Most homeowners know that having a house is similar to raising a child. Just when you think your work is done with one thing, another thing comes up. Until you move, there will always be more to do and work on.
While this can seem overwhelming, keeping up with routine maintenance can make all of this a little easier. Before each season, plan a time when you are going to get your home in top living condition.
This will help you and your home be prepared for any unforeseen events and extreme elements that may come about. So how can you take your home from the dreary winter months into the delightful and hopeful season of spring? Here are four steps to take to put you well on your way.
Start with the Inside
Time for Spring Cleaning. The best way to prepare your home for spring is to start with what you see the most—the inside! You’ve probably spent most of the winter staying warm inside but this can mean that your home has become a disorganized mess faster than usual.
It’s a good idea to have all the occupants pitch in; if you have kids, make them responsible for their rooms first. Later, split up the remaining areas: kitchen, living room, bathrooms, etc.
Give Your Pantry a Do-Over. To prevent pests come springtime, you’ll definitely need to sort through all of the food that you have stored away in your walk-in pantry, cupboards, and refrigerator. Forgotten containers might be left open and exposed to ants, cockroaches, and mice.
Get rid of any expired cans, boxes of food, and of course anything rotten or moldy. While you are in there, it might behoove you to do a bit of organizing because just like the hard drive on your computer, available space becomes fragmented over time.
Don’t have one? It’s not too difficult a task to build a walk-in food pantry. This is the perfect time of year for this type of indoors DIY project.
Carpet Maintenance. You may not have noticed it, but for the past few months your family and guests have been tracking dirt into your home on a regular basis. It can be even worse in the winter than in other months since shoes are wet and carry extra mud and road salt.
Get a head start by cleaning your carpets as the winter months come to an end. This can even save you money as some companies offer better deals in the winter when business is slow.
Periodic Window Cleaning. If you’re looking to bring a little more sunshine into your life, start by cleaning your windows and glass doors from the inside. If you clean your interior windows before the outside wash in the spring, it will be easier to see what areas to focus on and which are the dirtiest.
For any windows not on ground level, always call a professional if you don’t feel comfortable doing it yourself. Working on ladders can be a dangerous business sometimes best left to those trained to do so. If you DIY, please use a spotter and tie your ladder off at the top.
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Find What Needs to Be Fixed
Before you really dive into your home repairs, stop and take a minute to get organized. Do a thorough inspection of your home so you can know what you need to fix and what should be the highest priority.
The last thing you want is to spend all your money on one repair when another project is more important. One of the biggest home problems that can appear in the winter is water damage.
Sometimes when home owners don’t take the proper precautions before winter, they can be paying the price well into the spring. Cracks, leaks, and holes can all lead to snow melting into your home and causing mold or mildew.
Identify these potential issues early. The longer the water pools, the more damage it can do. If you have a wood-burning fireplace, you’ll want to get your chimney cleaned out by a professional chimney-sweep service.
The soot buildup won’t do you any harm over the summer but it will save you an extra task later on. It might be better for you to take care of it sooner while it’s still fresh in your mind.
The real problem is the creosote build-up that the smoke deposits on the inside of the chimney. This is a very serious fire hazard. Creosote is also a carcinogen.
Tune Up Your HVAC Unit. As you do all this pre-spring cleaning there will be loose dust and dirt flying around your home. All of this dirt can easily clog up your return air filters and make your heating or cooling system run less efficiently.
Check the filters a couple of days after you start your deep cleaning to see if they need to be changed and be sure to change it again after you are done. Before you start to use your A/C system, call in a pro to give it a tune up.
The AC side of your HVAC system has been sitting dormant for the last several months and may need some extra care before you fire it up again. If you use a swamp cooler instead of central air, also check to make sure everything is functioning with that as well.
Countless people can attest to the pain of going to cool down their home on the first warm day of spring just to discover that there’s something wrong with their cooling system. Don’t be that guy.
Plan Your Yard and Landscaping. Don’t leave your yard planning as a spur of the moment decision. This can lead to poor planting decisions and poorly functioning equipment.
Instead, take advantage of the time before you can actually go out and take action. Plan out exactly what you want in your garden and where it will go. A garden sounds like a fun hobby, but without planning it can spell out wasted time and disaster.
Are you planning to plant some trees? Whether your objective is fruit, shade, privacy, or ornamental, be sure to choose the right trees for your planting zone.
You can also take this time to make sure that you have all the equipment you will need. Was your lawn mower running poorly last year? Take it in for a tune up. Did you wish that you had a better shovel or hoe? It’s the perfect time to prepare yourself and purchase one. Make a plan for your yard and commit to it now.
The transition from winter to spring doesn’t have to be rough and leave you feeling exhausted. You can make the transition smoother by preparing beforehand and keeping your goals in mind.
You want your home to be as pleasant as possible come the warmer months so plan it out now and put in the work to make your spring bright and fresh! Do you have any tips of your own on taking your home from winter to spring? Please share them in the comment section below and share our link with your friends and social media.
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