In the Hearthfire DLC for Skyrim on the Xbox 360, one of the new features of the game is that you can set a Steward for your new house to help gather materials for improvements on your house, and will actually perform the upgrades for you if you wish.
In order to get a Steward, you just need to find a follower that can perform the duties.
Once you have a follower, bring them to your new house and try to talk to them. If they can be your steward, you’ll see the option for “I need a steward for my house. Are you interested?” If that option isn’t there, then try to bring a different follower to your house and try again.
Once you find one with the option, they will accept automatically and they will become your steward, which means they will no longer be following you. They will now have other options for buying materials, making improvements to the house, buying furnishings, etc. They’ll also have some insight to where you can gather some resources you’ll need for improvements.
Serana from the Dawnguard DLC can’t be a steward, since she’s necessary for the quest line. Most other regular followers should be able to be stewards though, including the housecarls you’ve gained through the various cities.
It’s important to note that any follower you assign as your steward can always become your follower again, and you should be able to assign them back as steward, or pick a new steward if you wish.
Once you have a few extra beds, you’ll be able to adopt a child as well.
