Tips To Help You With Outdoor Spring Cleaning & Maintenance

Spring is here in New Mexico, the birds are chirping, trees are budding, and the flowers are starting to bring color to the world, and I’d rather be outside enjoying the fantastic spring weather than finishing up my indoor spring cleaning.  I know I really should just finish it up but why to spend time spring cleaning when there is so much to be done to prepare for the upcoming months outside.  Every year my husband and I spend time outside getting the year ready, spring cleaning a tad bit and of course all the much-needed spring patience, our home requires.

Tips To Help You With Outdoor Spring Cleaning & Maintenance

Here are a few things you should decently examine to see if they were damaged over the past year.

• Grab a ladder and head up to the rooftop – It’s not fun getting up on the roof, and if you can’t do it you’ll need to have someone climb there and take a gander.  Look for any loose, cracked, or broken shingles if you find any be sure to fix them or have someone fix them for you.   Your roof may not have shingles which are fine you can still check them yourself or if you’re more comfortable having someone help you the first time or two that is totally okay too.  Remember it’s easier to do what you can to prevent problems than it is to wait until something happens. So be sure to get up on your roof and check your shingles for any winter damage.  FYI if you home have an older roof, it might be a good idea to start thinking about a replacement shortly.  The cold, wet winter months and super-hot sun can most certainly damage your roof.

• Don’t forget about the gutters – Since you’re up there might as well make sure the gutters are in good condition.  I don’t know why but this is one of my favorite spring maintenance activities lol.  It’s super easy, just remove any debris that you notice is caught in the gutter (we tend to get a lot of leaves), make sure there are no holes that could cause problems once the rains hit, and you’ll defiantly want to make sure your gutters are not lost.  You want to ensure they’re going to be able to handle the spring and summer rains.

• Check all your water faucets – Winter can be hard on pipes and faucets.  Be sure to give the a quick gander to make sure they are turning off completely as they should, and there is not any water leaking from the outside faucets.  Be sure to remove your hose when checking the faucets so you can see better.  Since you’re already checking, the faucets might as well grab the whole and make sure it’s still in good shape and isn’t dry rotted.

• Whatever you do don’t forget to give your AC Unit some major TLC this spring –  Hey you want to make sure it’s working great this summer so you can make sure your family is beautiful and comfortable when it’s HOT outside.  My husband typically calls in the professionals when it’s time to service our AC  in the spring.

• Grab the power washer –I love using the power washer on our driveway, sidewalks, doors, and outside walls if needed.  What can I say, I love using my husband’s power washer because spraying the kids is always fun!

• Get the grill ready – We cook on the grill at least three times a week when the weather is warm, so it’s time to get the grill clean and ready to cook some celebration steaks.  Trust me; you’ll want something to spoil the family after all the work you’ve done.

• Check all outdoor lights – All those outdoor lights need some TLC too!  After cleaning them and replacing bulbs if needed you’ll be surprised how much brighter your outside lights are, which is perfect for the spring and summer months.

• Garage – We totally skipped the garage this year since we’re planning to move but any other time the garage would be the first place my husband would tackle.   Plus, I love using the power washer.

• Windows – Since you’re spending all this time making sure your house is in tip-top shape might as well make sure it looks good too.  When is the last time you cleaned the outside of your windows?  I Last spring for me!  This year I tried something new.  See my kids recently started bickering and fighting way too much! I think they are doing it on purpose, trying to send their dear old mom to the cray cray house, lol.  Well, this year I learned something else about cleaning the outside of windows.  It does make a great chore for the kids, gets them out of the house, and some of that balled up energy left over from winter out.   Of course, they started out thinking it was all fun and games.  They were asking if they could see quite by the 3rd window, they didn’t even get the big one out front yet either.   Oh, and just an update on the kids.  They haven’t gotten along this good since Mattie, and Vayda was itty bitty.  Thank you, spring cleaning!

• Don’t forget about the siding – Replacing your home’s siding might not be at the top of your list, but it should most certainly be on your list, especially if the siding is damaged.  When looking for damaged siding you can look for things like mildew, fungus, mild, peeling paint, bubbles in the siding, rotting or cracked siding, and loose or missing pieces of siding.

We recently added a den, two bedrooms, and a dining room to our home.  Since we had to get siding up on 1/2 of the house and over the next year is planning to sell our home we decided new siding put new siding on the whole of parliament, and it looks amazing.

The above two images do a great job showing us the difference new  James Hardie Construction siding and trim can have on a home.  Isn’t it amazing!

If you’re interested in changing the look and feel of your home, possibly increasing your home’s resale value, decreasing utility bills and decreasing maintenance costs be sure to check out the James Hardie Contractor Alliance™ Program.  Which is designed to match you as a homeowner with professional contractors who meet the highest quality of customer satisfaction based on surveys from GuildQuality – a 3^rd customer’s satisfaction surveying service in your area?

Plus, I learned a very valuable lesson when we decided to replace our siding last summer.  The new siding has helped my husband and I save money on our heating and cooling bill.  I didn’t believe my husband when he told me the house would stay cooler in the summer and warmer in the winter but he was right.  I was amazed at the difference, especially come about 3pm in the middle of the summer.  WOW,  my office used to get HOT but after replacing our siding it stays whatever temperature I have it set to.

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Are you ready use James Hardie – Start Your Project | Re-side Your Home.  To learn more about siding and trim and the James Hardie Contractor Alliance™ program visit JamesHardie.com.  If you’ve already made up your mind you can swing by James Hardie to find a contractor you can trust and even request a quote,

You can learn more about James Hardie Constructor Alliance by visiting their website but remember you can also find a local contractor that you can trust using the James Hardie website.

When working outside your home and keeping up with the maintenance outside, it’s important to wear and use the proper safety equipment. When you hire someone to help, it’s important that they follow safety guidelines too. It doesn’t work if they don’t wear it! Get everyone wearing safety gear to make the spring and summer enjoyable for all.

This post is sponsored by James Hardie Building Products Inc. in conjunction with Blog Meets Brand and I have been compensated for my participation.  All opinions are my own.