With blooming trees and bustling streets, spring brings a renewed energy to the city—and it’s essential for everyone to feel that their home reflects the change, growth, and beauty of the season.
We’ve already shown you how to prepare your home for winter, and now we’ve compiled some of the best ways to brighten your home as the days get longer and the weather gets warmer.
Here are some of the essential ways to prep your home for spring, from deep cleans to mini-makeovers.
Simple Spring Cleaning
Dusting and vacuuming seem like basic tasks, but how often do you dust or vacuum anything other than flat surfaces? Remember to show your wall decor some love when you’re dusting, and try using a vacuum tube to clean high and low hard-to-reach areas. Give your floor a good mop to complete the clean.
This kind of deep, multi-surface cleaning will help free you from the built-up dust, dirt, and dander from cold days spent inside, giving you cleaner air and a more serene environment to kickstart the season.
Windows, screens, and treatments, oh my!
Start by clearing the sill of any gathering dust and replacing any damaged or warped window screens that didn’t make it through the winter intact. Both of these will do wonders for allowing fresh air to pass through your home on warm, sunny days and keep any unwanted pests at bay.
Spring is also a great time to have your curtains dry cleaned or ironed to ensure they frame the gorgeous light that’ll soon be pouring in. You can even rotate out heavier curtains with lighter, breezier ones perfect for the season.
Let faucets and showerheads do the soaking
Try this once, and you’ll be cleaning your faucets and showerheads every month! Unscrew your sink sprayers, faucet aerators, and showerheads let them soak for an hour in equal parts water and vinegar. Rinse with warm water, and they’re clean!
Home Maintenance Essentials
Test the alarms
Testing smoke alarms and CO detectors and changing out their batteries is a life-saving and inexpensive task. It only takes a few minutes but provides peace of mind and keeps you and your family safe throughout the year.
If you have a security system, spring is a good time to ensure any cameras or sensors are clean and functional.
Get your laundry ready!
With warm weather comes lots of laundry, from sandy beach blankets to grass-stained denim from gardening. Spring is the perfect time to make sure your washer and dryer are clean, functional, and ready for anything.
Though they might not come to mind often, clogged dryer vents are a common fire hazard. Use a dryer vent brush to remove lint from the back of your dryer and the other end of the vent line outside your home. Just remember that you should always disconnect your dryer vent from the back of the machine before cleaning!
Swap your filters
Create an Indoor/Outdoor Oasis
Bring nature indoors
With spring comes freshly blooming flowers. At the start of the season, treat yourself by filling your home with a mix of fresh plants and flowers to brighten your space and make your house smell wonderful.
From monsteras to fiddle-leaf fig trees, your local nursery is likely to have a variety of popular houseplants for you to choose from. They can help add style, color, and a natural flair to your decor.
If you’ve already got a collection of houseplants, spring is the perfect time to make sure they’re all in great shape. Spring is the ideal time to take your plants outside for the day to trim and clip them, fertilize, apply pest-control treatments, and re-pot them, so they have more room to grow and thrive in the coming warm months.
Start your garden early
Get a head start by researching online or speaking with your local nursery about what you’d like to plant this spring and creating a plan for the best times to do so.
Even if you don’t have much outdoor space to work with, you can always bring your garden indoors. From complex hydroponic growing systems to a simple collection of live herbs on your windowsill, spring is the perfect time to experiment with growing your own fruits, vegetables, and more.
Clear out the gutters
Grab a pair of gloves and get the ladder! After the rainy winter, there’s bound to be some serious build-up in your gutters. Remove as much debris with your hands as possible and use a water hose to take care of the rest. Installing gutter covers can also save you even more time down the road.
Get your patio clean and ready
Fall and winter can leave your patio covered in unwanted debris. If you’ve got an outdoor patio space, take some time to freshen it up, clean or replace your outdoor furnishings, and incorporate elements like water features or a grill that will encourage you to spend more time enjoying the outdoors.
Finishing Touches
Grab some new decor
Switch up your bedding
Declutter your closets
Move lightweight pieces toward the front of your closet and pack away heavy winter gear if you can. It’s always a good idea to keep a few jackets at the ready for the occasional windy, rainy days in spring.
If you feel overwhelmed, start small. Find one item each day that you want to pack away, or create a pile of items to donate, so you feel inspired to work your way through it. Keeping your closet under control will give you more space and peace of mind, make getting ready every day an easier task, and help you spot any spring/summer essentials your wardrobe might be missing.
Stock up on spring ingredients
Your fridge might not be the first thing that comes to mind when you think about spring, but keeping fresh, seasonal ingredients in stock is a great way to enjoy delicious meals while staying healthy.
You can stop by local farmers’ markets to find what’s in season, then explore recipes online to make the most of what you find. Keeping fresh fruits and herbs in the home can also brighten your counter spaces and add color to the room.
Burn spring scents
Warm holiday scents like cinnamon, pine, and peppermint create a great winter setting, but it’s time to switch out those scents for some that reflect the freshness of spring. Try a soft lavender or rose petal candle, and be sure to keep those citrus blend candles in stock for a clean, refreshing finish to your space.
Looking for a bigger change this spring?
If you’re interested in buying or selling a home on the SF Peninsula, Mary Ann Teixeira is the go-to expert for mid-peninsula real estate. Whether you’re looking for Redwood City homes for sale, San Mateo real estate, or homes for sale in Belmont, she has the knowledge and skills you need to navigate every step of your journey.
