Longer days and sorely missed warmth are finally on their way, and you’ll likely be inclined to stop and smell the flowers in your garden as we are all forced to spend more time at home, but hopefully we’ll be able to head out and participate in The Great British Spring Clean before too long.

However, the perfect place to start welcoming spring is in the home. From undoing some winter damage to sprucing up your home to match the warmer days ahead, here are some key things to do at home this spring especially with all this extra time on our hands:

Bring the outside in

So, try placing a potted plant in an unused corner of your bedroom or use vases to showcase fresh flowers in the kitchen. Our pro-tip? Add a drop of bleach into your vase water to ward off bugs and help your flowers stay fresh.

The simplest way to celebrate the season is to introduce greenery into your living spaces. Red Magazine notes that it is the one interior design trick that can transform any room, as plants offer a variety of colours, textures, and heights that adorn and add life to different surfaces. Plus, it even offers plenty of health benefits, such as purifying indoor air and boosting your mood.

Refresh your windows

Spring means that it’s finally time to flood your rooms with sunlight — but that’s only possible with clean glass and the right window treatments. You might be surprised to find that the long winter months have let your windows accumulate dirt and grime, so the first step is to dilute vinegar in a bowl of warm water and scrub away. Be sure to pay attention to those tricky corners and dry the surface with a microfibre cloth when done.

As for window treatments, dust off shutters or blinds by simply wiping them with a cloth. More stubborn dirt can be dealt with using a hand-held steamer. Then, swap out your heavier curtains for a lightweight material that billows with a soft spring breeze.

Check your home’s heating system

Your boiler was hard at work all throughout winter, which means that there is no better time than spring to give it the health check that it deserves. Though it may be tempting to put this off for the autumn, incoming warmer days means that you’ll be needing it less as it is being serviced, and the engineers themselves are in lower demand and can accommodate your schedule much better as compared to colder seasons.

Indeed, the right maintenance for your home heating this spring can make all the difference for your comfort in the future. Leading home assistance provider HomeServe points out that a service check

Get out in the garden

Once your home’s interiors are all in order, it’s time to step outside and get your garden prepared for spring. Start with surveying your gardening tools. Give them a good scrub to ensure any bugs or diseases are removed before you use them on your plants, then be sure to oil moving parts and sharpen blades. From there, you can prune bushes and trees to improve their growth in the coming summer, and then clear your garden of weeds and dead leaves.

And to give your garden some colour for this year, The English Garden recommends planting begonias and sweet peas. These are not only delightful to have in any outdoor space, but are also pretty easy to care for. 

Clear your gutters

Last but not least, be sure to have a look at your home’s gutters, as the winter months may have filled them with leaves and other debris. Though these may not seem like a big deal at first glance, blocked gutters can actually prevent rain water from flowing away from your home during spring or summer storms, causing it to flow inside your house instead. This can have devastating effects, like major structural damage, that can be avoided pretty easily.

To start, Good Housekeeping suggests getting a sturdy ladder and scooping out as much debris as you can with gloved hands or a garden trowel. When you’re done, use a garden hose to wash out your gutters and check if there are still any obstructions to water flow. To help prevent further blockages, you can also get leaf guards to keep your gutters clear.