Weekend Jobs To Maintain Your Home

It's the odd jobs around the home requiring ongoing maintenance that when neglected will be the ones that cost you the most time and money to fix in the end.

If you can keep on top of these jobs on the weekends, it won't be as big or as costly when they get forgotten. Plus you'll be proud of your home knowing you take care of one of your biggest assets.

Here's a list of jobs you can do around the house over the weekend to help you stay on top of the maintenance every home requires:

• Clean out your gutters

This is probably the main one. Everyone forgets to clear out their gutters when they actually have a really important purpose. They're there to effective disperse rain water into the drains. When stick and leaves from over hanging trees get caught in your gutters, this causes water to sit which creates rust. Rust will eat holes through your guttering and make them no longer effective.

Jump up there wearing a pair of gloves and clear them out. It'll only take you a couple of hours. If you don't have a ladder to do it yourself you can hire someone to do them annually.

• Weeding

Staying on top of the weeds can be difficult, especially if you've had a lot of rain. It may take a combination of pulling them out yourself as well as spraying the little ones. Depending on the size of our yard, this might take you a day. But it's worth it when your garden is looking beautiful. To help maintain this, mulch your garden beds to keep the weeds away.

• Cleaning the blinds and curtains

When was the last time you ran a finger over your blinds? They're one place that holds a lot of dust! Keep your home feeling clean and the air fresh by wiping your blinds down quarterly. Use a damp cloth and a bucket of warm water. You can actually buy a Venetian Blind Slat Brush Cleaner from Bunnings which the make the job 10x easier!

For your curtains, depending on what you have, use a low setting on the vacuum to remove dust, hand wash them or take them to the dry cleaners.

• Clean your windows and tracks

It makes an incredible difference having clean windows to look through! It won't take you long with a bucket of warm soapy water (all you need is dishwashing liquid) and a squeegee. If you've got window in high or hard to reach places, you can get an extender pole for some squeegees or you may need to hire someone for those.

Don't forget the window and door tracks that often get forgotten. Use an old toothbrush here. Also don't forget any glass pool fencing and shower screens if they need doing too.

• Fans

We often forget to look up. Or you might be lying in bed and notice all the dust stuck to the fan blades. Again, simply use a damp cloth and wipe them down quarterly. You'll feel so much better knowing it's done.

• Cornices and cobwebs

Cobwebs make a home feel old and unclean. Either use a Cobweb Broom or go around with the vacuum pole and suck them up. It'll only take you a couple of minutes!

• Coating timbers

Timber around the home, especially if it's exposed to the elements can deteriorate quickly making the home look tired and unmaintained. Use an oil, strain or paint to go over any decking, fencing, trims or features.

• Pressure washing

Using a high pressure cleaner can be somewhat satisfying! Nothing else will make your home look more dated and drab than mould and grime. Spend the day pressure washing your home, all paths, exteriors and driveways. If your home is particularly prone to mould, you can use chlorine to kill it completely. Be very careful when using these sorts of chemicals. If you don't feel confident or you've got a large area to clean, it might be worth hiring a professional who will be more effective.