How to Prep Your Home for Spring: From Garden to Garage, What You Need to Do

Spring has sprung! Translation: You're gonna lose an hour of sleep in the morning, and your to-do list just got really long. Here's a quick refresher of what needs to happen now that the sun is finally out.

Set the stage for the blooms to come.

• Bring potted plants back outside
• Prep the vegetable garden, if you have one
• Backfill any low-lying areas in the yard with extra soil
• Trim back any broken limbs
• Aerate your lawn, and reseed bare spots

See what damage winter hath wrought.

• Clear out the rain gutters
• Spray down the siding on your house
• Wash exterior windows — or better yet, hire someone
• Spray down window screens, and repair any that have broken
• Inspect your foundation — now is the time to fix cracks, clear vents and check for mold
• Inspect any concrete slabs around the house, reseal if necessary
• Inspect — and fix — your roof
• Spray down decks and patios
• Check all the outside faucets
• Have the air conditioning unit serviced
• Replace your doormats

This is elite, marathon-level purging and cleaning. You ready?

• Deep clean your carpet and rugs. When in doubt, hire someone
• Ditto: cloth furniture
• Deep clean the fridge. Yes, take everything out. Purge anything that's expired.
• Defrost your freezer, if necessary
• Deep clean your window treatments. Yes, the window treatments!
• Blinds get a wipe-down. Drapes can be laundered. Shades can be spot cleaned.
• Wash interior windows
• Scrub the walls, including the baseboards
• Replace your filters, all of them — air filters, water filters, dryer filters
• Test and replace batteries in smoke and carbon monoxide detectors
• Deep clean your pantry
• Deep clean the oven and microwave
• Deep clean the dishwasher. Think: vinegar
• Clean the washing machine
  
• Soak shower heads and removable faucet fixtures to get rid of limescale
• Move and clean behind all of your appliances
• Reseal grout
• Wipe down indoor plants
• Flip and clean your mattress
• Launder your pillows and duvet
• Swap winter linens for lighter-weight options
• Make a list of any house repairs — then tackle it, one by one
• Purge, purge, purge, purge, purge
• Sell or donate any winter clothes that went unworn
• Give your drawers the Marie Kondo treatment
• Get rid of old beauty samples, expired medicine and anything else clogging up your medicine cabinet
• As you prep for taxes, purge your files
• While you're at it, purge your old digital files and back up anything important
• Swap out dark or drab accessories for something shiny and new

Your tools need a little love as well.

• Check and clean all garden tools and equipment
• Look at your list of home repairs and get tools in order
• And then, organize them (we love this easy-to-make copper pipe tool organizer)