Your Spring Home Maintenance Checklist

Something about a fresh, clean house and springtime just go together. We always like to come up with a game plan to tackle spring cleaning. Here are some helpful questions you may want to ask yourself as you start to come up with your checklist:

1. What areas of my house need the most attention? The entire house? One room?
2. What part(s) of my living space could quickly be organized?
3. What spaces in my house would make my life easier and less stressful if cleaned and organized?

After thinking through some of these questions, you should have a list of prioritized areas to start spring cleaning. From there, it’s mustering up the motivation: turn on your favorite music, make an iced coffee, throw on your favorite lounge t-shirt on, grab some trash bags or donation bins, get out your cleaning supplies, and just dive in.

Below is our go to spring cleaning checklist:

Indoor Spring Cleaning:

• Open windows and doors, turn on ceiling fans to get things circulating. If you have a central cooling system in your home, now is the time to run it or have a professional conduct maintenance and get it running. Circulating the air and giving it a place to escape will leave your space smelling better and feeling fresher.

• Check batteries in smoke and carbon monoxide detectors. It’s important to change the batteries in your smoke and carbon monoxide detectors twice a year. You want to make sure they work properly and alarm if there is a fire or excess gas in your home. If your detectors are more than 6-10 years old, it might be a good idea to purchase new detectors that have 10-year sealed battery cells, which will last longer and require you to change them less often.

• Deep clean your kitchen: backsplash, baseboards, behind and above appliances, vent hood grease trap and scrub inside cabinets and pantry.

• Wash linens and swap heavy blankets for lighter linen throws. As the days grow longer and the weather turns warmer, it’s a good time to pack away the flannel sheets, dark colors, and heavy blankets for next winter. In their place? Swap your bedding out for a lighter alternative like cotton or linen, which will help you keep cool during spring and summer nights.

• Prepare to swap your closet for the new season and purge anything you haven’t worn in a year. When you’re decluttering your wardrobe, rather than just looking at each piece of clothing on the hanger, try every item on. Trying each item on and honestly assessing how it looks and feels is the best trick to purge your closet and get rid of things you don’t love or wear.

Outdoor Spring Cleaning:

• Clean and unclog your gutters and downspouts. One of the most important spring home maintenance tasks is making sure your gutters and downspouts are free of debris. Cleaning your gutters will help prevent water from damaging the exterior of your home. This can lead to serious structural damage and costly repairs. When you clean your gutters, make sure you remove any leaves, sticks, or other debris that might be present.

• Spruce up your lawn and landscaping for spring. This time of year is perfect for prepping your yard for the upcoming months of outdoor fun with family and friends. Whether you’re planning on hosting a backyard get-together or just lounging in the grass, giving your lawn a little extra love in the springtime can go a long way when it comes to enjoying your property during the warm months.

• Give your AC unit some TLC. Remove debris from around the unit, replace filters, clean ducts, and vents. One of the biggest mistakes people make during the spring is waiting to do any HVAC maintenance. Now is the perfect time to get your system serviced so it’s ready for when temperatures start rising.

• Clean out your dryer vent – this should be done regularly. The buildup will restrict air flow into the vent. This means that heat and moisture won’t properly escape from your dryer, so you’ll have to run it longer than necessary. If your dryer vent is clogged it can lead to a house fire. Clogged vents are also a breeding ground for pests like rodents because they enjoy nesting in warm, dark places with lots of food sources nearby. Clean those vents! =)

• Power wash deck and patio; clean outdoor furniture for spring. For a cleaning solution that will work on any material, mix a quarter-cup of clear dishwashing liquid meant for hand washing, such as Dawn, in a gallon of water. In general, warm water dislodges grime better than cold water.

• Wash exterior windows. You’ll need a good squeegee, some clean, dry cloths, and a spray bottle of window cleaning solution to wash exterior windows. If you want to take an environmentally friendly route, then a solution of warm water and vinegar will do the trick and get your windows clean.

• Clean window screens. Most screens are easy to remove. Simply prop them up against the side of the house and give them a good scrubbing with a non-abrasive brush and a household cleaner. Spray both sides with the water hose and let them dry before putting them back up. If your windows vary a great deal in size, either mark where each screen came from or leave them sitting right under the window in which they belong.