Spring Cleaning – Conquer Curb Appeal

Spring cleaning isn’t just for closets and crawl spaces. Spring is the perfect time to get outside and clean up your home’s exterior, too. Springtime is the time to rejuvenate your gardens and lawn, clean the patio and gutters, and even the garage. Feeling a bit overwhelmed by this seemingly endless list of to-do’s? We’ve put together an easy outline of a few of the biggest areas you can start with.

Garage:

• Sort everything – Go through boxes, corners and rafters. Get rid of things you haven’t used and things that are broken or worn out. Be sure to donate and recycle what you can! Also, bring hazardous waste to your local recycling place for proper disposal.
• Plan and get organized – Buy shelving units, plastic storage containers and peg board to keep things off the floor and out of high traffic areas. Measuring total amount of space available first before you go out to purchase those items is a good idea.
• Don’t backslide – Keep up on cleaning tasks throughout the rest of the year. Next year’s spring cleaning won’t be such and overhaul.

Lawn:

• Rake the lawn to perk up the dormant blades of grass and remove any dead matted grass.
• Aerate to ensure oxygen and water can reach the roots.
• Fertilize your newly aerated grass to ensure the right nutrients are available for your grass to start the spring off strong.
• And don’t forget to water your grass each week!

Gardens

• Clean the flower beds: Remove debris including grass, leaves, litter or anything that’s not supposed to be in there.
• Weed: Get the pesky dandelions and other weeds away from your plants so they don’t steal nutrients from your budding flowers.
• Prune trees and shrubs: Encourage new growth by pruning back dead branches.
• Mulch: Keep weeds from growing by putting mulch in your flower beds.
• Bonus: Create a compost pile for all the yard waste you’ve removed. It will be great fertilizer for next spring!

Home Exterior and Patio

• Gutters: Clean any yard waste that has accumulated in your gutters. If you aren’t comfortable getting on a ladder, most lawn services can be hired to clean them out.
• Windows: Remove and clean screens and windows.
• Patio: Sweep and inspect your patio for cracks, splinters or other potential hazards. Determine the best cleaning method for the material it’s made out of and give it a good scrub. Hose down any patio furniture to remove dirt and cobwebs. Clean your grill and check outdoor lighting fixtures to ensure everything is in working order.
• Fencing: Check to make sure there are no holes in your fence that need repairing and that footings are still strong.

Looking to sell? Spring is a great time for home sales – and curb appeal is something to keep in mind. Home inspectors check both the interior and the exterior of your home. Exterior outlets, lighting, spigots, fences, windows, siding, roofs and gutters are all inspected for hazards or defects. By taking stock of your exterior each year during spring cleaning, you can catch these problems and repair them in a timely manner. For more information about what to expect from an inspection, check out our maintenance checklist.

Spring is a time for renewal. By prepping your home’s exterior during spring cleaning, summer and fall will be that much more beautiful around your home. Once you’ve conquered the backyard, it will be the perfect excuse to host the first barbecue of the season! Enjoy!