The last 12 months or so have been very difficult for everyone, to say the least. We are now living through our third lockdown, unable to do the things we once considered simply routine. Since New Year in the UK, we have been unable to do so many things we take for granted and as far back as many of us like to recall bars and restaurants have been closed, with theatres, sports venues and cinemas suffering the same fate. We can only see select members of our family in person, leaving us locked down in our own homes for our safety, and that of other people.
The home is a haven, a sanctuary in which you usually retire after a hard day at the office, or where you come together to discuss all the wonderful things you have been doing. Now, the home is the office, school, AND living space. That makes it a place to protect and to make safe now more than ever; and these useful tips will make it easy to do so while in lockdown.
Basic Repairs
Poor weather in winter poses many problems for homeowners, and the recent storms in the UK reflect that. Where possible, you should protect your family by managing basic repairs you may otherwise have people in to fix. Your house should be sturdy and watertight anyway but think about the outdoor area, too! Snow can be very heavy, and if gutters fill up, they could easily be pulled down. If winds take fence panels over, move them somewhere safe until they can be fixed so as not to become a hazard to yourself or others.
Inside the home, make sure you run the heating regularly, although with the cold snap that’s probably not hard! Set the heating to come on early in the morning, especially if you have an older home where some pipes may not be lagged, as this can prevent them freezing, cracking and developing a much larger issue for you to deal with. Trust me, I’ve dealt with frozen pipes in the winter in the past and it’s not fun!
Insurance
This is so important for all homes, especially if you live in an older property where the services may have been in place for longer. You will most likely already have buildings insurance if you have a mortgage, as well as contents, but have you considered insuring the specific services that enter your home? You can cover a wider range of services around the home independently, as evident by HomeServe’s variety of homeowner insurance policies. That includes the boiler and heating system, your electrics or your drainage. Could you afford to be without any of those if they suffered a malfunction, and could you guarantee a 24-hour helpline and emergency engineer call-out? If not, it is definitely something to look into.
Create A Safe Space
Of course, not all the protection you can offer your family and your home is practical. Your own well-being is hugely important and with everyone together under one roof, it could be a challenge to remain happy and focused, especially with the state of things lately. Being able to spend more time with your loved ones is a positive side effect of the current situation (which is something I discussed a few months ago in my blog post “The One Good Thing That’s Come Out of Lockdown”). Making that time enjoyable away from those additional pressures is vital!
Try to separate work spaces and leisure spaces if you are working from home. Do not be tempted to check those emails after dinner, or to feel pressured into answering phone calls after hours. Try to partition your house into ‘work’ and ‘home’, and enjoy the home element as much as you always would! Also, try to make time for things that fill you with positivity and help you focus on what is important. Perhaps you have a stack of family photos you have been meaning to get framed? If so, pop online, order some frames and bring the family together to frame them and find places for them around the house.
At the end of the day, running a home is tough at the best of times, but right now in the UK, it is a significant challenge. It is up to you to keep it secure and functional, to prepare for every eventuality and to ensure it works on a day-to-day basis, too. Hopefully, this simple guide will help!
xx Lauren
