Holiday plans in place, check. Guests arriving, check. But, oh no, what about the house?! Prepping for the holidays tacks on unwanted stress—there’s no doubt about that. With proper planning, you can enjoy a relaxing time with friends and family without any worries. From now until New Year’s, get a jumpstart on your resolutions with these holiday-home tips.

1. Use Seasonal Scents

Welcome your guests with the aroma of the season. Pine, spices, and sweets galore, your holiday candles’ scents add an extra dimension to your holiday extravaganzas. 

2. Clean the Floors

The more you do in advance to prepare your home for foot traffic and activity, the better. Once you catch any dirt from the top of furniture and shelves, move on to cleaning the floors of dust and debris. There’s nothing like welcoming your guests with the sparkle of immaculately clean floors!

3. Clean Out the Fridge

Leading up to the event, it’s key to clear out your kitchen and refrigerator to make room for holiday dishes. Begin by tossing out expired food and freeing up space by condensing items into smaller containers. Take this opportunity, while your fridge is being emptied, to wipe down the shelves and drawers.

4. Transition the Decor

As we pass from Thanksgiving to Christmas to New Year’s, there’s certainly no shortage of excitement between those few weeks. And, each holiday tends to have its own set of decorations. Prepare to take the turkey figurines down in lieu of reindeer figurines come December 1st. From then on, check back on this list before setting up your winter decorations.

5. Dress Up Your Entryway

The first place your guests will see of your home is the entryway. Spread holiday cheer to everyone who walks into your home with themed decor. For Christmas, consider setting the nearside table with a miniature Christmas tree, family photos, and jolly garland. These decorations help set the tone for what guests can expect the more they venture inside.

6. Prep the Guest Room

If you plan on inviting guests to stay in your home during the holidays, they’ll need all of the comforts of home for the duration of their trip. Make sure that the room is tidy, and outfitted with a cozy bed, a well-lit lamp, and a dresser for clothing.

7. Prep the Kitchen

A holiday-ready kitchen is key to a successful holiday get-together. This is where people are gathering, food is being made, and messes are likely to happen. Get a head start on shopping for groceries, cleaning necessary cookware for the day of, and clearing tabletops for the expected heap of food.

8. Stock Up On Essentials

From ensuring the heating is up to par to providing essential items for overnight guests, it’s always important to assess your home and prepare for as much as you can. Some items to always have on hand are paper towels, toilet paper, hand soap, shampoo, conditioner, lotion, and toothpaste. In addition, cleaning out the fireplace beforehand can make the cold winter nights much more enjoyable.

Building and customizing your home to fit your vision is exactly what we do. With Fairfield Homes, you’ll build a top-end, quality home on one of the most beautiful sites in Southern Arizona. Enjoy the best desertscape views now and for your next holiday celebration. Contact us today to get started!

 


The latest home tech features transform our day-to-day operations, making the effort of running a home so much smoother. Applying technology in the home space frees up the homeowner to automate certain home devices and, in turn, the systems curate the home owner’s preferred living experience from temperature to home security. It’s more than a feature, it’s an experience.

Tankless Water Heaters

Converting your water to a tankless model is a valuable upgrade for any home. Their energy efficiency makes tankless water heaters an attractive alternative to storage tank water heaters. Whereas standby heat loss is a big factor in higher energy costs in storage tank water heaters, purchasing an insulated unit can reduce heat loss. Overall, systems reduce maintenance, last longer, use less energy, and offer unlimited hot water.

HVAC Systems

Heating, ventilation, and cooling systems purify the air in your home and provide warmth or cooling for your climate needs. Modern HVAC systems are efficient, cost-effective, and beneficial to your health. Programmable thermostats offer you the convenience of scheduling your AC to turn on exactly when you need it—like 15 minutes before you get home.

A great ally against indoor allergens and lung-irritating pollutants, Smart HVAC units sense data on air quality to keep your air clean. Systems predict the right time for maintenance but typically last 15 to 20 years. Manufacturers continue to support existing equipment by making replacement parts available.

Light Controls

Wake up on the right side of the bed with a lighting control program that suits your needs and preferences. New lighting technology not only gives you the freedom to choose the type of brightness in your environment, but also enhances convenience, safety, and efficiency with a push of a button from any connected device.

Set your preferred dimmed ambiance, and transport to a completely relaxed state of mind. You can also easily program lights to turn on or off on a set schedule, saving electricity.

Window Shade

When paired with smart lighting technology, smart blinds can help maximize the amount of daylight in your home and cut down on electricity usage by being automated. Similar to light controls, window coverings make life more convenient, add ambiance, and induce better sleep.

Blinds can be set to open and close during specific times of the day and some can even respond with the temperature to adjust automatically. Natural light becomes a more integral part of your home while inconvenient or uneven light that filters through the blind slats and disturbs your sleep at night is removed.

Door Locks

Better access to your home begins with the locks on your front door. Smart locks increase accessibility without compromising security. From your phone or keypad, entry locks offer extra convenience so no more fumbling for keys or dropping items at your doorstep. Codes can be changed at will, meaning you will have full access control to ensure who is entering and leaving the home.

Video Security

Home security has come a long way over the years—including the introduction of video recording devices to give you peace of mind wherever you are. Smart security enables real-time check-ins on various elements of your home and property so that you can know exactly what’s happening, and receive real-time alerts on any questionable occurrences. With expanded and more effective capabilities, remote security systems are a proactive tool for the safety and efficiency of your home.

