LET’S WELCOME APRIL 2024.
Quarter 2 of 2024 Kicks off ! What maintenance items do you do this time of year?
Here are a couple I’ll be tackling today or putting on my weekend chore list for my two days off..
Change the furnace filter. If you have a property journal, make sure your filter size is noted in there. I bought a couple of washable filters so I can rotate them. With animals in the house, I have become diligent about doing a monthly swap or at least check of the filter. Otherwise, I suggest looking to see cost of buying the filters in bulk so you have them on hand to replace every month or so. Better for your health and your furnace.
Wash off outdoor furniture. (Or check your outdoor furniture for any repairs needed.)
Apply a pre-emergent to get a jumpstart on weeds and crab grass.
DIY HVAC Inspection of outdoor/AC units. Check out this resource for some common items. This could take longer than 15 over all, but if you break it down through the week or month, you’ll be ready for warmer temps.
April 1, 2024
2nd Day of the month (Tuesday); it’s a good time to reconcile your bank accounts through last month.
Have you reconciled your bank accounts lately???
Up until 3 or so years ago, I wasn’t very diligent about reconciling my bank accounts. Since bank and credit card fraud are ever increasing, I decided that the 15 minutes it takes to reconcile/review my financial statements is worth the potential risk.
Reconciling your bank accounts helps identify missed billings, forgotten subscription billings, but most important fraudulent charges.
Here’s an article from Chime that goes over this in a bit more detail.
Ending dates for credit cards and some other types of accounts my vary from this, but this is still the day of the month that I download the most recent statements, update my transactions and reconcile.
There are several money management tools available. II suggest research different options and see what you can use to simplify the financial review process. For some that may mean simply downloading to Excel/CSV file...or yes just writing everything out for those that remember the checkbook registers. I’ve used Quicken for personal use for years to make all of the download and review fairly painless. I know its quirks so for me it works at this point in my financial journey.
April 2, 2024
Look at that. It’s already mid-week. Have you been fitting in some you time??
Well just in case you haven’t, here’s a reminder for just 15 minutes. Take it. Everyone deserves it!
There are some great podcasts out there that are worth a listen. The ones that promote happiness over doom and gloom. Sometimes it’s the simple things we forget about. I used to poo-poo those “looking for heart shaped objects”, but then my mindset changed as I started looking for different shapes or colors throughout my day to day. I don't neccessarily collect these items, but it's fun to observe. Like the clouds that when we look at we see a rabbit. That same drive home can get pretty repetitive so it became a different version of “I spy with my little eye.”
I was first turned on to Gretchen Rubin last year when listening to the Arm Chair Expert . Also check out Gretchen’s blog.
April 3, 2024
Do you have expired medicine or personal care products?
Or maybe items that are just taking up space because you feel bad tossing them in the trash but you’re not going to use?
Playing off last months “go through your supplies”, take 15 and go through your bathroom etc. cabinets for expired product. See the link below for a resource to possibly put those to good cause.
I’m not a makeup person, so because of that, I actually end up with expired make up more often than not. (I actually write the date I purchased items on the pkg to keep track, and buy travel sizes where I can.) I have to be due diligent about tossing old items. During a move a few years back, I realized I had way too many half used, still good bottles of shampoo/conditioner. I found several other personal care items that were no longer needed that I felt awful throwing away. I discovered Project Beauty Share. Here’s a list of products they accept. They have several drop off locations and items can be mailed to them.
April 4, 2024
Give your bath rugs, towels or whatever a little refresh.
Is it time to wash, shake our or replace your bathroom rugs or towels?
For “expired” towels, you can consider donating to local animal shelters or other donation centers.
A few years ago, I discovered bins around Spokane where I could drop off clothing that was not 'donatable', but could be recycled for things like insulation. There's not as many as there used to be, but check your local area. I've seen a few of the "Blue" ones still around, but I was happy to find that the Spokane, Washington transfer stations have these recycling options. https://www.spokanecounty.org/2027/Recycling. On my main website, I've also add this information to the "Helpful Resources" page.
If your towels and everything else looking good; give things a quick dusting.
April 5, 2024
Scrub a dub dub…
Two days off in a row and it’s not camping season yet for me, so taking advantage of having 7 days to get chores done instead of the 4 that will be coming soon. No argument from me, I’m ready for nice weather and weekend getaways.
The toilet and sink scrubbing are probably obvious victims, but here are some you may be overlooking.
Get that shower head! …and if you’re like my household, do not forget about the ‘cord’ of the hand held shower head.
Clean off the shower caddy(s) or shelf
Look up, how’s your bathroom vent. This one can get messy so I suggest doing this first If you can pull off the cover, the fan can pretty blocked up with dust we don’t see. This can actually be a fire hazard. Read here. https://cep-experts.ca/8407/
April 6-7, 2024
