To-Dos: Your January Home Checklist

Protect your home from harsh winter weather and get a jump-start on your top projects for the year

Houzz Contributor. I cover topics ranging from decorating ideas, product picks, Houzz tours, and interviews with designers and architects, to the monthly home maintenance checklist. My favorite pieces to write center around the emotional aspects of home and savoring life's simple pleasures. 12 Days of Holiday Hygge (free course) enrolling now:

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January may be cold and dark, but it can also be a time for bold beginnings. Make the most of your month by clearing space in your home, boosting warmth and dreaming up plans for the year ahead. Here are 13 to-dos to give your home a little midwinter TLC.

Things to Check Off Your List in an Hour or Less

Check smoke and carbon monoxide detectors. With more heater use and wood fires in the fireplace, it is especially important during winter to make sure those smoke and carbon monoxide detectors are working. Use the test button on each device, and change batteries as needed.

Organize the board games.

When bad weather has you stuck indoors and you’re looking for an alternative to screen time, board games and cards are a crowd-pleaser. Pull out everything you’ve got and check that each set has all of the pieces. Put games your family no longer enjoys aside to give away, and put the rest back neatly.

Great Game Setups for Snowbound Days

Organize cold-weather accessories.

Stay toasty warm with plush, thick socks, cozy hats, scarves and gloves or mittens. Sort through your sock drawer, entryway baskets and hooks and anywhere else cold-weather accessories are hiding, and take stock of what you have. Replenish as needed.

Simple Pleasures: Stocking Up for Winter

Tackle These Tasks Over a Weekend

Protect pipes from freezing. Why? Because frozen pipes can burst, leading to costly repairs. If you haven’t done so yet, be sure to insulate any exposed outdoor pipes. And if you’re planning to be away from home, ask a friend or neighbor to turn on your water to a trickle. Also, find out where your home’s water shut-off valve is so you can cut off the water quickly if a pipe does burst — and be sure to show your house sitter where it is.

Refresh play spaces.

Entice little ones stuck indoors to creative play and cut down on cries of “I’m bored!” Try adding a chalkboard or whiteboard wall, a play tent or

tepee

, an area for messy art, a “stage” for acting or a tumbling mat.

Give potted plants some TLC.

If your house gets very dry in the winter with the heater on, you may need to add humidity to the air around some plants, especially citrus trees and ferns. You can use a humidifier or simply spritz them with plain water occasionally.

Indoor Winter Gardens for Cheerier Days

Clear home and wardrobe clutter.

Make a fresh start with the new year and clear out the clutter. If dealing with the whole house feels overwhelming, focus on just a few categories of items, such as clothes, books and children’s toys.

10 Decluttering Projects You Can Do In 30 Minutes or Less

Clean out the kitchen and pantry.

Remove everything from the pantry, toss out stale and expired foods and wipe down the shelves before putting everything back.

Clean out the fridge and freezer, and clear off countertops. Let the refreshed space motivate you to stick with your health resolutions for the new year.

Find pantry and cabinet organizers

Knock heavy snow from tree branches.

Heavy coatings of snow can cause tree limbs to break — which can be especially dangerous if a large limb is positioned near your home. Using a long-handled broom or rake, gently knock snow from branches after each storm.

Take down holiday decorations, and store them well. When you’re ready to put away the holiday decorations, take the time to do it with care (you’ll thank yourself later). Wrap delicate ornaments in tissue paper, and wrap string lights around cardboard to prevent tangling. Consider giving away ornaments that didn’t make it onto the tree this year, and repair or toss broken items. And if you’re not ready to say goodbye to the white twinkle lights quite yet, leave them up. We can all use a little extra cheer in the middle of winter.

Give in to the urge to hibernate.

In winter, it’s natural to want to spend extra time at home, just relaxing. Make yourself a haven for snuggling up to watch a movie or read. Layer on warming textiles, pour some hot tea or make cocoa, and settle in.