Garage Door Openers

Your garage door is the largest access point in your entire home—and the garage opener remote essentially acts as a key to your home. A smart garage door opener can keep intruders from getting in, but it can also help you get dangerous fumes out of your garage. If you use other smart technology in your home, such as smoke and carbon monoxide detectors, you can get an alert when these fumes build up in your garage to protect the health and safety of your family.

At Fairfield Homes, we design each of our homes with energy-efficient choices throughout. Our integrated wellness system, Fairfield Balance, prioritizes your health and lifestyle. Some of the features you can expect in your home range from blackout blinds to air and water quality filtration systems. Want to learn more? Contact us today to schedule a showing of one of our homes, or to answer any questions you might have.

Sources:
https://www.newhomesguidecharleston.com/Resources/Charleston-New-Homes-Guide-Blog/January-2017/What-new-home-technology-should-you-choose-when-bu
https://madisonhomebuilders.com/blog/smart-home-ideas-build/
https://magazine.realtor/technology/feature/article/2020/03/the-ultimate-smart-home-new-construction
https://homeguides.sfgate.com/what-are-the-benefits-of-an-hvac-system-13415758.html
https://www.homeserve.com/en-us/blog/buying-guide/lighting-control-system-benefits/ https://turbolock.com/blog/top-10-benefits-of-a-smart-lock-system-for-home-and-office/

The latest home tech features transform our day-to-day operations, making the effort of running a home so much smoother. Applying technology in the home space frees up the homeowner to automate certain home devices and, in turn, the systems curate the home owner’s preferred living experience from temperature to home security. It’s more than a feature, it’s an experience.

Tankless Water Heaters

Converting your water to a tankless model is a valuable upgrade for any home. Their energy efficiency makes tankless water heaters an attractive alternative to storage tank water heaters. Whereas standby heat loss is a big factor in higher energy costs in storage tank water heaters, purchasing an insulated unit can reduce heat loss. Overall, systems reduce maintenance, last longer, use less energy, and offer unlimited hot water.

HVAC Systems

Heating, ventilation, and cooling systems purify the air in your home and provide warmth or cooling for your climate needs. Modern HVAC systems are efficient, cost-effective, and beneficial to your health. Programmable thermostats offer you the convenience of scheduling your AC to turn on exactly when you need it—like 15 minutes before you get home.

A great ally against indoor allergens and lung-irritating pollutants, Smart HVAC units sense data on air quality to keep your air clean. Systems predict the right time for maintenance but typically last 15 to 20 years. Manufacturers continue to support existing equipment by making replacement parts available.

Light Controls

Wake up on the right side of the bed with a lighting control program that suits your needs and preferences. New lighting technology not only gives you the freedom to choose the type of brightness in your environment, but also enhances convenience, safety, and efficiency with a push of a button from any connected device.

Set your preferred dimmed ambiance, and transport to a completely relaxed state of mind. You can also easily program lights to turn on or off on a set schedule, saving electricity.

Window Shade

When paired with smart lighting technology, smart blinds can help maximize the amount of daylight in your home and cut down on electricity usage by being automated. Similar to light controls, window coverings make life more convenient, add ambiance, and induce better sleep.

Blinds can be set to open and close during specific times of the day and some can even respond with the temperature to adjust automatically. Natural light becomes a more integral part of your home while inconvenient or uneven light that filters through the blind slats and disturbs your sleep at night is removed.

Door Locks

Better access to your home begins with the locks on your front door. Smart locks increase accessibility without compromising security. From your phone or keypad, entry locks offer extra convenience so no more fumbling for keys or dropping items at your doorstep. Codes can be changed at will, meaning you will have full access control to ensure who is entering and leaving the home.

Video Security

Home security has come a long way over the years—including the introduction of video recording devices to give you peace of mind wherever you are. Smart security enables real-time check-ins on various elements of your home and property so that you can know exactly what’s happening, and receive real-time alerts on any questionable occurrences. With expanded and more effective capabilities, remote security systems are a proactive tool for the safety and efficiency of your home.

Garage Door Openers

Your garage door is the largest access point in your entire home—and the garage opener remote essentially acts as a key to your home. A smart garage door opener can keep intruders from getting in, but it can also help you get dangerous fumes out of your garage. If you use other smart technology in your home, such as smoke and carbon monoxide detectors, you can get an alert when these fumes build up in your garage to protect the health and safety of your family.

At Fairfield Homes, we design each of our homes with energy-efficient choices throughout. Our integrated wellness system, Fairfield Balance, prioritizes your health and lifestyle. Some of the features you can expect in your home range from blackout blinds to air and water quality filtration systems. Want to learn more? Contact us today to schedule a showing of one of our homes, or to answer any questions you might have.

Sources:
https://www.newhomesguidecharleston.com/Resources/Charleston-New-Homes-Guide-Blog/January-2017/What-new-home-technology-should-you-choose-when-bu
https://madisonhomebuilders.com/blog/smart-home-ideas-build/
https://magazine.realtor/technology/feature/article/2020/03/the-ultimate-smart-home-new-construction
https://homeguides.sfgate.com/what-are-the-benefits-of-an-hvac-system-13415758.html
https://www.homeserve.com/en-us/blog/buying-guide/lighting-control-system-benefits/ https://turbolock.com/blog/top-10-benefits-of-a-smart-lock-system-for-home-and-office/