Take care of your furniture.

When I say to take care of your furniture, I do not mean to purchase all the extra coverage they offer you when you check out at the register. Most of those plans are a waste of money. Unless it is something you really plan on keeping forever or you have very destructive kiddos in the house, you can pass on those plans.

My husband and I finally replaced our bedroom set of furniture after having it for 25 years. So, when we purchased this new set, we did purchase the plan for scratches, etc., because we do not intend to get another one in the future. We are 50, so I think this next set should last us!

One of the things I have tried to instill in my children is to have respect for belongings. This includes the furniture, so I do not allow them to jump on it or off of it. I expect them to keep their dirty shoes off of it as well. There is no leaning back on the barstools, as that has already caused us to replace them once.

We do let our kiddos eat in the family room on the couch and in their rooms, but they have to clean up the messes they make. They usually eat at the pub table in the family room anyway or use a tray table if they are on the couch anyway, so it does not get too messy.

What things can you do to improve the life of your furniture?

Make sure you dust weekly (one of my least favorite chores) and use a soft cloth when you do. My favorite cloth is the Norwex™ dusting mitt. You do not need polish and it holds all the dust in the cloth instead of moving it around. Check for any marks or scratches on your furniture and deal with them quickly.

Make sure to use a coaster when you put drinking glasses on your furniture. I see lots of these rings on used furniture. Teach your kiddos to do the same. If you spill something, clean it up right away before it can take any finish off your furniture.

If you put a lot of items on your nightstands or tables, make sure when you move them around that they do not scratch the surface. I had that happen with our pub table when I was putting my computer on it. I ended up having to put felt pads on the bottom which stopped the problem. Another solution for nightstands would be to leave your top drawer for things that you would normally set on top- like your phone, eyeglasses, books, magazines, etc.

If you have leather furniture, make sure you clean and condition it at least once every six months. If the furniture is used often, you might want to do it more often.

Whatever type of furniture you have, it was probably more expensive than many things in your house. To keep it lasting as long as possible and looking as good as possible, take care of it and teach your kiddos to do so as well. They will see the results of taking care of things and hopefully, they will learn to take care of their things too.