Your Weekend To-Do List: 15 Things to Do for Summer Home Upkeep

Tackle these 15 easy tasks to stay on top of your summer home upkeep. This simple home maintenance checklist will help keep everything running smoothly all season long.

One of the things about owning a home is that there is always a project to do.

In the summertime, you are probably going outside and enjoying your yard more than other times of year. This is a great time to take care of some home maintenance tasks.

This is a summer home upkeep to do list to help you keep things running smoothly and avoid bigger problems down the road.

Here are the home tasks that you can do on the exterior and yard of your home this summer.

15 Things to Do for Summer Home Upkeep

Here are my top summer home maintenance tasks for your homes exterior, yard and garden, and outdoor living spaces.

Exterior Summer home maintenance

Here are tasks to do to maintain the exterior of your home this summer.

Power wash siding or brick

Your home likely has a layer of grime from winter. A good bath is just what it needs.

Grab your pressure washer and get cleaning!

Here is a video of Sean talking through pressure washing the driveway!

Clean windows + screens

Similarly, your windows can get dirty. Cleaning them off will give you a fresh view out and make your home look better from the outside, too!

We found a really cool product that screws onto your hose and makes cleaning exterior of window super easy!

Here's how we clean our windows!

Touch up peeling paint

Paint takes a beating from the sun and raind and tends to peel over time.

If there are small areas that need a refresh, you can just touch it up.

But, for larger areas, you will need to scrape, sand, and re-paint. It's honestly so annoying - I did our front stairs last year - but it is worth it for the durable results.

Check/repair window caulking

One of your major goals for summer should be to keep the heat out. Take a minute to check the caulk around your doors and window seals.

Caulk cracks a lot of exterior walls as they expand and contract with changes in temperatures.

Remove the old caulk and re-do it for a fresh seal!

Wash the front door + hardware

Don't forget your front door! Our door gets so nasty when the pollen drops - it is a must to clean it off.

I keep it simple and wipe everything down with a slightly soapy rag. It takes less than 5 minutes but wow I am always grossed out by how much grime comes off!

Yard + Garden Summer home maintenance

Once you have your exterior in check, it's time to get your garden looking it's best too!

You can see our complete Garden maintenance checklist here!

Inspect sprinklers or irrigation

Hot weather means that you will be doing a lot more watering outside.

Take a couple of minutes to check your sprinklers or irrigation for damage.

Make sure everything is running properly so you don't have a leak and a surprise $$$$$ water bill!

Mulch garden beds

The end of Spring or start of Summer is a great time to mulch your garden beds.

We always grab mulch when Lowes runs their $2 bag sale and re-apply to all of our beds in the front and back yard.

Before you add new mulch, take a minute to pull up weeds and remove any plants that died over the winter. Then add the mulch for a fresh look!

Pull weeds + treat lawn

Speaking of weeds, summer is when the grass starts growing and the weeds will start appearing in your lawn.

This is the perfect time to pull any major weeds and apply a fertilizer treatment.

We typically treat our yard with Scott's Turf Builder.

Clean and sharpen lawn tools

As you are unpacking your lawn tools for the season, take some time to inspect them.

If anything is broken, repair it or throw it out.

Dirty tools can be sanitized and cleaned. I typically hose them off and soak super dirty tools in a bucket of dawn + water before scrubbing clean.

You can read my complete guide to cleaning yard tools, too!

Prune shrubs or trees

Finally, take some time to prune your bushes and trees. You ideally want to prune before they start growing, so they have the whole season to fill in.

Typically, when we prune, we are removing lower branches to have a bush or tree look more tree-like.

But, you might also want to change the shape of a plant or pull it back from the house or a neighbor's yard.

Never cut back more than ⅓ of a plant at a time.

Don't cut any major trees without the guidance of someone who knows what they are doing. Safety first!

Outdoor Living Spaces Summer home maintenance

Finally, don't forget to maintain your patio or deck living spaces.

Clean/de-winterize furniture

Outdoor furniture can get gross over the winter, even if it is covered.

We personally prefer to use the pressure washer to clean outdoor furniture, but if it is not too dirty you can also just wipe it down with a rag.

If you have wood furniture that is very worn, you might want to refinish it. Check out our guide on how to refinish wooden outdoor furniture!

Sweep + wash patio/deck

Next, clean off your patio and deck. This could once again mean pressure washing or it could be as simple as sweeping.

Personally, I like to get out the blower, then use the push broom to clean the floors well.

We also like to use our crack and crevice cleaner to get any rocks or debris in the deck cracks!

Clean outdoor light fixtures

Next, let's clean up outdoor light fixtures. This will usually involve wiping them down with a damp cloth.

Read our guide on how to clean outdoor lights!

Then, check all of the bulbs. You'll be surprised how many burn out! Replace them, and try to use energy efficient bulbs whenever possible!

Check for wasps/hornets around eaves

We get so many wasp nests in our yard. Do a walk around and look for any in your space.

Especially check on the underside of overhangs or the eaves of peaks of the house.

We typically spray them with wasp spray and then, once we are sure they are empty, knock them down with a broom handle or the hose.

Restock outdoor essentials (citronella, sunscreen, etc.)

Finally, stock up for summer! Get bug spray, citronella candles, sunscreen, new outdoor pillows, or any summer essentials!

Consider storing in rubbermaid drawers or bins so they are out of the elements but ready to go!

Click here to streamline and simplify your home maintenance with our comprehensive home maintenance solution!