Preparing your property for the summer is something that everyone should at the very least consider. Whilst many of us prepare our homes for the winter months (read more) by protecting against the elements and ensuring properties are properly insulated (with double glazing for example), far less people prepare for the summer. However, this doesn’t mean that it is less important and there are several things you can do to prepare for the warmer, balmier months to come.
This applies whether you are a landlord with current tenants, someone looking to rent out a property to new tenants from the spring and summer months or a homeowner who wants to spruce things up a bit. There are various benefits that can be yielded from these improvements. If you are a landlord you may improve your rental property for the warmer months for your tenants.
If you are a homeowner, no matter the property type, these minor improvements and updates for your property will make things more comfortable and enjoyable for you and your family over the spring and summer months.
Spring is a great time to clear out unwanted clothes
Cleaning up the Garden
The garden will inevitably have been used less over the autumn and winter months as things will have been colder and less welcoming. However, the summer will bring warmer, longer, brighter days and as such you will be spending more time in the garden of your property until autumn comes back around in September.
If you are lucky enough to have a property with a garden, there are several inexpensive and easy things you can do which will go far in making your garden that bit more comfortable and more welcoming as it is used more:
Improve your Lawn
Not all gardens have grass as more and more property owners prefer a totally paved rear garden. For those who have a grass area though, it may be the case that your lawn has been neglected over the colder months and may well have taken a fair battering from the weather, the frost and animals digging parts up. Getting a totally new awn may be a bit pricey (although this depends on the size of the area requiring resurfacing). However, most garden shops will sell grass seeds and ‘grass food’ which will help spruce up your lawn with little investment needed.
Removing Built up Dirt and Debris
Patios and paved areas will inevitably have built up a fair bit of dirt and will have become much more grey and unappealing over the muddier, windier and more unpleasant winter months. There are various products and pieces of equipment that you can invest in (depending on your budget) that will go a long way in cleaning up those mucky paved areas in preparation for their increased use over the warmer months.
A pressure [jet] washer is a popular option and very easily cleans off all dirt and mud from hard surfaces with pressurised jets of water and sometimes, special patio attachments. There are also numerous cleaning products that you may consider to give your patio or paved are a deep clean. However, some of these may contain ‘hard’ chemicals and so you should always read the packaging.
New Plants
A very easy way to improve your garden and make it look much brighter is to plant new flowers in the spring months, ready to bloom in the summer. This can be done either in the ground if you have the space. Alternatively, you could plant some flowers in pots if there is the space to place them.
Spring Clean your Home
A tried and tested method of preparing properties for the warmer months, spring cleaning is a great and cheap way to quickly improve things in your property. Spring cleaning is a great excuse to throw out unwanted and unused items that have been sitting around throughout the winter and to air out the property in a way that may not have been possible in the colder months. Furthermore, if you have had any building works carried out on your property before the spring, such as a loft conversion, you may wish to give any new addition to your property a first deep clean.
Spring cleaning typically involves:
- Cleaning out Cupboards and Drawers – It is inevitable that you will have thrown a few irrelevant items into your drawers over the colder months, preferring not having to go out to the charity shop to give them away and warmer weather is a great excuse to go to a charity shop to deposit any qualifying items. With cupboards, you will probably have old clothes that you can get rid of.
- Mattresses and Beds – It is likely that you haven’t been able to clean your mattresses and beds with a deep clean. Take a vacuum cleaner to your beds and remove all built up debris and dust for an easy fix.
- Air out your Home – Simply having windows open for a few hours allows fresh air into the property and will also let you use some heavier chemicals to give bathrooms and the kitchen a deeper clean. By allowing windows to be opened more and for longer, the property can air out and any chemicals in the air can be removed.
