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How can you spruce up your home and its features for the festive period?
The festive season is nearly upon us – go into any supermarket or even a local restaurant and you are likely to be bombarded with tinsels and countless Christmas jingles. Tis the season (almost).
Like it or loathe it, thoughts of the Christmas period are also beginning to creep into the personal domain as well. What are the most important things for us to be preparing in our homes and dwelling places for the forthcoming cold weather and party season?
As well as being ready for longer nights, short days, dropping temperatures and freeze-thaw, we also get set for guests, unexpected visitors and a few potential surprises.
Allianz Your Cover (www.yourcoverinsurance.co.uk) has picked out some key home improvement tips for the winter – which will help secure your home against the cold weather, and make the house look nice for winter. We want to help you lower your utility bills and get the house looking sparkling new for the festive guests. It also means you’ll have less money to pay if anything goes wrong.
Listed below are three areas that need special attention in the winter months, which can help you save money and avoid any unexpected insurance emergencies, whilst also making for a welcoming home.
As days draw ever shorter and night falls as early as 4pm in the UK, having bright but cost effective lighting is key to a sense of wellbeing and a cost-effective Christmas. Try putting your indoor lights on timers – this can both prevent crime by making the house appear occupied as soon as night falls, and save you money if you put your decorative lights on sporadically rather than permanently. For outdoor Christmas lights, sensors are an excellent way to save money – lights come on as and when you need, lighting paths and preventing injuries as well as illuminating the house.
Protecting those pipes is key if you’re going to keep the cost of heating down, and boost the insulation in your property. Chop wood for fires early, before it gets damp, and then store in wicker baskets – a great way of decorating the house for the festive season and preparing for the cold winters. Make sure to sweep your chimneys too before decorating.
The Christmas season so often spells disaster when it comes to storage, clutter and lots of bits and bobs all over the place. Use the November weeks to clean and clear busy areas like the front steps, entrance, living room and back doors/utility rooms. Large hampers or boxes can double as storage for presents and extra blankets and accessories to keep the home toasty in the winter months.
