Can you believe we're only a day away from 2005? With the holidays coming to an end soon, it's time to start thinking about those dreaded New Year Resolutions. If you're looking to avoid diets and exercise but are resolved to improving your life somehow, January is a great time to work on and organize your home-- and organization is a good thing, right?

With January's cold winter days, it's normal to stay inside more than other months. But instead of watching more TV, take this opportunity to clean out your home, and fix things up!

IDEAS:
- Clean out the basement, garage, and your closets and donate those unused items. Not only will this improve your life, but it helps others and may give you a tax deduction in the process.
- Change batteries in smoke detectors, radon detectors, and make sure fire extinguishers are properly charged. At the minimum you should have fire extinguishers in both the kitchen and garage.
- Clean and replace filters in heating and air conditioning units. If you have a chimney on a wood burning fire place or stove, get it cleaned out too.
- Start a small indoor home improvement project. This doesn't mean take a sledge hammer to a wall or completely remodel the kitchen. Something small like fixing a leaky faucet or applying a fresh coat of paint to a room can improve your home without draining a budget.
- Make sure insulation and caulking is secure. Not only does it improve your home but it can reduce your heat bill in the process.
- Work in the yard if possible. There may be things you can do now that gets the lawn and landscape ready for spring.
- Schedule your spring cleaning now to avoid the rush. January is also a great time to schedule tree trimmers, interior painters, and other handyman services. Some service companies will even offer discounts in January because business is slow.

With these ideas, you can hopefully plan a productive New Years Resolution that improves you and your home without the suffering that goes along with exercise or dieting!