Welcome Friends and Neighbors, spring is officially here!

“Spring cleaning is a chance to hit the reset button on your life”

Now that winter has passed it’s time to open those windows, bust out the grill and freshen up you home! Did you know that one of the best ways to break out of those winter blues just happens to be spring cleaning? If you’re having a hard time breaking those winter blues, start by taking in the fresh spring air. A clean home, open windows, the smell of some citrus scents around the house and maybe some music is the best refresher.

WEEP HOLES

As a homeowner I have found several tips and tricks to a good spring cleaning. Spring cleaning is something I always look forward to. To me it is like a complete reset. Let’s start off with something you may not think of; cleaning out the weep holes of your windows. Weep holes, what’s that? It’s okay, I had the same question when I heard about this.  Weep holes are the tiniest feature of a window, but they serve a big purpose. Normally located at the bottom of your window frame; weep holes act as an outlet for water to drain away from windows. This is especially important because plugged weep holes can cause water build up and seep into the wood of the sill and cause it to rot.

DRAINAGE

Let’s continue on with drainage. Downspouts and gutters play a huge role in protecting your home! After all Spring is the start of storm season, which means rain. Clogged gutters and downspouts will not allow water to drain properly around your home. Water needs a route of escape and clogged gutters means the water is going to leak into unprotected areas, potentially causing major damage. Check your down spouts and make sure they are draining away from your house! Another key point, down spouts draining in a poor direction can potentially affect your foundation and cost some major cash in the future.

PREVENATIVE MAINTENCE

Another cleaning tip you may not think of is flushing out your water heater. Draining your water heater will flush out any minerals or debris in the system, helping it run more efficiently. Try to do this once a year. Flush your water heater and change the air filter in your AC at the same time is a great way to keep a schedule for this kind of maintenance. We all know the weather in Missouri is wild, taking advantage of preventative maintenance will improve efficiency and save you money in the long run.

CLOSET CLEAN OUT

It’s spring time, you’re standing in your closet looking at the obnoxious amount of clothes hanging up. It’s normally that time when you start moving your winter clothes back into the spare closest and pulling out those spring/summer clothes. If you’re like me you feel the need for a shopping spree to find some new fresh styles, despite your spouse telling you there’s too many clothes already. Let’s fix that! Year after year it seems that you always buy more clothes than you have room for, but never toss out the ones you never seem to wear.

It’s time to take what looks like a full closet clean it out and make room for the new. Step one grab a bag or a box and mark it ” for sale ” or ” to donate.” Separating clothes into organized piles will make a huge difference. Now that you have your box first look for any clothes that may have price tags still attached. We all know that I will wear this and then it sits in the closet for months with tags still on it. Face it, you’re really probably not going to wear it, put it in the donate pile.

Next, lets look for items that you know are too small or are maybe questionable in size. Toss them in the pile or pass them down to a younger family member. Anything questionable in size, try it on and check the fit. Also make sure that you are comfortable and love how you look in it. If you don’t love it, you’re most likely not going to wear it again, so toss it. These few steps can really make a dent in that overflowing closet and give you that extra space for more clothes… even though your spouse will probably say you still have too many clothes! 😉

That’s all for now! Check back soon for some more spring cleaning tips and tricks!

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