Spring is about to break and maybe give us some warm weather relief! After a long cold winter, your home might need a little bit of attention or repairs. It could be something small like cleaning up a yard full of debris or something big like your roof needing patched or replaced.

If you are taking time off for spring break to spend time with your family or just looking for something to accomplish, we’ve got some great home improvement projects to take on. Not only can this help protect your home from spring weather, it can help prep your home for the coming summer and following seasons.

Clean Your Rain Gutters
 

Spring is the rainy season and your gutters need to be in tip top shape. After a season of snow, ice, and let’s be honest, some leaves leftover from fall, your gutters are probably pretty dirty. When the spring rain comes and you have clogged or messy gutters, it can reduce your gutters effectiveness. The purpose of rain gutters is to move water away from the foundation of your home, to prevent water damage and flooding.  

Get on that ladder and start scooping out the sludge, debris and roof run off out of the gutters. Once that’s done, take a hose and spray down all of the gutters. Take careful note of any leaks between gutter sections. If there are spots that easily overflow or drip down, these will need to be patched up or replaced. 
 

Prepare Your Home for Summer
 

Spring is a great time of year with mild temperatures. You likely won’t need to run your AC or heat, just open the windows and enjoy the breeze. But summer is coming with hot days and high temps. Spring break is a good time to make sure everything is in working order before the heat starts.

Test to make sure your air conditioning is working properly. Head outside and examine the exterior of your AC. While it’s off, remove any debris that might have gotten stuck through the winter. Leafs, twigs, rocks, and toys are all potential hazards. Then, turn on the AC and make sure it works and puts out cool air. Then, while it's running, head outside and listen to it for any loud banging or worrisome grinding noises. If the AC is not working, spring is the best time to call an AC repair service to fix it, before the summer heat makes them too busy.

Another good prep project is to check on your water heater. It’s recommended you drain your water heater once a year to remove any sediment that’s collected inside. With the warming weather, it’s a great time to attach a hose to it and run it out to your street’s gutter and drain your water heater. This helps increase the life of your water heater, and also a great time to look for any potential problems, like leaks.
 

Set Your Lawn Up for Success
 

Having a green lawn and healthy plants in your yard doesn’t start when you pull out the mower, but in the beginning of spring. Start by removing any debris or leftover weeds plaguing your lawn so it has a good starting ground to grow. 

Then, you start feeding your lawn and gardens for the coming months. Put down fertilizer in the grass and prepare your garden or flowerbeds with the nutrients it needs. By getting these down early, it will have plenty of time to mix with the soil and be absorbed as the grass and plants start to grow. You might even want to do the occasional watering if the rain isn’t coming down. 

If you have any larger plans for your yard, like planting a tree, adding in a garden, or doing some landscaping, spring is the time to at least get started, if not finishing the work. That way, any plants you add have plenty of time to establish before the summer heats come.
 

That One Project You’ve Been Talking About

Everyone has that one sort of larger project they really want to do in their home. It could be painting a room a snazzy color, setting up the home theater system, or just going for it and decorating your rooms fully. It takes time and effort, but not so much work you need to ask for help or pay for professionals. 

Anyways, go for it! Do that project; you’ll feel so much better. Go out and buy the supplies you need and dedicate spring break to accomplishing it. Whether it takes a single day or multiple, you can get to work on reaching your goal!

If one of your hangups is the cost for the project, consider using a Pioneer credit card. It gives you some flexibility on paying off the expenses later if that’s necessary, and as an added bonus, you earn Rewards! points on every purchase you can use on a vacation next spring break!
 

That Big Project You’ve Been Dreaming Of

If you have the means and the times, why not go after that big project you’ve been wanting to do? Everyone has that cool or extremely nice add-on they want on their home, like installing a hot tub, building a deck, or even doing a major home renovation. 

Spring break can be a good time to either get this process started, or launch into the actual work. Take the time to make your plans, get cost estimates from contractors, and make decisions, or if you were looking for the “right time” to make it happen, do it during spring break!

If expenses is a concern for your big project, good news! You don’t have to buy it all at once. If you want to get started on those home renovations now and pay for it over time, you can use a Pioneer Home Equity Line of Credit! You pick the right plan for your situation, have a period of time to use the line of credit on your project (and whatever else comes up like a broken dishwasher) and then after the period of time is done, start paying off the line of credit monthly. 

Open a Home Equity Line of Credit