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By: Greta Goosen, MiWay Insurance Head of Customer Experience
With warmer weather on the horizon and the festive season but a few months away, now is as good a time as any to commit to a comprehensive spring-clean. The arrival of a new season is perhaps more significant, coinciding with the easing of lockdown restrictions which finally permit gatherings, affording us the freedom to once again welcome guests into our homes.
From decluttering your lockdown space to revisiting your insurance policies, here are a few easy ways to give your home and your finances a much-needed seasonal makeover:
Take back your space
The unexpected advent of remote working in March meant many of us were forced to rapidly rethink our personal spaces, cobbling together makeshift offices and accumulating plenty of clutter along the way. Now that life is gradually returning to a more familiar version of itself, it is time to relook your space and dispose of the things you no longer need. If you are still working from home, consider ways to better define your personal and professional spaces, creating definitive physical barriers so as to enable you to properly disconnect and prevent yourself from overworking.
Give your garden a groom
Chances are that your lawn could use a little love…Thanks to the abundance of sunshine on offer during the summer months, this is relatively easy to achieve, but success does rely on regular mowing, watering and maintenance to enable the grass to survive the sometimes-brutal heat.
A good-looking lawn typically requires 20-25mm of water per day, best applied in two cycles. Keeping an eye on the grass is key, as any change in colouration could indicate a lack of nutrition. It is also important not to mow too low – typically a lawn length of 50mm is considered optimal. Spring also calls for regular aeration, which can be achieved by poking holes in the soil with a garden fork, thus allowing it to better absorb water and nutrients.
Protect your home
In many parts of the country, spring marks the start of storm season, which can at times become very violent, especially in Gauteng. As such, it is important to ensure you are properly prepared if you want to avoid unwanted leaks and ensuing damp. While the skies remain clear, check your roof, gutters and drain pipes, removing any debris and residual leaves that might cause blockages.
It is also important to ensure that all doors and windows are properly sealed ahead of the rainy season and to make sure that your insurance policy covers any potential storm damage. That way, if 2020 has any further unexpected surprises in store, you can rest assured that your home is in safe hands.
Declutter
With personal space more limited than ever before, it is time to reassess whether you really need all the trinkets and knick-knacks that seem to pile up over time. As these ‘things’ slowly accumulate, we gradually lose access to drawers, cupboards and even rooms in our attempts to stockpile a series of items that essentially serve no purpose.
While certain items hold undeniable sentimental value, others simply occupy space, and it is important to differentiate between the two as you begin the decluttering process. Essentially, if you have not used an item in over a year, it is probably better off in the bin or being donated. As for the more nostalgic items like photographs, consider converting them to digital format. Not only will this free up significant space, but it will allow you to keep your memories in pristine condition.
Reconsider your insurance
Our lives have changed significantly over the past few months, but have you updated your insurance policy accordingly? Given the fact that many of us now work from home and spend less time on the roads, a freshly revised insurance policy should also form part of your spring-cleaning process. Not only is it important to ensure that you are sufficiently covered based on your circumstances, but it is also vital to check that you’re not paying for cover you no longer need.
In a year where the unexpected has become par for the course, it has never been more important to be properly prepared for the curveballs life tends to throw our way. So, make this year’s spring-clean a thorough and extensive one, one that will enable you to enjoy the last of 2020 in complete peace of mind.
MiWay is a licensed non-life insurer and Financial Services Provider (FSP 33970).