New Year’s resolutions are a dime a dozen this time of year, but home ownership and resolutions have always gone hand in hand. No one, except my father-in-law, ever kept his home in perfect condition, even though we all would like to do better.

So, in honor of the holiday, here is my list of New Year’s resolutions for taking care of my real estate better in the coming year:

* I resolve to keep the gutters clean.

It turns out that this is a particular problem on my house, because we have copper gutters on the front. Copper gutters look great, but they dent if you look at them too hard, much less lean a ladder up against them.

I tried cleaning them once, but it rained shortly after that and they filled back up in about a week.

And, to make matters worse, we have a steep roof so there is no chance of approaching the gutter from the roof side.

The only possible solution is for someone to send a squad of "gutter angels" which might hover effortlessly beside my fascia boards and "deep clean" my gutters of the flora and fauna they hold.

* I resolve to do something about the driveway.

Several years ago, the next door neighbor hired a roofer to replace his roof. That guy brought in a huge dumpster on steel wheels, and proceeded to fill it up with a thousand tons of old roofing.

When I foolishly inquired about the possibility that the dumpster and the attendant trucks might crack the driveway, I was greeted with a Santa-like belly laugh and was "guaranteed" that no problems would occur.

Since then, my neighbor sold his house.

Now, both my new neighbor and I have driveways that have degenerated into large floating pieces of concrete, which ooze red clay every time it rains, which is a lot in Georgia.

One time I caught my neighbor’s wife squirting some plastic cement patcher into the cracks, but it only lasted about a week.

I even went to Home Depot and asked how to fix it, but the man just smiled and walked away. Somehow, this feels like it might be expensive.

I wonder if there are "driveway angels" that could hover above the cracks and repair them seamlessly?

* I resolve to have the deck sealed.

A few years ago we had a really nice deck put on the back of the house. But no one told me that there was maintenance involved.

So now the beautiful wood deck has turned gray, and the once smooth handrails now project splinters and rough spots. Furthermore, one of the upright things that keeps kids from falling off has broken into two pieces where the dog ran into it.

I tried glueing it back together but that only lasted about a week.

Also, someone said I should pressure wash the deck to make it like new, but I don’t have a pressure washer, so I am not sure how to approach this task.

In addition, I am frozen with fear of the pressure washer releasing dangerous chemicals like arsenic and other preservatives which might damage the environment (or the dogs) in some way.

Perhaps there are pressure washing angels who could hover above the deck and make it like new again, then seal it forever with some eternal sealant. Just a thought.

* I resolve to stop the basement from flooding.

Every time it rains, a river of red water comes in through the walls of the basement and flows directly into a big drain in the center of the basement floor.

It’s as if the builder designed the basement to leak, and decided to solve the problem by putting in a big drain.

I do admit that the drain does, in fact, rid the basement of the excess water, and that’s good enough for me. But my wife has been nagging me about the leaking for years and now it’s time for something to happen.

Several years ago, we paid for a guy in a miniature tractor to tear up our backyard and "regrade" the soil to drain away from the foundation, but that only lasted about a week, then it rained.

I bought a bottle of that anti-humidity stuff and opened it in the basement. It was supposed to absorb excess moisture. But after about a week, it got swept down the drain and we can’t find it now.

And ever since then, the basement has smelled suspiciously like radon gas, which is odorless and colorless, so how can I know when I do or don’t have it?

Furthermore, I am unwilling to admit in this column that I have ever seen any mold or mildew in my basement (I haven’t), because it would immediately become unfit for human habitation and be condemned.

I wonder if there are any "basement angels" that might hover near the foundation repelling excess moisture?

In any case, those are my resolutions and I’m sticking to them.

For about a week.