Hey there honey badgers!
I know, I know—another newsletter suggesting we add something to our plates for 2025. I hear you. But what if redefining your relationship with your home could actually create more time, energy, and even money for the things you truly love? It’s not about adding extra tasks; it’s about transforming how you approach what’s already on your list.
The Three Pillars of Successful Home Maintenance
Over the coming months, we’ll explore three foundational pillars that shift us toward proactive home care:
1. Essential DIY Skills
Knowing the basics—like how to caulk or use a drill—empowers you to handle everyday tasks without hiring a professional. As you gain skills, you will also gain a basic “instinctive know-how” which will help you spot issues early: you’ll recognize that faint rattle in the HVAC system or see the warning signs of an appliance failing. As your confidence grows, you'll find yourself spending less time overthinking and more time doing.
2. Strategic Planning
Think of this as your home’s GPS: it keeps you on track without overwhelming you. We’re talking simple, workable routines:
- Regular check-ins with critical systems
- Seasonal maintenance schedules that actually make sense for you and your home
- Quick inspection checklists that don't require an engineering degree and allow you to skip it if everything looks okay.
- Smart shopping lists that prevent those emergency hardware store runs
3. Tenacity
Houses love throwing curveballs. That’s where tenacity comes in—your secret weapon against those “Why me?” moments. It’s not about being fearless; it’s about being determined. It’s finishing that tedious maintenance task, tackling an intimidating repair, or pushing through doubts (yours or other people’s).
Breaking Free: The Power of Your Own Path
"We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence is not an act, but a habit." - Aristotle
Are you stuck in a cycle?
- Complaining, yet unable to act
- Watching endless how-to videos but never starting
- Telling yourself "I'm just not handy"
- Believing you'll never be taken seriously at the hardware store
- Letting doubt hold you back
Sometimes we get trapped in a cycle of complaining, convinced we cannot act. This belief breeds resentment and frustration. Instead of confronting what truly troubles us, we construct narratives to justify our inaction: “I don’t have the time, money, or knowledge,” “All my weekends are consumed by kids/work/others,” “No one at the hardware store takes me seriously,” or “I’m just not that kind of person.” Our complaining fills a void left by our lack of action.
Or we might swing the other way—watching endless YouTube tutorials, buying books, or researching solutions online. But excessive searching can lead to analysis paralysis, where we think more than we do. Meanwhile, the world moves on, and the situation may get worse.
Are inherited values holding you back?
Here’s the truth: many limiting beliefs aren’t really ours. They’re passed down from people who never had support themselves. Did anyone in your family ever believe you could use tools and handle repairs? Did they encourage you, or assume you wouldn’t—or couldn’t? Perhaps they didn’t know how to guide you because no one guided them.
One of the hardest yet most empowering steps you can take is to move beyond these inherited values and create new ones that truly work for you. If you do, you won’t fear failure, because your actions won’t depend on anyone else’s approval. In fact, you understand failure is part of growth. By defining your own values, you’ll gain an instinctive confidence over time—a strength that can’t be easily explained but is deeply felt.
Stepping away from tradition takes courage. It’s easier to continue down a well-trodden path than to carve out a new one. Yes, it can feel lonely or frustrating at times. But if you have a clearly defined internal compass, you’ll find it’s not just possible—it’s liberating.
If you’re tethered to external validation, even small decisions can feel judged. If you radically change your relationship to your home, will you ignore judgmental looks? Will you dismiss advice telling you to stick with the status quo? Will you stop justifying each step on your new path?
What if, instead, you shaped your own course through your own strength and conviction, rather than through others’ expectations?
Moving Past Discomfort
Depending on your relationships with your home, family, and tools, you might feel uneasy and doubtful about making this change. Surprisingly, this discomfort can be a good thing—it signals that you’re challenging what’s familiar, and real growth often comes from stepping outside your comfort zone. If we never question the beliefs we’ve accepted, we lose the chance to evolve.
By blending knowledge, strategic planning, and tenacity, you’ll discover the courage to act without being paralyzed by doubt. Imagine having a clear vision of how you want to live—a vision that guides you to plan, set goals, take necessary risks, and avoid unnecessary ones. Ultimately, it’s about integrating the most powerful parts of yourself and moving forward with confidence.
Remember, you have to be terrible at something before you can be good at it. If you decide the journey is worth it, you’ll be more willing to take those first wobbly steps toward success.
Who's In Charge of Your Choices?
The world will always have expectations of you, but it is up to you to decide what to do with them and what comes next only you can answer that!
Your First Step: A Fresh-Eyes Home Walk
Ready to start? Take a slow walk through your home this week. As you do:
- Spot Your Stress Points: Which areas make you sigh every time you see them?
- Dream a Little: How do you want to feel in your space? How do you want it to work for you—and how do you want to work for it?
- Get Honest: Which inherited beliefs help you, and which ones hold you back?
- Set Your Compass: What would your ideal relationship with your home look like?
What's Coming Up?
Over the next several months, we will be exploring each pillar in more detail so that by this time next year, you will have a routine that is unshakable.
Remember: Every proactive step you take now is one less emergency waiting to ambush you later. Here's to building a new, empowering relationship with your home—one small victory at a time!
How Did This Land With You?
What parts resonated or made you shake your head? Drop me a note—I’d love to hear your thoughts!
– Rita
January Tasks
Reoccurring Tasks
- If you have a water softener, take a peek at those salt levels.
- Is it time to change your HVAC filter? When you are done, mark it in your calendar and order new ones if needed.
- If you have a front load washer, drain the pump filter and give the machine a good clean.
- If you live somewhere with snow or ice, be sure to inspect the roof often and make sure you have taken the steps needed to keep the pipes unfrozen (see December tasks in the course if you need more instructions).
Maintain
- Give your bathroom fans a quick inspection and clean.
- Update your home inventory if needed.
- Give your garage a tidy.
- If you haven't yet and your Christmas lights are still out, use them to help you label your circuit panel (find the directions in the Prep program)
Prep
Haven't been keeping up with home maintenance? Keep it simple and just do these tasks to start. These tasks are the one and done tasks you can do that will make future maintenance and DIY task so much easier.
- New? Check Events to find an orientation that fits your needs or message me and we can find a time that works.
- Make a floorplan.
- Make your garage useable.
- Label your circuit panel.
- Find and label your water and gas valves
Need help with any of those tasks? There is much more information inside our community.