- Clear gutters and downspouts and make sure all the drainage from the roof is directed away from the house. Make sure you clean the gutters one or two more times during the spring. Most all trees will be dropping some sort of seeds, they can wreak havoc on gutter and downspout drainage. It's worth it to avoid flooding in your house.
- Test your sprinklers carefully for breaks in the line. Misdirected sprinkler heads are a flooding hazard as well.
- Since we just converted to Daylight Savings Time, it serves as a trigger to check the batteries in all of your smoke detectors and carbon monoxide alarms. This is a very important and life-saving safety practice.
- Spend the $15 for a small fire extinguisher to keep near your kitchen. You would never forgive yourself if you were unable to extinguish a small kitchen, or furnace, or dryer vent, or other commonly caused fire.
- Replace outdoor light bulbs for safety, beauty, and security. I recommend using the 'twist' style flourescent lamps. . . they are very energy efficient, they last several years, and you can leave your lights on all night and use very little power.
- Crawl up in your attic while the weather (and attic) is still cool. Check your insulation and make sure you have good ventilation to allow the heat and condensation to escape in the summer. If not, add vents and/or fans.
- Check the caulking and weatherstripping around all doors and windows. Make repairs as needed. This inexpensive procedure can have a huge impact on comfort and energy efficiency year-round.
- Get a wire brush, a shop vac, black spray paint, soap & water, and some rags. . . go to work on your barbecue. Remove all the grills, deflectors, etc. and clean the burners, the venturi tubes, the tables, trays, grease trap, and the frame. Polish up the chrome a little, use some black spray paint where the paint has worn off the metal.
- Do your spouse a favor and give the exterior side of all of your windows a good cleaning. Use a lime remover if you have water deposits. This will score major points on the homefront!
- Once the snow is finished with us, stow away all your winter fun and maintenance gear (skis, snow blower, snow shovels, salt, sledding stuff, etc.). You won't be needing it until November or December, might as well get it out of the way!
Well, that's a long enough list. I tried to include a few more unusual things that don't normally show up on such lists. Hopefully you might find some useful ideas. Feel free to post comments with other ideas and routines you recommend this time of year.
