As we come towards the end of another winter, the evenings begin to get longer and the mercury ticks a little higher in the thermometer, one’s thoughts inevitably turn to spring cleaning. More daylight means more illumination in every corner of your home and, inevitably, a greater need to ensure that every area is as clean as can be for the houseproud. Over the next few weekends, millions of us will - with varying degrees of enthusiasm - reach for the cleaning supplies and literally get our houses in order.
For most of us, spring cleaning is something of an indoor sport, but it’s worth remembering that there is a whole world outside. Throughout the colder months of the year, a surprising amount of that outside world may well have found its way into your garden, onto the facade of your house and generally around the exterior of the part of the planet that you call home. While you are reaching for those cleaning supplies, don’t forget the following areas of your home…
Give your house a makeover
The perfect winter scene is when snow falls around, in front of and on to your house, blanketing everything in a layer of white. While it looks great when freshly-fallen, we all know how snow turns to slush and ice, and then eventually melts away. What it leaves behind is rarely so pretty. You’ll see spots and ground-in dirt on exterior walls, siding and windows, and it all needs to be shifted because, all of a sudden, the sun has come out to play. You can call in window cleaning services and other assistance, because this is going to be a big job - and you can finish it off with a fresh coat of paint.
Fix the lawn … for good?
We can control what comes into our house, and so there is every chance that the spring clean you embark upon will be fairly simple and restrained, but outside? Well, you’re very much at the mercy of whatever the world decides to throw at you. Your lawn, for example, will experience frosts, showers and very possibly snow over the course of the winter, and it will also become a repository for leaf fall. One of your first tasks as spring begins is to get those leaves piled up and cleared; they’ll work great as mulch for any flowerbeds you have.
At this point, it might also be worth considering moving from a grass lawn to artificial turf or a more productive garden. A pleasant, flat green may look superb, but its upkeep is environmentally unsound.
About those flowerbeds…
Throughout the winter, not many flowers will flourish, and it’s understandable if you haven’t spent much time out in the garden since last Halloween - indeed, depending on the climate where you are, garden time might have been the last thing on your mind. However, while the flowers don’t like frost and ice, those same conditions don’t bother weeds at all - so you’ll need to search and destroy any rugged green intruders in your flowerbeds. Why not try a superb home-made organic weed killer that’s kind to your garden?
These, and undoubtedly other aspects of the exterior of your home, will keep you busy in the early spring afternoons - and before long, your home will be stunning inside and out!
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