10 Things You Don’t Need to Be Doing

Maintenance and Extras to Budget for This Month

Take steps to prevent ice dams. Ice dams are areas of built-up ice that can accumulate around your roof line, causing leaks when the backed-up snow behind them begins to melt. Using a roof rake, remove snow after each storm. And, if you notice an ice dam beginning to form (and if you can safely reach the area), break it up now to prevent future damage.

Protect Your House From Winter Water Damage

My visit to the Little School.

I was introduced to the idea of coming on a visit from my friend Lia Travati. Lia lives in my condo complex and has a heart of gold for children and animals. She is a former Olympic figure skater for Italy and a international skating coach. She made Mexico her home recently and found her place to volunteer. She makes a meal for the children once a week and helps organize volunteers for the school. My first thoughts were.. oh going to the jungle??  When I picture jungle it's like the deep amazon with long drive into dense foliage and wild life.. nope we are 15 minutes on a dusty very bumpy road from the highway. Lia had made a pot of pasta and when I say pot this was a huge pot the size of a large canner. We picked up two other volunteers one who had jugs of juice. Lia brings lunch once a week, the school solely depends on volunteers and donations. This little village is built running along the power line road since the jungle is to hard to work into for development and with no equipment or money the community uses the road as it is already cleared. There is a irony living along the government built road for power yet this community exist with no power. As we drive into the village I see a body of water with garbage strewn on top and a crocodile which looms through the water lilies. We arrive at a small building with about 80 little children anticipating the arrival of lunch. I stood for a moment to assess my area and became quickly diverted with helping Lia dish out helpings to the children small to oldest.

The feeling was incredible to be part of this moment and also very humbling at points. I was in disbelieve that only 20 minutes from my condo in Playa Del Carmen is a village with how I can only explain as lost.

The children were excited to help me take pictures and then school was to start. There were 4 areas for the volunteer teachers to work with kids. I stopped in on the English class first which was in a thatch type building and then the middle grades upstairs in a new building which was built with donations from the Catalonia Hotel and Resorts and then down stairs to a covered area where the oldest children are taught.. I realized my inability to speaking Spanish put me at a great disadvantage as I wanted to communicate. Note to self... Learn Spanish. Martha Honorina Herrera is the lady in charge and as far as I witnessed she is an amazing lady. Martha runs the school for the children who other wise would not get an education. They follow the states curriculum and she takes students to the City to get their papers when finished the grade. Martha is the roots to this school when volunteers forget to show up she is the one scrambling for lunch and help. Martha organizes to have professionals come in and speak with the children. Sometimes a speaker will come in to speak to them about abuse and alcoholism and how the children can learn coping strategies, other times it's a speaker on hygiene or like  today it was two paramedics talking on safety. The children are so happy and it does not take much to make them happy a meal and some attention. These children don't have running water, electricity and struggle with the many social issues in a poor community. 

One story brought tears to my eyes and I'm glad I am writing this not telling it verbally. This young man was in school with his siblings but was not eating. Knowing he was hungry Martha asked why he would not eat and his reply " I feel guilty eating when my mother has no food at home" Martha arranged to help his family with some food from her own sources and some donations.

As we were getting ready to leave two taxi's pulled up with donations for Martha and the school.

Lia says people ask what do they need just as I did and her answer to me was why don't you come visit and see. They need everything.

While I loved my visit I came back to the condo very quiet as I was absorbing my morning and thinking what Rob and I can do to help. As Real Estate Agents  we think marketing and while thinking how do we get people to know more about these children and the amazing school.. Website popped in mind. We will work in the next month and design a simple website that will link to the schools facebook page hopefully to raise some awareness for the school.

Talking with Rob and being part of this school for the day made us think of our home and Canada and how within our busy lives so many children and families slip out of focus and sometimes it could be just a hand reach away and with just a little effort we could change a child's world.