End-Of-Winter Checklist For Your Home
Let’s face it, most people can’t wait for the winter to end. The prospect of a colorful, warm spring is enough to get you through even the coldest winter days. However, you can set yourself up for a perfect spring if you prepare at the end of winter.
You should start your end-of-winter checklist by inspecting your home’s exterior to make sure the lawn and flower beds aren’t damaged. Clean up your yard, remove fallen leaves and branches, and prune your shrubs and trees before spring. The end of the winter is the perfect time to replace your AC filter and clean your AC ducts if they are clogged with debris.
Before spring rolls around, you could plant some seeds and bulbs, such as globeflowers, so they get a head start. Finally, this is the perfect time to clean your deck, porch, and windows, so you can spend more time outside now that it’s more pleasant. Follow along as we explore our end-of-winter checklist for your home to get a head start on spring.
What Should I Do When The Winter Ends?
When the winter comes to an end, it’s time to prepare for the spring. However, it’s a great idea to get the ball rolling during the last few months of winter. This will give you a head start on spring landscaping, gardening, and cleaning. We've compiled a simple end-of-winter checklist for your home that will make it easy to transition into spring.
1. Inspect Your Home’s Exterior
It’s no secret that winter can be hard on your home. The freezing temperatures, snow, and ice can damage your roof, gutters, and siding. It’s also a good idea to take a close look at your deck, porch, and concrete around your pool if you have one.
Make sure to check for salt and ice damage on the walkways on the sides of your house and leading up to the door. Your gutters are the most likely to have suffered damage, but that’s not guaranteed. This happens when ice expands within gutters during winter.
It’s important to catch gutter problems and remove debris before spring hits. That way, your gutters will work well when the spring rain comes.
2. Replace Your AC Filter
When the winter ends, most homeowners happily switch off their furnaces and turn on their air conditioners. This is the perfect chance to switch out your AC filter to ensure your unit runs well. Make sure you use the right size AC filter for the best performance.
HVAC technicians recommend that you replace your AC filter every 90 days. However, you may be able to wait up to 6 months depending on the size of the filter. That said, it’s a great idea to check the filter frequently to make sure it isn’t clogged.
A clogged AC filter will make your AC unit work harder, and the performance will suffer. This leads to high bills, poor airflow, and musty smells throughout your home.
3. Clean Your Ductwork
Throughout the winter, your HVAC system works hard to keep your house warm and comfortable. Because of that, lots of air moves through your ductwork, and debris comes along with it. If you have pets, your ductwork will quickly become dirty and can even clog over time.
This makes it hard for air to move through the ducts, and your AC will struggle to cool your home during the spring. Unfortunately, it’s hard to effectively clean ductwork if you aren’t an experienced HVAC technician. Luckily, it’s not expensive and you only typically need to clean your ductwork every 3 to 5 years.
It typically costs between $250 and $400 to clean your AC ducts. However, it depends on the size of your home, the state you live in, and the HVAC technicians you hire. This is best done at the beginning of the season, so your AC performs well throughout spring and summer.
4. Focus On Landscaping
Before you can plant vibrant spring flowers, you’ll need to do a little landscaping work. The first step is to walk around the yard and remove debris. Plenty of debris falls on the ground throughout the fall and winter from strong winds and snowstorms.
You must also use a rake to remove leaves and sticks from your flower beds, so you can eventually apply mulch and fertilizer. While you can wait until April, you can jump start your landscaping if you prepare your yard in March. You can plant plenty of perennials and bulbs in March, such as globeflowers, columbines, and pyrethrums.
Depending on the weather, you may even be able to mulch your gardens before spring fully kicks in. If you get spring weather at the end of the winter, you can mulch your gardens after a light rain. This will provide nutrients that will help your plants thrive.
5. Plan Your Garden
The most exciting part about the winter finally ending is that you can finally plan your garden. This is your chance to plan a vibrant garden that will look great right through to autumn. Plant nurseries typically offer great deals on plants and seeds at the end of the winter and the start of spring.
It’s a great idea to pick some perennials so you won’t have to do as much planning next year. A great garden doesn’t have to be elaborate and feature countless plants. Instead, focus on creating patches of colors that complement each other.
After all, your garden is for you to enjoy, so there’s no reason to go big just for the sake of it. Wait to plant seeds and plants until the ground is no longer soggy from rain and melted snow. Dry soil is the best for most seeds, plants, and bulbs. However, it’s important to wait to plant most seeds until after the last spring frost.
6. Hook Up Your Hoses
Next, it’s time to hook up your hoses when the winter is finally about to end. That said, you should check the forecast before you do this. Only reconnect your hoses if the temperatures aren’t supposed to drop below the freezing point.
Otherwise, the hose could crack from ice, and the pipes within your home can freeze. Reconnect your hoses once you’re safe from cold weather. Use the hoses to clean your deck and porch and to water your plants.
7. Clean Your Windows
Nobody wants to look out at their beautiful yard through dirty windows. It’s all too easy for exterior windows to become dirty during the winter. The combination of snow, ice, and debris blowing through the wind can quickly make your windows dirty.
Depending on the window’s location, it could even get caked in salt when it gets windy. A simple mixture of white vinegar and dish soap is enough to clean your home’s exterior windows. Mix the ingredients with water in a spray bottle or bucket.
Next, soak a rag, mop, or washcloth in the mixture and scrub your windows. While you’re at it, clean the widows from the inside as well for a consistent look.
8. Prune Your Shrubs And Trees
The end of winter is the perfect time to prune your shrubs and trees. Some people even trim their trees during the peak of winter, but that is tricky because of the weather, and it doesn’t always pay off. That said, it’s a great idea to prune your shrubs and trees while they’re still dormant before the spring kicks in.
It’s much easier to trim shrubs and trees when they’re dormant. You won’t face as much resistance as you would when it’s warm and the shrub is thriving. This will also protect them going into the spring, so they don’t sag and break off during storms.
Clean up your yard after you prune them, collect the parts you cut off, and put them in a yard waste bag.
Summing It Up
At the end of winter, you should inspect your yard and home’s exterior for damage. Trim your shrubs and trees, collect fallen leaves and sticks, and clean your home’s exterior windows. Clear out the flower beds so you can easily plant seeds and bulbs. Plan your garden early before the spring, so you can get great deals on plants, bulbs, and seeds at local nurseries.
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Nick Durante is a professional writer with a primary focus on home improvement. When he is not writing about home improvement or taking on projects around the house, he likes to read and create art. He is always looking towards the newest trends in home improvement.
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