Yahoo, Survived Another Winter
Spring again and some Spring Cleanup Tips for outside and around the home. Winter can leave a lot of branches scattered around the yards, along with last years leaves and whatever else.
Wheelbarrow and Rakes
Usually a good rake and wheelbarrow work very well for this cleanup. This is also a time to prune off any dead branches from trees or hedges that you might have. Last winters heavy snows broke off many branches in this area, winters pruning I guess.
Spring Cleanup Tips for the Leaves
Most of the leaves you rake up can be dumped into a compost bin if you have one.
Or you can put them on the garden and worked them into the soil with a garden tiller. Try to get the leaves that do not have too many evergreen cones or seeds in them, or you might be pulling more weeds from the garden then you wonted to.
Walkways
If you have a stone or brick patio or walkway is a good time to check it for damage from ice and heaving. You might need to level some places and fill in the cracks with sand or stone dust or what ever was originally used.
Fences and Pools
If you have any wooden fences then is a good time to check for any thing loose or broken or if it needs new paint. Another thing to check is a pool deck if you have one. The level of it will often move during winter, and it also might need a new look with stain or something that was used before. Just wait until temperatures are above ten Celsius, fifty Fahrenheit before beginning to paint.
Flowerbeds
You can also clean the leaves out of your flower beds if you think it wont snow again. Even add a few tulip bulbs or daffodils that will give some color in early spring. If you have an extra space plant some wild flowers to give the honey bees a helping hand.
Cement Foundations
Also check your exterior foundation of the house as sometimes ice will cause the cement to come loose or cracks form. These can be easily repaired with some Portland cement using a three part sand to one part Portland cement or two sand to one cement. And you can add a bonding agent which is a form of glue and sold at most hardware stores. If you have small cracks then wet them and go over with a sponge and cement mix and the will fill in nicely.
Fruit Trees
If you have any fruit bearing trees such as apple or plum or blueberry plants, its a good time to cut out any dead branches and do some pruning on them.
Windows
This is also a good time for cleaning windows, just to give you a better view of your cleanup outside. Best to do the outside of windows first and I use a product called windex which seems to work well. Paper towels or newspapers for wiping are recommended. If the windows are vinyl then you have to be careful with the newspaper as the print will come off on the vinyl and not look so good.
Siding
If your house has siding then a pressure washer works well for cleaning this Starting at the top and working your way down and you should be left with a cleaner look to the place.
Lights
Another place to clean is any outdoor lights, as these usually fill up with bugs. Give them a good wash with dish soap and water then reinstall them. Might even help you to see better at night.
Roofs
Other good Spring Cleanup Tips is that you also might wont to check the roof for loose shingles or if you have a tin roof have a look at the screws which can come loose. If it needs going over best to hire some one that’s good at that job.
Wildlife
You may also wont to put up a few bird houses to keep the birds around for the summer, and also the mosquito population down a little. Check for any standing still water in an old pail or whatever, and empty them as this is a good place for mosquitoes to raise a family.
So anyway spring is a good time to do a cleanup around the place to keep things going smoothly.
Best of luck with all your projects and leave a comment if you like, its always appreciated.
Wayne..
