but it is also easy to clean with homemade water and vinegar solution. Both products lend a nice look and are efficient in baffling noise.

HGTV also recommends using recycled wood and reclaimed glass flooring products.  Recycled tiles are bright and you can choose colors that complement your decor.  You can even find ecological carpet flooring constructed out of recycled plastic bottles and corn sugar.

Don’t Forget Green Appliances
Green Home Guide authors recommend that you install “smart ceiling fans” during your home remodeling project. Fans that cost under $70 with retrofit materials that cost under $40 can curb your heating and cooling costs.  What makes these fans “smart” are the sensors that detect when people leave the room, shutting down the fan until occupants return. By using a fan, you can easily raise the thermostat on your air conditioning by 5 degrees or, conversely, drop your furnace temperature by 5 degrees in the winter.

You don’t have to spend a fortune to change the way you live.