With warmer days ahead, now is the time to embrace spring cleaning and get your lake home ready for summer so that you can maximize time on the lake with loved ones! You have just a about a month to prepare your lake home for the kick-off of summer, Memorial Day weekend!
1. Get Your Pier & Boats in the Water
Contact your storage facility and arrange a time to get your pier and boat lift in the water. Once your pier and boat lift are in the water, survey the items for maintenance issues so that you can anticipate the fix and get on it ahead of time instead of wasting time on a beautiful sunny day!
The sooner you can get your boats in the water, the sooner you can enjoy time on the lake! When you get your boats ready for the new season, survey for maintenance issues so that can proactively fix any issues that may arise later in the summer.
2. Prepare Your Recreational Equipment
Bring out your recreational equipment – kayaks, paddle boards, inflatable rafts, life preservers, yard games, etc. Survey the equipment for mold and leaks well before you plan on using them! If there is any debris, consider wiping it down. If there is a musty smell, air out the equipment by laying it in the sun for a day.
3. Prepare Your Outdoor Living Area
Bring out your outdoor furniture and clean your outdoor furniture as appropriate. Once you pull out your grill, give it a spring cleaning – use a wire brush to scrub the inside and brighten up the exterior. If you use an outdoor fire pit, make sure to clean it out and to collect kindling and wood so that you are ready for your first bonfire of the season!
4. Clean Up Your Garage and/or Boat House
With your recreational equipment inventoried and your outdoor living furniture outside, you are already halfway to cleaning your garage! It is a great time to get re-organized and clean your garage and/or boat house. You might consider installing hooks, adding shelves, or buying storage containers so that everything has its place!!
5. Prep Your Gardens
Clean up your gardens by removing leaves and debris from winter. Take note of any plants that did not make it through the winter and need to be replaced. You might also want to order another load of mulch or rock to keep your gardens looking their best!
6. Clean Up Your Shoreline
Assess your shoreline and clean up as needed. Remove any debris that has washed up over the winter months and note any damage or erosion concerns.
7. Clean Your Gutters
Clean your gutters and remove as much debris as possible. Make sure to wear gloves! Remove as much as you can with your hands and wash off any remaining debris with garden hose.
8. Wash Walkways & Decks
Consider power washing your walkways and decks to keep them looking their best! You can even take it a step further and power wash your house so that you can remove any debris, mold, or mildew that has accumulated from season to season.
9. Test Your Air Conditioning
Test your air conditioning system to ensure it is working properly. You may even want to schedule maintenance with your A/C provider before it gets hot to help avoid delays.
10. Replace Filters
Make sure to inspect/replace your HVAC filter. You should really replace it every month or so. Also, consider replacing all other filters including water, range hood, and air vent filters. Typically, you want to replace these filters every 3-6 months.
11. Dust, Wash and Scrub
Wash the interior/exterior of your windows or hire a window-cleaning service! Make sure to dust and clean all your windowsills and baseboards.
For sparkling clean surfaces, scrub all the walls, baseboards, and outlets with a sponge or brush with mild soap and water. Make sure to completely dry the outlets before replacing! Once you are done dusting and washing the surface, vacuum up any remaining debris! If your carpets are looking a bit dirty, clean your carpets or hire a professional carpet cleaner.
You may also consider cleaning your faucets and showerheads. To do this, unscrew the faucet aerators, sink sprayers, and showerheads. Soak them in equal parts water and vinegar for about an hour then rinse them in warm water.
12. Check Your Smoke & CO2 Detectors
Check that all your smoke detectors and CO2 detectors are working properly and replace batteries as needed.
13. Check Vents
To reduce the risk of a fire hazard, clean out the dryer vent. If you have a crawl space with vents, spring is the perfect time to clean out the debris that accumulated around the vents.
14. Deep Clean Appliances
Spring is the perfect time to deep clean your appliances – the stove, the refrigerator, the microwave, coffee maker, etc. Once you move the appliance, vacuum the debris, and then take a wet cloth with a little soap to clean the surfaces.
For your refrigerator, check expiration dates and remove all your food items so that you can wipe down all the surfaces. Make sure to also vacuum all the crumbs and debris hidden under your refrigerator. You may also consider vacuuming the coils of your refrigerator, so that your refrigerator runs more efficiently with clean coils.
For the microwave, fill a microwave-safe bowl with a cup of water with a diced lemon/lime or several tablespoons of vinegar and heat the water for several minutes until it starts to boil. Let the water sit for 15 minutes and then wipe down the interior of the microwave.
15. Inventory Linens & Supplies
As a lake home, you likely have guests who stay over. Spring is the perfect time to take inventory of your linens – lake towels, bath towels, bedsheets, blankets, etc. Once you take an inventory, freshen up each of your rooms with new clean bedsheets, blankets, etc. Also, make sure your bathrooms are well stocked with the necessities (i.e. toilet paper, soap, towels, etc.)
While you are inventorying supplies, it is a perfect time to also inventory sunscreen, aloe, bug spray, etc. It always better to have these supplies before you need it!
Summary
To help you maximize your enjoyment and time outside this summer, download our spring-cleaning checklist. This way, you can get all the work and hassles out of the way, so all you have to worry about is having a fantastic time all summer long!