The beginning of spring can be the absolute best time to take on home improvement projects. With a rejuvenation of seasonal elements and a personal renewed sense of vigor on your side, many incubating home cleaning projects and upgrades become feasible once again.
Windows: The Eyes to a Home’s Soul
While you may have spent most of your winter sealing up and protecting your windows, the warm promises of spring require that you let down your guards — literally — and open your world back up to the outside. Clean your windows to remove the ravages of a harsh winter, including dirt, dust, and snow particles. If you heat your home using a fireplace, especially with smoky Texas Mesquite wood, wipe away soot buildup. Suitable and inexpensive cleaning solutions can be found right in your kitchen: A mixture of water and white distilled vinegar can leave your windows spotless. A quick, yet thorough cleaning of window panes can help guarantee you have a front-row seat to the new weather and all of the joy that’s born of it.
Dust for Home, Health, and Hearth
Take advantage of one of the gloriously warm pre-spring days in Texas by opening your windows and doors and allowing drafts of air to circulate throughout your Lone Star home. While enjoying the fresh air, jump on the opportunity to dust and vacuum. Remember to start at the highest possible place — this powdery nuisance can even accumulate on ceilings — and work your way down. Dust storms of varying intensity can provide enough of a reason to break out your best dusters, furniture polish, and microfiber cloths. Since North Texas’ allergen load tends to rank very high compared to other cities in the nation, this pre-spring cleaning exercise can be just what you need to help combat unwelcome sneezing, sniffling, and wheezing.
Walk Out on Winter
The tracking in of dirt and mud into a house is something that even the most conscientious of homeowners can’t always avoid. Dallas soil, however, has a particularly notorious reputation for being difficult to clean because of its clay-like properties. Use the period right after winter to scrub down your floors and coax stubborn accumulations out of all the nooks and crannies that it may have settled into throughout the colder months. Consider this ground-floor vantage point the perfect opportunity to check your foundation’s stability: North Texas soils can often expand and contract throughout the year and affect structural integrity, necessitating additional home improvement projects.
The Great Outdoors
Some of the first casualties of winter include tree branches and other unprotected, wild vegetation in yards. To ready your home’s landscape for the upcoming warm weather, prune lifeless tree branches and other cold-rocked vegetation to make room for new blooms and budding greenery. Use raked leaves to create mulch or compost; this can give your yard a facelift just in time for the season of youth and new beginnings.
In your backyard, spruce up your garden to prepare for the coming life-imbuing weather of spring. Consider remodeling or transplanting garden beds and positioning flowers that are meant to bloom during the warmer months. These pruning and transplanting activities give you the opportunity to transform your yard into a new landscape: For example, removing certain branches of trees and tending to annual flowers can influence how they grow when they’re revitalized by the spring sun.
Image Source: Flickr/Nadya Peek
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