Home March 1, 2024

Spring Home Maintenance & Cleaning Hacks

Longer days and warmer weather are ahead! Now is a good time to evaluate your home and tackle outdoor projects. Saying goodbye to the damp, cold winter months also means taking action to address the aftereffects of all those gray and gloomy days. The following spring home maintenance and cleaning hacks will help you better enjoy the spring and summer months.

Clean Your Gutters

While it’s probably the least appealing home maintenance task, cleaning your gutters is very important. Winter weather clogs gutters with sticks, leaves, and other debris. Gutters play an essential role in keeping water safely away from your home. If your home’s gutters are clogged, built-up water can cause wood rot, roof leaks, basement flooding, and even damage to the foundation. So, make time to conduct this not fun, but very necessary task. If you want to tackle this project yourself, check out these gutter-cleaning tips. Also, if you notice any damage to your gutters, this is a good time to have them fixed or replaced.

Inspect Your Roof

While cleaning your gutters, it’s also a great idea to inspect your roof. Winter storms can wreak havoc and cause damage. Check for any loose, damaged, or missing shingles. If you’re not able to see the whole roof safely, you can also use binoculars or a camera with a zoom lens to get a better look at harder-to-reach areas. If you see any damage, hire a professional roofing company to make the necessary repairs immediately. A healthy and functioning roof is key to a happy home. The last thing you want is water leaking in and causing damage. Spring home maintenance tasks help prepare your home for the rest of the year.

Check for Wood Rot

Rain can take a toll on homes, especially in the Pacific Northwest. Checking for wood rot around windows and doors, and in attics and basements is important. Wood rot makes your home more susceptible to wood-boring insects such as termites. Additionally, this issue can also impact anything made of wood around your home, such as fences, porches, dog houses, etc. Take time to determine if you have wood rot. If you think the answer is yes, it’s best to contact a professional to fix the problem.

Service Your Air Conditioner

If you have central air, that usually means your air conditioner has also been sitting outside and experiencing the winter weather. Spring is a great time to make sure your air conditioner is ready for the hot summer months ahead. If you feel comfortable cleaning the HVAC system system on your own, follow these detailed steps. Alternatively, you can hire a local professional. Not only can an expert service your air conditioner, but they can also clear your air ducts as well. Either way, you’ll thank yourself when the hottest days of the year arrive.

Clean Your Filters and Vents

Filters and vents circulate air throughout your home, which is why it’s important to keep them clean. While vents and filters aren’t always in the easiest-to-reach places, it’s usually still possible to clean them effectively with a vacuum. Or, if it’s time to do a deep clean, this vent cleaning article has all the information you need to get started. Once you’re done, you’ll feel better knowing you’re breathing clean air again.

Tackle the Oven

Hosting visitors during the winter holidays and cooking many meals during the wet winter months can lead to an extra dirty oven. While cleaning the oven is often a dreaded cleaning chore, it doesn’t have to be. With several natural cleaning options and recommendations from experts, this list of oven-cleaning hacks has everything you need. As is the case with most things, the more often you clean, the less challenging the chore. But even if you haven’t tackled the oven in a while, you’ll be able to find a great way to get it done effectively. And while you’re at it, you might as well clean the microwave, too.

Dust the Baseboards

Baseboards are one of those things that are easy to forget about but still get dirty. Make your life easier by using dryer sheets. Not only will the dryer sheet pick up dust, dirt, and pet fur, but it will help repel dust later as well. After you test this great tip, you’ll want to check out the many other ways you can clean with dryer sheets.

Deep Clean Your Dishwasher

One item people commonly forget to clean is the dishwasher. There are simple cleaning tasks you can do each month to keep your dishwasher running smoothly. Also, there are deep cleaning tasks that should be done once or twice a year. This cleaning combination will keep your dishes extra clean and your machine happy.

Plant Your Garden

This is the perfect time of year to revive your garden and yard! There are so many options when it comes to gardening, whether you’re planting flowers or vegetables. Either way, a nice-looking garden will elevate your home’s curb appeal. This home improvement article provides great information, listing local experts and places where you can purchase plants. Lastly, make sure you review these spring gardening tips as you finalize your spring home maintenance plan.

Home March 1, 2022

Spring Gardening Tips

Here in the Pacific Northwest, we take our sunshine seriously, and we’re really looking forward to spring. If you’re new to gardening or want to step up your game, here are some helpful tips to make sure it becomes a blooming sensation.

1. Placement Matters

Be sure to plant everything in the proper place according to its sunlight or shade needs. Read the plant or seed packets’ labels carefully. Pay attention to how much sun exposure an area of your property gets before deciding what to plant there.

2. Prepare Your Soil

Before you plant, improve your soil’s condition and drainage with organic matter and compost. Organic matter enriches soil and then it can retain nutrients and moisture while also draining well. Compost gives your soil important nutrients. The best soil is easy to dig, crumbly, and a bit loose so that plant roots have the oxygen they need. When selecting a fertilizer, use an organic one to add nitrogen, phosphate, and potash.

