September 1, 2023

Ways To Prepare Your House For The Summertime

woodclean exterior

Summer is coming and your house needs to be ready.

With the warmer weather and the longer daylight hours comes a yearning for making the most of life.

It’s important to remember that to take full advantage of the summer months, you need to prepare in advance or you could be hard at work when you want nothing else but to relax.

Getting your place ready for the joys of outdoor living is a key to entertaining and rejuvenating.

No-one wants to be looking over their home and garden thinking that they have really let things slide and worst of all, that it seems too late to do much about it.

There is a comfort and calming effect at being able to refresh your own place and enjoy the simple pleasure of the home you have created. It really goes back to the traditional idea of being at home.

Taking things one step at a time

A crucial step in preparing your house for summertime is not to overthink things.

Too many people make the mistake of overloading themselves with new ideas such as:

  • Is it time to add a new outdoor area?
  • Should I repaint the whole house?
  • What will a new landscape garden look like?
  • Does it seem like time to move?

Whilst the summer months are a time to spend outdoors, it doesn’t necessarily mean that you need to redo the whole house and garden.

That takes genuinely weeks, if not months to do and should be avoided unless you have already made concrete plans for the how, what and where you want things to be done.

The first and best step to giving your place a makeover is to set it all down on a list.

This way you will be able to see everything involved and prioritise the things that are truly important to you.

Sprucing up your home

You don’t need to rebuild your place and have everything from a slab crane swinging overhead and power tools and other equipment buzzing non-stop throughout your break. Sometimes it’s the smaller things that matter most.

Your list of summer preparations can be simple. It is a good way to stop yourself from getting overwhelmed.

Breaking down each area and the more important items can make all the difference to your home.

  1. The garden 
  2. The outdoor furniture
  3. The vegetable patch
  4. Changing the layout
  5. Decorations

Reworking the garden and vegetable patch with a new border or giving the place a thorough weeding and replanting can turn a tired area into something fresh and invigorating.

Your outdoor furniture, decking, and pergola will need to be cleaned but you can go one step more and give them a spruce up with a woodclean exterior treatment. Even faded woodwork can be brought back to life.

A simple sanding down of worn and weather beaten timbers then freshened up with a matt look decking oil can look like new.

Rather than build a whole new structure, you can rejuvenate your entertainment area with a stunning timber feature wall or add an eye-catching timber façade.

There is also the simple but artistic touch of adding a sculpture to your garden which can bring a whole new look to your home and yard.

By writing out what you want to do during the days and nights of summer, you can create a ‘To Do list’ and tick each of the boxes off as you go.

There is something fulfilling about seeing it all come together as you go and by knowing the end is in sight.

Prepare your house and be prepared to share the load

If you are time-poor and can see that you may not have enough hours to prepare your place in the way you want to, then it is time to ask for help. 

Trimming back your trees and bushes, redoing the lawn and repainting or polishing up outdoor furniture can make a huge difference to the look and feel of your home. It is usually something that you shouldn’t tackle all by yourself.

This is when the ability to call on friends and family can be a true blessing. Having a working bee is a great idea for getting the garden and odd jobs done all in the one hit.

The beauty is that everyone involved can see the results of their hard work and join in the fun of revelling in your revitalised place.

The natural way to add charm to your place

Remember that not everything about enjoying summer is in full view.

This is your chance to add some flair and style to your relaxation time or when you’re entertaining.

Adding a few special touches like solar powered lights in the garden can be enchanting. A home-made wind chime or re-potted hanging baskets can adorn the garden.

It also helps to make a plan for some simple but delightful meals such as having breakfast outdoors.

There’s also the chance for people to take cool drinks from their water chillers, add some summer fruits and laze away in the shade of the back yard.

It could also be time to say hello to a hammock or sun lounge.

Preparing for the summer starts now

When you’re planning to make the most of summer, remember that it pays to have a Plan B for those times when the weather doesn’t play along.

A scorching summer’s day can be quite brutal, but checking the forecast ahead of time and doing your outdoor activities in the morning or even late in the evening can mean you don’t miss out.

There’s no need to be at the mercy of the weather at all.

Rejigging your calendar of events can give you the chance to shuffle things around to suit you. If there is something you need to do or which can be done indoors, then why not switch the allocated days around?

Whichever way you prepare yourself for the summertime, just remember to be prepared to change things when you need to.

Being flexible goes hand in hand with being able to relax and enjoy all the fruits of a great summer.