Home on Mondays: 10 Home Care Tips Mom Taught Me

From what I know, Mom has lived in at least 6 different homes. The longest was in our home where I was bred and born. She stood her ground and never wanted to leave it. She was great at managing the house and the household. She knew everything about managing and maintaining the house. It was only in the past few years when I stepped in to get help to fix things. 

The portal to Mom's lush garden. Say hello to Pops.

Our house was built by Tito Bert. He's the architect and helped get the house built. I wasn't around yet when it was built, but I must say the structure of our house was solidly built. From what I remember Mom only had it repainted once or twice. Only the roof has had major changes. Here's what I learned from Mom about caring for your home:

1. Don't wait for damage to grow before getting it fixed. 

2. Keep good relations with those who can help fix your house. Mom always had a long list of people she could call. 

3. Always keep your pantry full in case of emergencies. 

4. Take care of your things. Mom only had her furniture re-upholstered once due to wear and tear.  They still look quite new to this day. That's a mean feat for a 50+ year old house. Don't replace things unless it's damaged. I had to force Mom to retire her 25+ year old ref. it was still working, but it was guzzling a lot of electricity. 

5. Have your own tools, this will save you money from getting things done. 

6. Always clean your house. I would actually see Mom cleaning at 2 in the morning when she's not satisfied with how the kitchen was cleaned. 

7. Keep a garden. It will give you enough exercise and stable. Mom's safe haven was her garden. The garden gave back the love by blooming beautiful flowers. 

8. DIY what you can. Most of Mom's home solutions were DIY'd, even her furniture was made by our craftsmen. This is also what I did when I moved out.

9. Your home's center should be an altar. That's the first thing my Mom looked for when she came to our house after we moved in. Good thing we set it up as soon as we moved in! 

10. Love your house, it will love you back. 

Mom super loved our home. It is filled with many happy memories. She told me never to sell it and refused to have any renovations done, not even to fix her bathroom. I didn't give her a choice when I had the roof fixed last year. She grudgingly agreed because I told her the damage would grow. I managed to have all the locks changed last year for her safety (the front door locks were older than me!). 

#BeKind #StaySafe