11 Low-Cost Spring Home Maintenance Tips For 2018

As the weather starts warming up, it’s only natural to want to make some changes
around the house to welcome the new season. Long, sunny days are a great
inspiration to brighten up and revitalize your home from the inside out.

Luckily, big changes don’t all require a big budget. These simple, affordable tasks can
help you can give your home a fresh new look just in time for spring.

Here are 11 low-cost spring home maintenance tips every homeowner should know about in 2018:

1. Get a jump start on your spring cleaning

No spring maintenance list would be complete without first discussing the obvious: spring cleaning! Winter tends to leave behind a mass of clutter, both indoors and outside, as the cold months can throw off even the tidiest homeowner’s cleaning schedule.

Declutter

Decluttering every room is a great way to kick off your spring cleaning. Go through each room and gather the items you no longer use or want. Then, depending on the condition of each item, determine whether to throw it out or donate it to a local charity. This is not only a great way to clean up your home and create more space, but you can also get a receipt for your donations to write off of your 2018 taxes.

Deep clean

After decluttering, the next best step is deep cleaning your home. Without having clutter in the way, it’s much easier to dust corners and surfaces, vacuum every room, and even get to those hard-to-reach areas that may have gotten ignored throughout the winter.

Organize the closets

Of course, no spring cleaning task is complete without tackling the closets! Start packing away heavy winter clothes to make warm weather clothing more easily accessible. Leave some layering pieces, like long sleeve shirts and sweaters, for the first few weeks of spring, and pack away heavier items, like snow boots and ski jackets.

2. Decorate with spring colors

Now that your home is clean and fresh, you can shift your attention to your home decor. Even a small change, like adding some pastel-colored throw pillows and blankets to your living room, can make a huge difference in your home’s appearance. Complete the transformation with decorative hand towels, curtains, tablecloths, and lampshades.

Decorative picture frames are another budget-friendly option. You can find some great deals on decorative frames at most home decor or discount stores. Or, if you’re feeling creative or crave a more customized style for your home, you can find some great DIY home decor projects on Pinterest!

3. Let some fresh air in!

By the time the winter’s finally over, it can get pretty stuffy inside the house. Take advantage of the rising temperatures to open your windows and let the fresh air in. Keeping the windows open with a fan on, even for just a few minutes, can help give your home a more fresh, crisp feel.

4. Makeover your walls

Give your space a new look with a fresh coat of paint or a decorative wallpaper! This time of year brings the perfect opportunity to makeover a room. Now that your home is free of clutter and every room’s been thoroughly cleaned, just push your furniture out of the way to start your DIY home makeover.

Whether you prefer paint or wallpaper, the spring is the perfect season for these types of projects, because you can leave the windows open to let the walls dry once you’re finished.

5. Add a fun, seasonal statement piece to every room

The right statement piece can make a huge difference, and offers another easy way to make your home feel ready for spring. Brighten up the kitchen table or window sills with a vase of fresh flowers. Hang a new piece of wall art to soften up the living room. Even the bathroom can feel more spring-ready with some light scented hand soaps or floral potpourri.

6. Go green!

Take advantage of the extra sunshine and pick up some fresh new plants for your home! Low-maintenance houseplants like succulents and cacti help keep the air clean and add some color inside your home.

You don’t need a landscaper to create a beautiful outdoor garden, and you might be surprised to find out just how many affordable options there are. Keep an eye out for sales at local nurseries and hardware stores, and opt for perennials over annuals to stretch your gardening budget even further!

7. Fill in cracked concrete in walkways/ driveways

Depending on how harsh the winter was, you may be left with some cracks in your concrete walkway and/or driveway. Thankfully, this doesn’t have to be an expensive fix. Just make sure the crack is clean and free of debris, and use a concrete patch to fill it in. Once the patch has had a chance to cure, finish the job by sealing the patch. From start to finish, you can fill in cracked concrete in about half a day, all without paying a professional

8. Remove outside debris with pressure washing

Pressure washing is an excellent, low-cost method of removing built up moss, algae, and other debris that can build up on sidings, driveways, and patios over time. Whether you pressure wash your home yourself, or you choose to hire a professional, this is a fast, effective way to remove built-up dirt for lasting results. Generally speaking, pressure washing is a home maintenance task that lasts anywhere from 6 months to a year.

9. Aerate the lawn

As the winter comes to an end, it’s time to work on revitalizing your lawn! The early spring season is the perfect time to prep the soil for planting new grass, and aerating is a crucial step.

To successfully aerate your lawn, first make sure the soil is sufficiently watered. Then, focus on loosening up the compact soil so that it can take in take in fertilizer and grass seed effectively later on. Aerating helps ensure your land is prepared to allow grass (and other plants) to take root, so don’t skip this step if the winter season has damaged your lawn or left you with hard or clay-like soil.

10. Clean out your gutters and check them for damage

When it comes to snow storms and cold winter weather, everything is vulnerable to suffer some damage, and gutters are no exception. Set aside some time to clean your gutters of leaves and any other debris that may have collected in them during winter. Once your gutters are free of blockages, carefully inspect them for cracks and other signs of damage so you can repair them as soon as possible.

11. Have your chimney inspected and swept

If your home has a chimney, the beginning of the spring season is the perfect time to call a chimney service. Taking the time to inspect your chimney and clean out any soot or dirt that may have built up during the winter is important for preventing future problems with your chimney system, and handling this task in the spring provides you with plenty of time to make any necessary repairs.

So whether you’re on a limited budget or you’re a homeowner who just loves saving money, you can still keep up with your home maintenance this spring without breaking the bank. For more affordable home maintenance and home decor tips, subscribe to the CastleRock blog today!