Getting Your Home Ready For Spring

The H Team   

Get your timers and clocks set ahead one hour. Daylight saving time is just around the corner and you'll need to adjust any timers on household gadgets, indoor and outdoor lights, and those regulating the thermostats on your heating system.

Plant kitchen herbs inside and transplant in May when all signs of frost disappear. Basil, chives, dill, parsley, and fennel can be started from seeds. Oregano, rosemary, sage, savory, and tarragon do better if you start them from small plants or cuttings.

Change the batteries in your smoke detectors. In addition to testing batteries regularly, you should change these twice a year without fail.

Wash your windows. Clean the residue left behind by winter storms by tackling the job while the weather is still cool to prevent streaking. Start indoors before installing your screens, then finish the job outside on a dry day.

OUTSIDE:

Clean the deck to remove grime, pollen, fungus, and mildew. Scrub the surface with a deck cleanser or this homemade cleaning formula: Add one cup of powdered laundry detergent to a gallon of hot water, and add 1/2 cup of chlorine bleach to kill moss or mildew. 

Check shrubs and trees for winter damage and prune accordingly. Remove deadwood or broken branches. Replant any shrubs that have heaved out of the soil during a freeze-thaw cycle, before the roots dry out.

Bring your garden hose out of storage. Check for cracks and leaks and replace the rubber or plastic washers at the connectors as well.

Service Lawn Mowers & Equipment Now is the time to inspect mowers and trimmers. Change the oil, replace spark plugs and sharpen the blades. If a unit needs repair getting it to the repair shop early will insure an early return

Spread Fertilizer and Weed Preventer Apply before the spring showers hit. Read manufacturers suggestions on application and warnings.