As the summer season approaches, it’s a great time to prep your home for warm weather. While it may sound like a daunting task to remove everything that reminds you of a harsh winter, it’s not that difficult to give your home a cheerful summer vibe if you start early enough before the weather gets too hot to get things done.
To get you started, here are eight tips to help you make your home summer-ready well in time.
Cool down the interiors
You can cool down the temperature inside your home a few notches by improving the flow of air around the house. Open up the windows, run the ceiling fan counter-clockwise at low speed during the day and have your air-conditioning serviced for optimum output.
The idea is to use a combination of nature and machine to cool your home as much as you can. This will also help control your power bills to some extent.
Change the draperies
It’s easy to make your home summer-ready when you get the basics right. Summer is all about well-lit rooms and airy surroundings. Clean up the glass windows and pull back the curtains. Change heavy draperies to a light, free-flowing fabric in a happy yet subtle color.
This simple change will light up your home with natural light and also give it a summery look and feel.
Spruce up your garden
Clean up your lawn, remove dead grass and dying plants and make room for bright cheery greens as the summer approaches. Choose plants that can survive hot weather and won’t need a lot of watering.
Use natural fertilizer to make the ground more fertile so that you can have a lush green space for outdoor parties. Spruce up the flower beds and make sure the sprinkler is working. Take the help of a professional gardener to do it right.
Pack away the heavy winter stuff
The first step to readying your home for summer is to make space in your interiors. From candles, blankets, and heaters to dark draperies, bed covers and thick rugs, pack up everything that you brought out when winter began.
Only when you remove the heavy stuff will you be able to bring in lighter summer accessories such as fresh flowers, light-colored bed covers, cheerful durries and the like.
Prep up for parties in advance
Summer is a great time to catch up with friends and family on the weekends, and it helps to be prepared and stock up for such get-togethers well in advance. Especially if you like having people over impromptu, clean up your grill and outdoor furniture as the summer sets in, stock up on beverages and snacks, buy sunscreen, ensure that outdoor lighting is in order, and if you have a swimming pool, have it cleaned up by a professional.
Make your home inviting for guests
Summer is a great time to host parties with tropical cocktails, seasonal fruits and lots of beer. Make the atmosphere more welcoming for your guests by placing colorful fruits on the table, place indoor plants at different locations in the entertainment area, and cheer up your home with fresh seasonal flowers in summer hues. Conjure up summer cocktails and mocktails and don’t forget to serve a homemade summer salad as a starter.
Upgrade your home
A great way to liven up your home is to use the change in season as an opportunity to do away with some of the old stuff. For instance, replace an old, worn-out carpet with a light-weight contemporary rug, get a fresh coat of paint in a light color that reflects light, and make room for a new piece of furniture by eliminating clutter. This, of course, requires a little extra spending so make sure you have the budget for it. Consider downloading a monthly budget template. This will not only allow you to track your fixed expenses such as bills, but also what you have leftover for upgrades, or for lack of a better term, "play money.".
Bug-proof your house
While open windows and outdoor action are the greatest things about summer, they also bring along all kinds of bugs in your home. Using a bug spray may be the only option when you’re entertaining outdoors, but you can protect your indoors from flies and mosquitos by installing bug screens or repairing existing ones.
This way you’ll be able to enjoy the summer breeze without having to deal with pesky insects flying around the house and jeopardizing your family’s health.
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