Thank goodness spring is upon us! While this winter wasn’t quite as harsh as last year’s (for those of us in West Michigan anyway), I was still very much ready to see more sunshine and less snow. After all, playing outside is always way more fun than playing inside. Jogging, golf, and hiking – these activities just can’t be replicated all that well indoors, and now that spring is here and summer is on its way, it’s time to play!
Well, it’s almost time to play. In actuality, for us adults it’s time to get to work first. In order to save yourself from incurring huge expenses in the future, it is probably a good idea for you to tend to the chores below as soon as possible.
Start Planning Your Home Summer Maintenance Projects
Here is a list of nine things for you to take care of around the house this summer.
#1. Trim Those Tree Limbs
Tree limbs can be more hazardous than you think. They can damage your paint job, hurt your roof, and even start growing into your house! If there are any tree limbs near your house, be sure to put this on the list of your home summer maintenance projects.
#2. Fertilize the Lawn
The lawn obviously isn’t the most important thing in the world, but everyone like plush green grass surrounding their dwelling. It not only looks nice, but is much more fun to walk on than yellow dead grass. In order to keep your lawn from dying and developing weeds, be sure to fertilize it in the near future, before the heat of summer is upon us.
#3. Plan Your Watering Schedule
The grass, plants, and scrubs around your house really make your property look nice. And, an important element of keeping all of these plants looking nice is water. Avoid watering during the heat of the day. Not only will some of your water evaporate at this time, but winds are also at their highest speeds during the day as well, and this is simply a waste of money. If you want to make the most of your watering, schedule it between 6am and 8am in the morning.
#4. Prepare Your Gardening Soil
Do you enjoy gardening? If so, then you’ll likely want to enrich and till your soil before you start planting. If you don’t, then your yield won’t be as good as it could have been, which means that you’ll be losing money without even realizing it!
#5. Clean the House of Dust and Dirt
Good ol’ spring cleaning! It seems like the whole cleaning bit isn’t emphasized as much as it once was many years ago, but based on recent findings it really should be! It turns out that spring cleaning has physical, medical, and emotional benefits, so why not get up and start your spring cleaning right now? You won’t be sorry!
#6. Change Your HVAC Filter
Breathing that recycled air again and again can become unhealthy. Now that it’s spring time, be sure to change out your old HVAC filter. After all, it’s important for your health.
#7. Have the Roof Inspected
Roofing can be expensive, and having a professional take a look for you often costs nothing at all! If your roof needs patching and you don’t know it, this could lead to leaking, water damage, or even a collapsed roof! Nobody needs these issues, so call your roofers today.
#8. Inspect the Outdoor Play Equipment
There is nothing more important in this world than health and life, so be sure to think about your kids during this spring season. After the harshness of winter, their play equipment might not be safe for them to climb around on. Check for instability, pointy objects, and rust. None of these should be acceptable words when it comes to the safety of your children. Be sure to add this to the list of summer home maintenance projects.
#9. Clean Gutters and Downspouts
One of the last remaining projects is to clean those gutters and downspouts. If they are plugged with leaves from the previous fall, water won’t be able to move freely from the roof to the ground. Either it will filter out over the edge of the gutter (causing an annoyance for those walking underneath), or it could flow toward your house and create water damage. Don’t let this happen to your home. It is far too great an asset.
Are these projects on your list of summer maintenance projects?