Ensure Your Home is Spring-Ready
Though January felt like it lasted for more than three months, we are at long last on the other side of what can for most feel like a gruelling first month of the year – and hurtling fast towards the end of winter.
Soon the harshness of winter will subside and the bright, freshness of spring will be upon us. Traditionally, spring has always been seen as a time of renewal due to the fact that flowers start to spring up, birds begin laying eggs, and trees start to regrow their leaves.
And as the evenings start to lighten, spring approaches ever-quicker, and has us re-evaluating our homes in the process. That’s why many people also decide to refresh their homes during the spring months – it just seems like the perfect time to make changes, and the idea behind ‘spring cleaning‘.
Winter can often bring to light some issues around the home, and come springtime, it’s the perfect opportunity to crack down on any household upgrades before winter comes round again. With the season of new beginning soon at hand, what are some ways in which you can refresh your home?
Further Reading: 4 Ways to Stay Healthy and Active this Spring
If you’re thinking about changing up your home for spring, here are a handful of good ideas that will help to ensure your home looks and feels amazing.
Ensure Your Home is Spring-Ready in 8 Simple Steps
Ensure Your Home is Spring-Ready Step 1 – New Windows
Changing your windows might be the last thing on your mind when the warmer months start to roll around – however, spring could be the best time to consider an upgraded set of windows, to make the most of the coming summer and to prepare for the winter on the other side.
You might take this opportunity to improve the insulative qualities of your windows by upgrading to triple glazing, helping also to shave some pounds off next winter’s energy bill in the process. Alternatively, or as well, you might fit new concertina-style windows to allow you to throw open your living room to eventual summer breezes.
Ensure Your Home is Spring-Ready Step 2 – Replace Your Boiler
Just as investing in a new set of windows can work wonders for your wallet, so too could addressing your boiler. With the colder days behind you, you can afford to undergo the relative disruption associated with changing out your boiler – and you’ll reap the rewards near-immediately.
New electric boilers are much more efficient than older models, and will have you spending much less per litre of hot tap water used. When winter comes back around, your gas bill will also be much lighter for this shrewd early spring investment.
Ensure Your Home is Spring-Ready Step 3 – Refresh Your Flooring
Spring can be a great excuse to reconsider the floors in your home. Your carpets might have gone a little flat over the winter, with their extended wear and increased likelihood of receiving stains. A simple steam-clean might do the trick, but a complete spring overhaul might also be too difficult to pass up.
With the weather getting warmer, insulation is less of a concern; if you have any floorboards hidden under your carpets, now might be the time to let them shine! Remember to do your research beforehand, there are cheaper options out there but they might not necessarily be the best option to go for.
Ensure Your Home is Spring-Ready Step 4 – Invest in New House Plants
Spring is all about the resurgence of nature after the harsh winter so it goes without saying that bringing plants into your home is a great way to have the spirit of spring indoors as well as out.
Not only do houseplants add colour and warmth to any room, but they are also pretty good at cleaning the air, which is an added bonus if you suffer from allergies that tend to flare up in spring and summer.
Further Reading: Six House Plants that Clean the Air we Breathe in Our Home
Ensure Your Home is Spring-Ready Step 5 – Keep it Cool
Temperatures start to get warmer in the spring and peak in summer, so right now is a good time to think about how you will keep your home cool and comfortable when the weather picks up.
If living in Ireland or the UK, you could do this by investing in a few floors standing fans that you can move around as and when needed. For places that reach hotter temperatures during the spring and summer months, consider booking an air conditioning installation that will keep your whole home cool at all times when in use.
Further Reading: Spring Ingredients – Recipe Ideas to Use in Your Kitchen
Ensure Your Home is Spring-Ready Step 6 – Get Rid of the Clutter
Now it’s not necessarily a household upgrade, but it’s an opportunity to grasp with both hands! Take a step back and assess the items you have around the house – are they things you want or need? Or are they items currently occupying space that you don’t have?
If you have children and they’ve outgrown certain toys or clothing, it’s time to box them up and put them into storage or give them to charity. Not only will you be freeing space in your home, but also doing good for others.
Clutter can make your home feel darker and more hemmed in than it really is, which is exactly what you don’t want in spring – you want an open, spacious and light space to spend time in. So, get your spring cleaning hat on and get rid of any and all clutter you don’t absolutely need and love, and then give the place a thorough cleaning to welcome in the season. Oh, and be sure to wash the windows so you can let in as much light as possible too.
Further Reading: 4 Simple but Effective Tips for Spring Cleaning Your Home
Ensure Your Home is Spring-Ready Step 7 – Pastel Paints or Accessories
Pastels shades like cheery ‘yellow Popcorn’ and ‘green Cascade’ are synonymous with spring, so what better ways to refresh your home decor than by repainting the walls in a bright new colour that matches the colours you’ll see out in the garden, park or meadow?
Don’t want to paint? Bring spring colours in with accessories like candles, cushions and curtains instead.
Ensure Your Home is Spring-Ready Step 8 – Fix up the Garden
As the weather improves, you’ll find it much more enticing to spend time outside in your garden – and you’ll find yourself much more amenable to working on your garden too. Tidying up your outdoor spaces is a quintessential spring cleaning task, giving you the opportunity to create your ideal hangout space for summer picnics with family and friends, or simply a relaxing area for you to enjoy the warming weather.
You might undertake this by first weeding out your flower beds and mowing your lawn. Next, you might repaint some flowerpots and install some new decorations in your flowerbeds. Finally, you might consider a sheltered structure for any patio areas, to provide all-weather seating.
Further Reading: How to Spruce Up Your Garden in Time for Spring
Spring is the perfect time to get your ducks in a row and create a plan on things that need to get done. Whether it’s upgrades you can do yourself, or upgrades you need a third party professional to help you with.
Photos by Daria Shevtsova
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