Spring has come early to much of the nation. Here in the Twin Cities and the rest of Minnesota, the temperatures have been hovering around 60 degrees in late February. Now we know it probably won’t last and that come tournament time we’ll be shoveling out our driveways, but for now take advantage of the warm weather and get a head start on your spring cleaning.

Get a Head Start on your Spring Cleaning

Yardwork – It’s still way too early to put down seed, fertilizer or even think about planting, but if you have pets, these past few days have been a great excuse to get out there and start doing some clean up. If you’ve stayed on top of the yard pick-up chore then good for you. For the rest of us, this is an opportunity to have a lot less work in the spring. Clean up what is easily picked up. If the ground is still frozen you’ll just need to wait – or use a pickaxe. If you didn’t get to trimming bushes in the fall, now is a great time to do it. Just keep in mind you’ll lose any blooms, so you may still want to wait. You can plant tulip and daffodil bulbs, they just won’t bloom this year. Don’t rake until the lawn has dried out.

Closets – With these warmer days many of us are getting the itch to pitch. Start going through closets and storage areas and cull through the clutter. Get rid of the things you will never use, or haven’t used in the last year. Keep any of Great Grandma’s fine china, but get rid of the ratty old blankets that are just nesting material for critters. Go through your clothing and donate any items you haven’t worn in the last year or that no longer fit. It’s not an easy task to get rid of that size 4 cocktail dress you’ve been working to get back into, but these items are just taking up space and the truth is someone else could put them to good use.

Smoke Detectors – If you’re like most of us you check your smoke detectors and put in fresh batteries every time we spring forward. This time consider replacing the older units with combination smoke and co2 detectors. You might even consider installing smart units and integrating them into your home set up.

Deep Cleaning – Probably better to wait on the deep cleaning until we get past the muddy/raining season. Wait to get carpets and upholstery cleaned, but there’s not reason not to clean drapes and blinds right now.

These are just a few ways you can take advantage of this unseasonably warm weather we’ve been having. Don’t put the boots and shovels away just yet, but be sure to take advantage of this break while you can.