There is no better time of year than spring to refresh your home and get it in tip-top shape. When you own a home, there is always a massive list of projects you must take care of. Below, I’ve included items you can add to your list over the next few weeks.
How Much Time Do You Have?
When planning how to tackle all the tasks on a lengthy list, first take a hard look at your lifestyle and the demands on your time. Work hours are lengthening, and at-home time is shorter and far busier than ever before. We need to ask ourselves how we really want to spend our precious ‘free time.’
If you choose to do the work, consider the potential time you would lose with your family. What about experiencing that unfamiliar activity called relaxing? Perhaps you would like to enjoy your favourite hobbies or take a course and learn something new. Consider the monetary value of your personal time. In some cases, it might make more sense to hire services who can likely do things better and faster than you can.
Consider Hiring Help
Why would you spend all your free time looking after your house and yard when you can hire someone to do it for you? The key is to spend time doing things you are good at and enjoy. Then, let others do the rest!
And keep in mind, if you focus on unloading your excess belongings while you’re in ‘spring clean’ mode, you will spend far less time looking for stuff, moving it around, and cleaning it up. As a result, you’ll have more time to enjoy doing what you love. Additionally, having less stuff will make it much easier for someone else to come into your home and help knock a few things off your list.
I remember a few years ago, I hired a company to clean the gutters for me. That’s a task I really – and I mean really – didn’t enjoy! It was totally worth it. Likewise, when I needed to dig up and rework my garden, I hired a couple of volunteer firefighters who were colleagues of a neighbour. A job that would have taken me weeks took them one day.
Another bonus: When hiring outside services, we promote and support small businesses in our local economy. TaskRabbit is a great resource for finding the help you need. Be sure to read the reviews before hiring. You can also search online for services in your area.
Spring Cleaning Checklist
Put some or all these things on your ‘to-do’ list. Next, hire help for the tasks you don’t want to do or simply don’t know how to do. Then, block time in your calendar to complete the ones you don’t mind doing.
- deep clean the house
- clean the carpets and furniture
- chimney cleaning
- window cleaning
- furnace and HVAC tune-up
- yard work
- driveway repair
- clear the gutters/eavestroughs
- wash the siding
- clean the waste bins, including the green bin and recycling bins
- fence repair
- car cleaning
- sharpen your gardening tools and lawnmower
- getting the winter tires off the car
Whew! After all that work to refresh your home, treat yourself to a massage – and then book your summer vacation!