Getting Ready for Spring!
That’s right, Spring has sprung again!
While Winter hits us with its final, chilly goodbye, we can look forward to the warmer months coming our way. It is now that we start to get a bit more energy or ˜get-up-and-go” and start to catch up on all those jobs we have been avoiding in Winter.
Spring is also the time when we start to see increased buyer activity, making Spring the prime time to sell your home.
Whether you are selling or just getting your home ready to start the social entertaining seasons, Spring cleaning is a must do. The hardest part is knowing where to start. We have come up with 5 simple tips to getting ready for Spring.
5 Tips for Spring:
1.De-clutter
A good Spring clean is not complete without getting rid of some unused junk lying around the house.
Instead of making multiple trips down to the local tip and paying to get rid of your belongings, why not make some money and hold a garage sale? These days a garage sale does not even have to be a physical event. Technology now allows us to hold a garage sale online! Sites such as Facebook have the ability to do this for free. By creating an event or joining a local garage sale group you can upload pictures and prices of your objects and reach a wider audience than what is possible by a classic garage sale.
Why not do both? To maximise the number of things you sell hold both! Whatever doesn’t sell at your physical garage sale, don’t despair, put it online and sell it there. By the end, you will hopefully have such little left that you can just chuck it in your home waste bin or, if it’s in good condition give it to charity.
2. Fix and Polish
When having people over, whether buyers or just friends, there is nothing more embarrassing than having broken bits and pieces around the house such as leaky taps, broken chairs or a toilet that will not flush. Make sure these things are fixed BEFORE having anyone over!
If you are renovating parts of your home before a sale make sure to finish the renovation before opening your home to buyers. A finished renovation adds a lot more appeal to a buyer then seeing a half-finished renovation.
If you have wooden furniture or granite bench tops, give them a good clean and invest in some polish. It is amazing what a good polish can do to the look of your home.
3. Clean Walls and Doors
Often we get so used to the look of our own home that we don’t notice the build-up of dust, grime or dirty fingerprints that can come to cover our walls, doors, banisters and light switches. Cleaning these are so easy. Grab a damp cloth and give it all a good wipe down. It is amazing how such a simple task can make such a big difference to the look of your home.
When looking at your walls it is a good idea to think about re-painting. It is good to re-paint every 5 years. Painting can simply brighten up the home and keep it looking fresh and modern. When thinking of colours, it is best to stick to neutrals with a matte finish. This means you can decorate with any colour scheme you like, change colour schemes as often as you want and if you are selling your house or must sell soon the home will appeal to a larger breed of buyers.
4. Tidy the Garden
Spring is a wonderful time for your garden! If you have done your Winter pruning and preparation you should be well on your way to a beautiful Spring garden starting to bloom. It is important though to do your final clean up before sitting back and enjoying the bloom.
If your garden is anything like mine, Winter will have left a bit of mess. Your plants have dead branches hanging on them and garden beds are covered in dead leaves, sticks and other messes. It is now time to clean all of this up. Prune off all of those dead bits on your plants to enable the healthy parts to grow and blossom. If the dead leaves on the ground have not mulched they will be suffocating your plants, remove these and chuck them in the compost or garden waste bin. While cleaning up, make sure to pull out any weeds that have started sprouting. Their roots will still be shallow from the colder weather and now will be the easiest time to remove them from the garden.
After tiding the gardens lay down some good mulch. Mulching the gardens will bring big benefits for now and into summer. Mulch will prevent weeds from sprouting, keep moisture in the soil and spruce up the look of the garden. While looking at your garden beds it is important to not neglect the lawns. Start mowing and feeding regularly with a commercially available fertilizer and water. This should overcome the effects of Winter and prepare it for the heat of the coming Summer.
5. Prepare Outdoor Entertaining
Heading into warmer weather means more BBQ’s and outdoor entertaining. Often this area gets neglected in Winter and by Spring is looking a little worse for wear. Spend some time sprucing it up! This could mean using a high-pressure hose to clean the decking, washing or polishing your outdoor furniture and giving your BBQ a good scrub.
If you have neglected your pool through Winter now is the time to start treating it and preparing it for Summer. Make sure to clean the filters, spray for insects and spiders, start to balance the PH levels and destroy any algae that may be growing. Get your pool looking as fresh as the rest of your garden!
Spring is such an exciting season and after following these 5 tips early in the season you will be ready to sit back and enjoy the beauty and wonder that Spring unfolds. If you are selling, these tips will help you on your way to finding the perfect buyer for your home as your house presents at its best this season.
