From Dad: Spring Home Care Checklist 2025

My wife, Cyndy, and I are sitting on the front porch with our Sunday morning coffee while I write to you on my yellow notepad. I just brought it with me outside to join her. I put together a Spring home care checklist for you below (with a PDF) but first I thought I’d share a few updates…

First, I must confess I used her good measuring cup to mix my concrete cleaner yesterday. It’s just to our left so I’m hoping she doesn’t look left. Let’s keep that between us 🙂 

We used to live on a farm in the Strawberry Mountains in Eastern Oregon and that is where we became porch people. With day jobs, a farm, a fixer upper house, and a lot of kids, our lives haven’t slowed down a bit but we still try to get out onto the porch and watch the earth be alive. This time of year, the storms are amazing and I like to keep a closer eye on the horses since they can be escape artists. And my grass, of course.

This newsletter idea started from the handwritten notes I leave in my kids’ cars to remind them of things they may forget. Those turned into emails when they got out on their own. I like to give them (and now you) updates on real-time things going on here so they still feel close to us along with checklists to help them navigate adulthood.

Here’s how my letters work:
- You can reply to this email and tell me what you want to see
- I can put polls within this email to ask you things in case I miss your email
- They are FREE
- You can unsubscribe anytime. It won’t hurt my feelings
- If you are having technical difficulties, I’m 66 so don’t ask me. Kidding, send me an email with the subject “technical difficulties” and I will see which one of my kids can help us

Below is my Spring home care checklist for 2025. Where possible, I’ve linked all my videos that show the task in the checklist. You can download and print it by clicking on the link below!

Spring Home Care Checklist 2025

OUTDOOR:

Remove faucet covers and foundation vents. Example video here.

Cut down dry brush near the road, driveway or anywhere that it could catch a spark and cause a fire in the dry summer heat. Included in that same video.

Check gutters for clogs and clear debris if necessary. Here is my video on gutters.

Clear debris from yard that blew in over winter/spring. Keep an eye out for anything sharp that kids or dogs could accidentally be hurt by. Included in my April home video.

Wash moss off concrete (here is how I do it).

Visual check for water leaks or damage. Pay attention to areas around pipes and siding on house.

Get lawn maintenance equipment out. Here is my video on push mower maintenance.

Put away winter equipment. Here is an example of how to store.

Treat lawn before heat comes (I try to use weed treatment in March, grass seed in April & grass nutrients in April/May. If you aren’t sure, I recommend Sunday Lawn Care).

Fill in low spots in lawn (use either 100% sand or a dirt/sand combo. Here is my video.

Dump standing water in planters, kid pools and any other area it collected over winter (mosquitos would love to hatch and live here if you don’t).

Edge your lawn (Here is my video on that).

Fill hoses and lay them out. Hoses get kinked over winter but if you fill them with water and leave them in the warm sun, they will work it out themselves.

Mold check BBQs and anything that was left out over winter, especially with covers. You shouldn’t find any but always good to do a visual check.

Move flammable materials away from windows. People usually leave flammable materials in garage windows but when they heat it, it could cause a fire.

On a warm day, get window screens and patio furniture out to air out in sun.

INDOOR:

Open your doors & dust the house top to bottom, starting with fans and ending with baseboards and then floors.

Change HVAC filter (needs to be done every 3-6 months). Here is my video.

Check smoke detectors, CO alarms, fire extinguishers and fire escape plans. More details on that here.

Clean bathroom fans, behind refrigerator and under refrigerator. I show you how here.

Clean your dryer vent once a year. Here’s how I do it.

Clean and sanitize food dishes for animals like dogs and cats.

Change refrigerator filter and clean dishwasher filter if you have one.

Remove pipe covers if you installed them. Shown at the end of this video.

Visual check on indoor pipes to make sure there was no water damage over winter.

DIGITAL:

Check subscriptions and make sure there aren’t any you forgot to cancel. On your iPhone, you can do this by pressing “Settings > Your Name (very top) > Subscriptions (usually the 4^th button down).

Update your apps (a lot of times if an app on your phone isn’t working, it needs an update.) You can update by pressing App Store > Top right button with your picture that takes you to your account > scroll down to “Update All”.

When anything else digital breaks, call your kids.

Emily’s Brain Injury Update

Another day I will take the time to detail out the status of Emmy’s treatments and her day-to-day. Currently, she had a really good month in February which we cannot figure out exactly why, but then in March and April it’s really paid us back. Yesterday, she wanted to leave the house and do something for her mom’s birthday and it resulted in a lot of problems, including losing feeling in her feet and nerve pain from her feet, through her spine and to her neck.

I knew she wasn’t ready to do that and tried to warn her, which can be frustrating as a caregiver. But of course, the alternative is that she never gets to leave the house so we have to keep trying things.

As I always remind you, you are what keeps us going in her Brain Injury fight. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

Leaving you with one last reminder: take care of yourself today. Big meal, big gulp of water, a long shower, and as much sleep as your body will allow.