Winter Home Maintenance

Winter Home Maintenance

(Or How to Keep From Losing Your Mind)

It may seem like winter has been here forever, and if you're anything like me you're pretty over it by now. Unfortunately we still have a few more months of cold and dreary Pacific Northwest weather to look forward to, so how do you keep from going stir crazy during the long wait for spring? While major home repairs are generally saved for the warmer months, your time indoors can be spent doing simple home maintenance to ensure your home is in tip-top shape for the year! Follow this simple list and before you know it spring will be here and your home will feel like new!

1. Deep Clean

Everyone has heard of "spring cleaning" but honestly, that's never made much sense to me. Why would you wait until the weather is finally nice, just to stay indoors and clean? Why not do it in the winter when most of us don't want to be outside anyways? Consider doing some (or all!) of the following:

• De-clutter. Get rid of anything you don't use, donate what you can!
• Scrub your grout
• Clean out and organize your fridge and pantry
• Wipe down walls and baseboards 
• Throw out expired cosmetics, lotions, and other toiletries 
• Shred old documents 
• Wash drapes and dust blinds

2. Make Minor Repairs

• Tighten loose knobs and towel racks
• Clean or replace air filters
• Re-seal windows
• Re-caulk tubs and sinks
• Have appliances maintained if needed
• Fix leaky faucets

3. Go All Out

If you're a "go big or go home" type of person, these activites may suit your fancy:

• Redecorate a room or give it a new coat of paint
• Tackle an un-finished attic or basement and  make it usable space
• Make a lifestyle change your family agrees on, like eating meals at a table rather than in front of a television

4. Plan For a Spring Garden

• Map out where you'd like to put some garden beds or planters
• Look through seed catalogs or order seeds online
• Start some seedlings indoors
• Plan an indoor herb garden for your kitchen
• Search Pinterest for easy garden crafts 
• Start a garden journal

I hope that list will keep you busy for the remainder of the season! What kind of things do you guys do to beat the winter blues? Let me know in the comments below!!