• Take down, clean, and store holiday ornaments, decorations, and exterior lights. Recycle your live tree or store your artificial tree.
• Reorganize a closet. Pick one. Empty it. Sort by things to save, donate, sell or throw out. Take the garbage out and set donations aside the same day. Clean the closet thoroughly. Organize the stuff that belongs in that closet and put it back.
• Replace drawer liners and shelf papers.
• Walk the house and make a list of household repairs that can be done in a weekend. Write down things such as loose screws on drawers, doors, and furniture. Make a list of broken electrical faceplates, missing pulls or knobs, locks that need lubrication, and spots that need caulking around sinks and tubs. After you have your list, stop by Woodstock Hardware and pick up all the small items you need to complete your list.
• Take some time for home-environment testing. Since your house is shut tight for the winter now is a good time to complete a radon test. Find kits that test for radon, for lead, and that test the quality of your tap water. Use lead test sticks on the surfaces of any old wall paint or painted toys.
• Folks increasing their environmental awareness might want to call the utility company and have an energy audit done. Winter is a great time to look into saving energy costs.
• January is a good month to plan and complete those interior painting projects. Think about what rooms you want to paint and new color schemes. Woodstock Hardware has more than 2500 custom colors to choose from. Plus, our color-matching system lets us create any paint color from any sample. Visit our Paint & Sundries Department.
• And if you are worried about the odors interior painting can leave in your home, Woodstock Hardware carries a line of zero-VOC, environmentally friendly paint. Having minimal odor, this paint can be made in any color and any sheen. Best of all, it is a quality paint that is less expensive than many of its traditional counter parts. Review our Green Painting Products. Find tips on painting in our How To Tips.
• Keep up with removing snow and ice from your driveway and sidewalks. Remember, regardless of how you decide to live, your home needs to be easily accessible to fire and emergency personnel, and your gas or oil company. Help out your oil/gas delivery man and shovel a path to your oil or gas tank.

You’ve got a month OFF!

If you start flower or vegetable plants from seed, now is a good time to make a list of what you need. Include any seed planting trays, seed starter soil, or grow bulbs you might need.

• Cardboard Boxes
• Packing Tape & Dispensers
• Interior Paint
• Paint Brushes, Rollers, & Trays
• Storage Totes & Drawers
• Contact Paper & Shelf Liner
• Radon, Lead, & Water Test Kits
• Storage Bags

• Ice Melt
• Ice Scrapers & Snow Brooms
• Snow Shovels
• Traction Sand
• Storage Hooks & Hangers
• Cold Weather Gloves
• Fasteners, Bolts, Screws & Nails
• Caulks, Fillers & Adhesives