There’s a running list in your head somewhere within your home, whether it’s mentally drafted, or it’s on a post-it note that’s been stuck on the fridge for three months. You know what it is and what it’s for. Procrastinated home maintenance projects that inevitably get pushed to the bottom of the weekend agenda.
The saddest part? They’re not even that taxing to complete. Just so tedious that you’d rather do literally anything else instead. Add in that when it inevitably goes undone, it becomes a huge issue and major cost down the line; or, you’ve just gotten used to looking at it that your neighbor points it out – or worse, you no longer realize how bad it is until someone new comes over and you see your house through their eyes.
Let’s delve into the maintenance projects that everyone probably avoids – and how to make them better so you actually accomplish them.
The Branches You’ve Been Considering For Months
You know which ones they are; they hang down over the roof from the street, scrape your siding when it’s windy or prevent you from looking out your favorite window. You’ve thought about cutting them down. You’ve even googled tree services and then quickly closed the tab because you were aghast at how much they’d charge you.
They’re annoying. They’re too high up for you to get to easily. They’re going to do tons of damage when they break from your roof during a storm, clog your gutters or create an unnecessary mess on your front lawn when it inevitably rains. But you’re too terrified to get a tall enough ladder to get up there and paying someone $300 to cut three branches seems absurd.
But with the right tool, things change. An electric pole saw can reach as high as ten feet high (and beyond, with different models) without you leaving the ground. No ladders. No trying to balance a saw in a precarious position while you’re peering from an unstable two-inch-wide rung; just extend and cut and you’re on your way.
People don’t realize how easy taking care of trees has become. Electric pole saws are lighter than gas-powered, quieter and there’s no fuss with gasoline runs or pull cords that inevitably don’t work when you need them to. You can get branch cutting done within an hour on a Saturday morning instead of spending weeks mustering up the confidence to get a ladder or blowing all your money with a professional.
The Gutters That Definitely Need To Be Cleaned
If there’s one thing that nobody wants to do it’s cleaning gutters. It’s filthy, it’s boring and involves getting somewhere high up to dig through decomposed leaves. So people wait until it pours rain and water spills out from the gutters instead.
Clogged gutters are not only an ugly sight – but they’re creating leaking roofs, flooding siding – even destroying foundations because when puddles at the base of your home accumulate, the last thing you want is root issues. When you get those it’s hard enough to call in someone who will clean gutters for less than a value meal at McDonald’s.
The secret? Make it less disgusting by doing it more regularly without drama. Get a gutter scoop or at least some gloves (you can always dispose of them when you’re finished). If you have a leaf blower sometimes you can disperse dried debris without climbing up – just blow out what’s there from down below and deal with where that residue lands.
And if there are trees overhanging your home at low points constantly putting leaves into your gutters – this brings you back to cutting branches; trim what’s hanging over your roof and it will eliminate half of how often you’ll need to clean out those gutters.
The Garage That’s A Hoarding Room Now
If there’s one room that’s meant to be home for the car – but isn’t available for that use anymore – it’s the garage. The garage is where everything that has nowhere else to go goes – holiday decorations, extra furniture you’ve meant to sell for three years but now it’s just discarded, and tools bought for one quick project but otherwise haven’t been touched again.
The more cluttered it becomes, the less someone wants to fix it up and inevitably you need something that you know is “somewhere in the garage” and took twenty minutes rummaging through junk before your aggravation kicks in even further.
Choose one weekend. Not “eventually.” An actual date. Get some hefty trash bags ready, get some boxes for donations and be ruthless with items. If you haven’t used it in two years and it’s not sentimental – throw it out. You’d be surprised how much space opens up when you stop hoarding things you don’t need anymore.
Then add some basic organization with wall hooks, overhead racks and clearly labeled bins. It doesn’t need to look like something out of a magazine. It just needs to be functional enough for you to find what you’re looking for – and maybe park your car inside.
Exterior Touch Ups That Keep Getting Ignored
Peeling paint and cracked caulk around the windows – noted for the past couple months – and that piece of siding that’s been loose since last summer; you don’t see these things as often as you’d like because you’re constantly looking at them.
Other people notice these things – and more importantly, small cosmetic issues can create huge malfunctions as time goes on – peeling paint invites moisture in wood (and it’s going to rot), poor caulking allows water into homes and loose siding will allow pests in or let heat out.
You don’t need to repaint the entire house – but repainting what’s actively needing touch ups takes one Saturday afternoon with a brush and exterior paint. Re-caulking windows takes less than an hour if you’ve never done so before – these aren’t skills learned in a classroom; there are YouTube videos for everything.
The key is monitoring them before they become worse; one peeling spot becomes six which becomes “we need professionals.” Fix it when it’s still small.
The Deck or Patio You’ve Stopped Using
Remember when you bought outdoor furniture because you thought you’d be spending all summer dining outside? Now your deck is covered in pollen, your outdoor furniture is grimy, and you’ve probably dined outside once this summer.
This is strictly momentum-based; once outdoor spaces become gross, they seem too overwhelming to reclaim. But here’s the thing – a deck that gets used regularly stays cleaner than one left empty – it’s strange but true.
So, start somewhere simple; just sweep it off. That’s all. Just sweep! Then spray down the furniture (if it’s plastic). You don’t need to deeply clean everything all at once; just enough so that you’d realistically enjoy using it again.
And soon enough you’ll find yourself using it again – which then requires maintenance without even thinking about it.
Also, if the wood looks rough or concrete has stains – a pressure washer makes all the difference in an hour flat – which is one of those tools that seems like a miracle – the ability to watch years of grime disappear before your eyes is oddly satisfying.
Also Check: Smart Garage Door Openers
Why This Matters More Than It Needs To?
None of these projects are enjoyable. No one is having a party because they cleaned their gutters last Saturday. But here’s what happens from staying on top of these basic maintenance projects: something little becomes something catastrophic, emergency repairs aren’t costing thousands; homes look like homes instead of distressed properties – and let’s be honest – walking outside without being met with a glaring list feels good.
The real trick isn’t motivation – it’s making these projects less terrible so you actually do them. The right tools help; breaking giant projects into smaller bits helps; giving yourself due dates instead of “whenever” helps. Your house doesn’t need to be perfect – it just needs maintenance – and this starts with checking off everything you’ve been putting off.