Your home may have been perfect for you when you bought it, but as the years go by, your needs change. And that sometimes means that your home has to change as well, in order to better meet the needs of the people living in it. Luckily, you don’t have to move to find a home that performs better for you – a smart homeowner can find ways to improve their current home’s function by making changes, upgrades, or additions. Take a look at a few ways you can improve the way your house functions for you.

Find Extra Space Under the Stairs

Think of this like a blank canvas.

The longer you live in a home, the more things you tend to accumulate, until one day it reaches the point that your closets or other storage spaces no longer hold enough. However, you don’t need to add on to the house or buy outside storage space when you run out of room – chances are that your home has plenty of unused space that you just haven’t noticed. The space underneath a staircase is one example that’s often overlooked.

The empty space under your stairs can be a great place to install a closet or a set of sliding shelves. Or, if you’ve run out of places to display artwork and collectibles, this blank space can make a handy gallery wall. With a little creativity, it could even be converted into a playhouse for the kids or grandkids.

Improve Your Electric Outlets

You can’t have too many electrical outlets in your home, but it’s perfectly possible to have too few, especially in an older home that wasn’t designed for the sort of heavy dependence on electronics that’s the norm in the internet age. This is easily remedied by having more outlets added.

Ideally, you should have an electrical inspection every five years or so. You should certainly schedule one if you experience problems with fuses blowing, circuit breakers tripping, or outlets and switches not working. In addition to making any necessary upgrades, ask your electrician to add new outlets in the kitchen, bathroom, back porch, or anywhere else that you are in need of a charging station. New outlets can even come equipped with USB ports next to the standard plugs. That way you can plug iPods and other USB devices directly into the wall, eliminating the need for adapters and making your home that much more functional for modern living.

Make Your Gutters Self-Cleaning

If your gutters are clear, they can handle even heavy rain.

The gutters on your roof already serve an important function for your roof. They prevent water from pooling on the roof and causing rot and leakage that can lead to indoor water damage. However, with this function comes a new chore – since leaves and storm debris can find their way into your gutters and clog them, you have to clean them periodically to keep them working efficiently.

However, there’s a neat addition that you can get for your gutters that will nearly eliminate this job, making your gutters even more functional than they already are. Gutter covers go over the open part of your gutters, preventing leaves and larger debris from getting into the gutter system. That way, the rainwater can continue to flow freely through the gutters without the need to clean clogs out of the gutters as often.

Being a homeowner isn’t always easy, but with the right features, your home can work for you instead of making you do all of the work. Call us at 1-800-975-6666 or contact us online to find out how we can help you make your home do more of the work for you.