Spring is here and it’s time to get your home ready for the season!
Does this feel overwhelming? Don’t stress. It doesn’t take huge amounts of time to spring clean your home. It’s a matter of prioritizing and choosing the right spring-clean-actions to make your home ready for the season and doing them one at a time.
Below are a few simple ways to make your home feel new and allow you to be fully ready to enjoy the season.
1. Inspect Your Roof
Sometimes it’s easiest to spring clean the entire home by starting with the outside and working your way in. Spring is the perfect time of year to inspect your roof, look for leaks, and holes, or find shingles that need to be replaced. Making sure your roof is in tip-top shape before fall arrives (and the rains and winds) is a smart way to prevent mishaps and future repairs that can make potential storm damage worse.
2. Clean Gutters
This action rides on the back of inspecting your roof. Rain from the roof falls into gutters. If your gutters are broken or cracked, or not working properly, rain water can drain into your home causing worse damage. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure! Clean out your gutters, add gutter screens to prevent debris build up, and make sure all cracks are fixed and components are connected properly.
3. Repair Screens
Have your pets scratched tiny holes into the screen? Maybe you’ve accidentally pushed your screen through the frame in spots? These are normal occurrences that make holes in your screens unbearable to live with. With beautiful weather outside, you want to be able to open your windows without letting in the bugs or animals. Repair screens now, and you won’t have to worry about it later when you’d much rather be outside or enjoying the weather rather than dealing with pesky flies inside.
4. Trim Trees
Spring is a great time to trim trees that are a touch too close to the house. Have a limb that could come crashing into the room with a good wind? Perhaps now is the time to get a tree trimmer in to assess the situation. Or go one step further, and hire an arborist to assess all of your trees on your property. Better to trim your tree in great weather than have to deal with it in the punishing winter weather!
5. Replace air/ HVAC Filters
Fresh spring air may be outside. But it can also be just as fresh inside when you replace your air or HVAC filters. A dirty filter forces your heat, ventilation and air-conditioning system to work harder than it has to. This, in turn, creates more wear and tear on your units, which leads to a shorter life. Maintenance is key to their longevity. And a simple air filter replacement is all it takes to keep your heating and cooling in great condition.
6. Clean Coils on Back of Fridge
Let’s be honest. Does anyone ever like doing this? Not only is it not an easy task to do, but finding a way to fit behind the fridge and get the vacuum near you to accomplish this task is comparable to an obstacle course event! The answer? Hire someone to do this so you don’t have to. Not only do you not have to do it, but your refrigerator’s efficiency improves dramatically, you extend its life, and it reduces your energy bill!
7. Replace Smoke/ Carbon Monoxide Batteries
This one really goes without saying. The safest homes have both of these detectors installed. If you have one, or both, of these and the batteries are dead, replace the batteries immediately! It can truly mean a matter of life or death. Buy batteries, replace the old ones, and keep a supply on hand for the future!
8. Clean Out Rooms
This one is easy and can be very rewarding. Clean out each room, one by one. Have separate containers for items to throw away and items to donate. Your local charities will be thrilled to have gently used functioning items that others folks can use. Get rid of items you haven't used in a year, and this includes the clothes in your closet! Less is more, folks.
