Skip to main content

Summer Maintenance Checklist!

Its finally summer and that means its time to think about the seasonal to-dos around your home. Luckily, summer is an easy time of the year where you don't need to take much time from vacations and outdoor lounging to take care of maintenance items around your home.



1) Get Your AC Serviced 

Ideally, you can take care of this before summer hits, but now is still a good time to make sure all is in working order before any issues arise.

Same goes for installing window units and making sure they are all in working order!

2) Clean Out the Gutters 

Typically thought of as a fall activity, summer is a good time to get a jump on this. After all of the Spring rains and falling flowers, your gutters will likely need a clean out to stay functional.

3) Exterior Painting and Masonry 

Summer is a good time to get to exterior work before the leaves of Fall and after the cooler temps and rainy season of Spring. Check for any repointing needed (cracks) in your masonry, leaks or cracks around windows, chipping paint on exterior wood, etc. All of these projects are easier to take care of on a nice summer morning or evening than during a rainy Autumn day.




4) Reseal Patio Furniture or Decking 

Before more harsh sun, early summer is a good time to clean off and reseal your deck or wood patio furniture

5) Order your Annual Pest Treatment 

...if you haven't already. For the East Coast, that might mean treating for termites and the invasive spotted lanternfly.

6) Landscaping 

This one is of course a bit obvious. Not an ideal time for adding new plants as its too hot, once everything is in bloom you can plan for new additions in the Fall or what needs to get trimmed back. Also, you of course want to work on a watering plan during hotter weeks or for less established plants.

7) Don't Forget Routine Maintenance 

The turn of seasons is always a good time to remember to check smoke detectors are working, clean out the dryer vent, change out your HVAC filter, etc.


Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Accessibility in Good Design

 I've been impressed lately with some of amount of accessible design features I've seen around as of late. By "accessible design", I mean home decor, renovations and design that is accessible to those with a physical impairment or disability.  First I noticed that back in March, Better Homes and Gardens did a great feature on a home designed with a wheelchaired child in mind.  Yes, it was a rancher and mid-century modern in design so it leant itself to move open-flow and clean line design. But even if this isn't your style, there were some great ideas here!  Check it out here  Then I saw Southern Living did a great home build with "adaptive design" in mind. This was a great feature because it reviewed new construction and slight changes in thinking to make just a welcoming, easy access home for all guests.  As noted in the article,  " If you’re going to be a good host, particularly from the Southern point of view, where we’re all about hospitality,

All About Green!

 Bright white and moody colors will likely never go out of style but we are seeing more and more mid-tones come back on trend (last time mid-tones were cool were probably around 2000 when Pottery Barn was THE word).  One of the ones I am seeing most often is a gray-green. Its a friendly color that pairs well with more modern tones (think the grays, blacks and whites we have been seeing) but warms nicely with wood tones and natural materials.  Apparently SW sees this too as their color of the year (and the month of Jan) is Evergreen Fog.  Want to see some of the best ways to use it?  Loving these cabinets in green!  Again, working well hear with both bronze/black and earth tones  Love this more traditional-eclectic look. Looks much more saturated in a dark space!  But also a great pairing for a mid-century boho look  Great combo color - bold but not overly so. Here looking more truly green against the dark blue Whatever your style, this is a very versatile way of adding some color to

Those pesky extra rooms...

Ok, its a pretty first-world problem, but there plenty of people who live in suburbia (or even in the city!) who have a room or two that they just don't use. Often, its a formal dining room or extra bedroom, but if you are the owner of such a room, you may wonder why you are paying for so much unused space! Today, I'm walking through some of the best uses of dead space in your house and how to make it you new favorite room! The Formal Dining Room This is the most commonly "complained-about" space in the suburban home. While we still like to entertain, a lot of people aren't crazy about a whole, extra, (often large) room thats only used on a handful of occasions throughout the year. Unless you have family dinners there, this is likely a space that you are taxed on & heating that sits vacant 350 days of the year. One of my personal favorite ways to reuse this room is to use it as a craft/workspace. The room can keep a large dining table and chairs that