After hibernating for the cold winter months, we attack the interior of our homes, vigorously cleaning the house top to bottom. But caring for the exterior is just as important as sweeping up the dust bunnies formed through the winter. So while you’re busy adding scrub the baseboards and clean the dirty walls to your spring home maintenance to-do list, you can go ahead and tack clear the gutters and reseal the deck at the end.
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The list is long — perhaps the longest household to-do list that you’ll ever create. So, to set you up for success here’s a checklist to help you keep it all straight. Deep breaths, everyone!
Spring Cleaning Checklist for Homeowners
If you own your home and live in it, then you have the most work to do. Makes sense, right? If you’re a military homeowner leasing out the property, then you’ll share some of the responsibility with tenants. But in either scenario, homeowners carry the bulk of the responsibility.
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Interior Spring Cleaning Checklist
- Clean appliances. Run vinegar and baking soda through your dishwasher and washig machine. Pull the appliances out, away from the walls, and clean around and behind them. Pay extra attention to the dryer and free the vents and duct of lint and dust.
- Clean the carpets. Pay for a professional cleaning service to give your carpet and rugs a thorough rinse or rent a carpet shampooer and see for yourself how much dirt clings to those pretty floor coverings.
- Wipe down the baseboards. No one quite knows how they get so dirty, but baseboards tend to collect the worst of us. Use this time to grab a magic eraser and make them squeaky clean again.
- Spot clean the walls. Fingerprints, dirt smudges, and dings cover our walls. Most of us don’t even notice these imperfections because they show up slowly over time so, with a careful eye, walk around the house with that handy magic eraser and scrub out all the smudges. Make a note of areas that may need a little touch-up paint, too.
- Dust. Get out your favorite duster or damp rag because there’s a lot of stuff that accumulates during the winter, especially if you have furry pets that spent most of their time inside.
- Replace air filters. Arm yourself against the upcoming seasonal allergies and replace air filters throughout the home with allergy-reducing filters.
- Wipe down the fan blades and overhead lights. Have you ever stopped your ceiling fans long enough to see what they’re carrying? Grab a damp cloth and wipe those things down!
- Clean the blinds. It’s a meticulous job, but giving the blinds a good wipe-down is a necessary task.
- Wash the bedding. If there’s a dramatic change in temperature coming, consider switching to a lighter-weight bedspread for the warmer months.
- Clean and open the windows. There’s no better way to let in more natural light than by spraying down the windows. Between the kids' hands and the pups' noses, there’s likely a thick layer of film filtering your light.
- Clean the range hood. It's not often at the top of the list, but cleaning the stove range and hood can help you avoid grease fires and get rid of any lingering smells.
- Sweep the chimney. Do you have a wood-burning fireplace? It's time to clean it up and get it ready for hibernation until the next winter comes. Cleaning the chimney is a job for professionals, so add calling chimney cleaners to your checklist.
Related: 15 Home Maintenance Tasks and Repairs Everyone Should Know How to Do
Exterior Spring Cleaning Checklist
- Clear the gutters. Hopefully, you kept up with them during the fall, but there’s always a few things that linger. Climb the ladder to make sure that the gutters are clear and ready to handle the springtime rain.
- Adjust water flow extensions. Make sure that the water collecting in the gutters is pointed away from the house to avoid any damage.
- Repaint. The cold weather takes a toll on a home’s exterior. Check for any chipped paint or fading before the summer heat hits.
- Replace window screens. With the nice weather approaching, you’ll likely want to open up the windows and let the fresh air flow through the house. This is a good time to ensure that there aren’t any tears or holes in the screens that might allow bugs to enter!
- Reseal the deck. Your wooden elements like the deck, railings, and mailbox post might need a little love after the cold weather.
- Inspect the roof. Time to check the roof for any missing shingles or damage. Make sure that it’s up to snuff and can handle the rain that’s inevitably coming.
- Landscape. Remove and replaced dead plants and fertilize the yard to bring some color and life back to your curb appeal.
Landlords, if you expect the tenants to handle specific maintenance tasks, make sure that you note those in the lease. Remember, communication is the most important part of the landlord/tenant relationship and the key to ensuring everyone is on the same page!
Spring Cleaning Checklist For Renters and Military Housing Tenants
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Home maintenance responsibilities look a lot different for a renter than for a homeowner. While the owner is responsible for the big things around the house, there are also tasks for the renter to maintain.
In addition to some of the same responsibilities as above, pay attention to:
Interior Spring Cleaning
- Clean appliances
- Clean the carpets
- Dust surfaces
- Dust the blinds
- Clean the baseboards
- Spot clean the walls
- Replace air filters
- Wipe down the fan blades
- Wash the bedding
- Clean and open the windows
- Clean the kitchen hood
- Treat mold and mildew in the bathrooms
- Recaulk
Exterior Spring Cleaning
- Trim landscaping. Clip the plants that didn’t make it through winter.
- Cut the grass. As the rain starts to fall and the sun comes out, you can expect the grass to take off! Keep the lawn manicured to avoid any critters making themselves a home near yours.
Renters, when it comes to the exterior of the property, a huge part of your responsibility is to communicate any necessary maintenance or repairs to the landlord. Though it might not fall on your shoulders to repaint the house or replace a broken railing, it is a good idea to let the homeowner or property manager know that some work might be needed.
Spring home maintenance might seem like a lot of work now, but it’s an easy list to follow and could help avoid larger issues with the home later. Download our free spring home maintenance below for even more help!
