Taking care of my home!

Taking care of my home!

• 1.18.2016

If I tried, I think I could probably relate every post I write to one of Gretchen Rubin's books. Seriously. The Happiness Project was so important for me, and Happier at Home shared more great simple mantras that shaped my behavior, and now I'm lapping up everything I can about her habits research in her latest book, Better than Before, and her podcast, Happier. On this post, one of her messages from The Happiness Project or Happier at Home (I don't remember which) resonates--"Read the manual." She uses it to mean, take the steps you need to prepare for a task. She cites a new toaster oven or something she had sitting around the house for weeks or months because she never wanted to take the time to sit down, open up the box, read the instructions, and get it working. Once she did, she felt so much better!

As someone who often rushes through tasks at home... this really stuck with me. For me, "reading the manual" means not trying to carry 50 million things up the stairs at once, or setting my phone down before picking up the laundry basket so I don't drop it. Ha. It means taking the time and steps necessary to care for the things around me.

This time of year, I think a lot of us have goals or resolutions to keep the house cleaner, get rid of clutter, clean out the fridge... etc. But one thing I hadn't thought about until Sears Home Appliances and Services provided it is annual servicing of the appliances. Appliances are some of the most expensive items in our home, and I know it will make me happier to keep them in good working order so they don't wear out too fast! We haven't had most of them looked at at all in the past 3+ years our house has been here, which made me a little worried about how we're doing keeping them up! (This post is sponsored by Sears Home Appliances and Services, who provided a free bundled maintenance package for my fridge, range, dishwasher, and washer/dryer.)

As you can see our kitchen appliances are pretty standard--they all came with the place except the fridge, which husband and I carefully picked out after much deliberation. We love it. We did have an issue with the freezer water drain backing up at one point, though, and really could have used a maintenance protection plan! For this post, Sears Home Appliances and Services technicians came out one by one one morning and serviced each of the appliances. They all were friendly and courteous, and explained to me how our appliances were functioning. They gave me some tips for care and use, which made me feel better since I know regular maintenance and upkeep will help with appliance life!

Photos by Nakalan McKay Photography.

You don't have to own Sears-purchased appliances to get a maintenance package from Sears Home Appliances and Services. They'll look at any age appliance, all major brands. You can learn more about Sears Protection Agreements here--Master Protection Agreement benefits include:

• Worry-Free Coverage 
• Replacement Guarantee 
• Annual Preventative Maintenance 
• Experienced Service Technicians 
• No Lemon Guarantee/Replacement
• Food Loss Reimbursement 
• Rental Reimbursement up to $50

If you're thinking about the health of your appliances, it's a great deal to get a Sears maintenance (or repair) package for one or more of them. They're very affordable and convenient--a tech will stop by at a time that works for you and you can pay following the visit. Visit the Sears Maintenance & Tune-Ups to book and get up to $200 off on appliance check-ups between now and 3/31/2016!

Sears Home Appliances and Services is the leading retailer of home appliances in the U.S., #1 in home services, parts, and protection agreements. They have been a leader in the home services industry for more than 50 years and install 4.5 million appliances and 4 million parts every year. Check out Sears Maintenance & Tune-Ups if your appliances need some TLC!

Thanks to Sears Home Appliances and Services for sponsoring this post!