Also, when your soil is really wet, avoid digging or planting in it. Working it can damage the soil structure. When the soil is crumbly and you can’t easily form a ball when you squeeze it in your hand, that’s when you can till or dig. 

Learn more about preparing your soil and what type of soil you may have.

3. Watch Out For Garden Pests

Due to the amount of rain we get here, slugs and snails are common Pacific Northwest garden pests. So, keep an eye out and invest in some slug bait. Also, keep in mind that there are many beneficial insects too like centipedes, millipedes, and ladybugs.

4. Select Plants That Thrive in Zone 8b

If you’re new to the Pacific Northwest and/or new to gardening, you may be wondering what to plant. Here are some ideas of what will do well here in Zone 8b.

  • Herbs that grow well here include lavender, sage, parsley, thyme, and rosemary. Mint also does well but it can be invasive so it’s best to grow it in a container.
  • If you’re wanting a vegetable garden, Zone 8b is a great climate for it. Gardeners here can plant early in the season or start their crops indoors before the last frost date for a longer growing season. Ideas for early spring and early summer crops include beets, carrots, cauliflower, cucumber, kale, lettuce, spinach, strawberries, peas, and squash.
  • For shade-loving plants, consider hostas, bleeding hearts, and coral bells.
  • If you’re looking for great perennials, check out the video below.
Community November 23, 2020

Heronswood: Incredible Beauty and a Unique History

Nestled in North Kitsap, is Heronswood, a botanical paradise. Originally brought to life in 1987 by Horticulturalist Dan Hinkley and his husband, architect Robert L. Jones, the garden has grown to more than 15 acres of fantastic flora from all around the world. Heronswood is an internationally recognized treasure in the Pacific Northwest, even garnering the attention of Martha Stewart

Hinkley’s dream of starting a small nursery, where he could introduce rare and hardy plants to the community, has become a de facto landmark in Kitsap County. He spent the next 20 years developing the estate and traveling worldwide on plant-hunting trips to expand the garden. In 2000, Hinkley and Jones sold the business to W. Atlee Burpee Company. But in 2006 the company filed for bankruptcy. The estate laid dormant until 2012 when it was sold to the Port Gamble S’Klallam Tribe

Together with Hinkley, the S’Klallam Tribe has breathed new life into the garden through a series of tremendous restoration efforts. The Heronswood Garden has become a place for special events, plant sales, and educational programs that speak to the heritage of the garden and the S’Klallam Tribe. 

S’Klallam History

For centuries, the S’Klallam Tribe occupied the shores of Strait Juan de Fuca, Admiralty Inlet, and Puget Sound. S’Klallam means “strong people”. Although their culture was almost lost after European contact, the S’Klallam have maintained agency over their heritage and traditions

Over the past few decades, tribal leaders have made significant efforts to strengthen their community through economic development, establishing an Economic Development Authority to support local businesses through the administration of federal grants.

The acquisition of Heronswood Garden has provided an opportunity for all community members to work together to maintain this local treasure. Since 2012, members of Heronswood staff, the Port Gamble S’Klallam Tribe, the Heronswood Garden Steering Committee, and dozens of very skilled, dedicated volunteers have teamed up to shape the future of Heronswood. 

Heronswood sign and the S’Klallam Orca Crest. Photos by Leo Phillips.

Legacy and Future

After 35 years and two ownership changes, Heronswood continues to thrive and flourish. It offers an abundance of resources and events for community members to learn more about horticulture. Hinkley, now Director Emeritus, creates and leads many of these events himself. Field Notes is the official blog of Heronswood, where Hinkley and Assistant Director Dr. Ross Bayton write educational blog posts about their experiences foraging around the world. They also have Nature Notes, a video series that features new Garden Director, Dr. Patrick Mcmillan. In this series, you can learn fascinating information about Pacific Northwest shrubs, trees, and more.

Heronswood Nature Notes

Photo from Heronswood’s Nature Notes video series.

Lunchbreak Lectures is an online series of classes that take place virtually over Zoom. Hinkley and Bayton teach these classes. Heronswood also offers pre-scheduled tours lead by experienced garden professionals.

In adherence to current COVID-19 guidelines, masks and facial covers are mandatory. Tourists will be able to use a whisper headset system to listen to the tour guide while maintaining six feet from one another. 

Next spring, Heronswood will be dedicating a stumpery, an artistic display of tree stumps, that recounts the history of the S’Klallam Tribe with the local timber industry. Additionally, they will be adding plant species used in traditional dyeing and weaving for tribal artists to access. The S’Klallam Tribe and Hinkley are ushering in a new chapter for Heronswood, bringing people from all over Kitsap County and beyond to experience the unparalleled beauty of the botanical garden and S’Klallam Tribe.