Your ‘Rosie-Do List’ for March: Time to start gearing up for summer

With March just a few days away, it’s time for my next “Rosie–Do” list in our monthly series.

This month’s to-do list will help you prep your house for the coming summer and keep up with recurring home maintenance.

Repair your swimming pool and replace your aging pool deck

Before everyone else starts calling trusted pool repair companies, think about renovating your pool so you’re ready to start splashing when temperatures soar.

Add a little drama: Build a waterfall or fireplace on the pool’s edge or create a sun shelf — a step/platform where you can relax on a lounge chair while waves of water lap by.

Change to a time-of-day or time-of-use plan with your power company

Those plans bill less per hour at certain times of the day. Once you know the times, you can start running your appliances more often during off-peak hours when power costs less.

Check your A/C

It’s time to have an air conditioning contractor out to check your A/C to make sure it’s working properly. That way you’ll be good to go when hot weather really arrives.

Change the filters on your air intake.

Put the sunscreens back on your house

Get the sunscreens out of the garage, rinse them off and put them back on windows.

Spring cleaning

Clean out the closets, get rid of old clothes and shred stacks of old paperwork. While you’re sorting through drawers and cabinets, find the records you’ll need for doing your tax return.

Pruning

All risk of frost is usually over by March 15 in central and southern Arizona, so prune the dead wood and leaves out of your plants so they can take off again this spring. Even plants seriously damaged by frost will probably sprout leaves and twigs when the weather warms up.

Last call for tomato lovers

It’s too late to start tomatoes from seed, but you can plant young tomato plants until mid-March. You can also plant a host of other vegetables — beets, sweet corn and cucumbers, for example.

Use pre-emergent to fight back against weeds

Right now is prime time for applying pre-emergent to the bare soil or gravel-covered areas of your yard. Pre-emergent keeps weed seeds from germinating above the soil line. If those seeds do germinate, you will have a lot of back-breaking work ahead later this spring.

For more tips and information for all the projects around your house, home, castle or cabin, visit Arizona’s largest collection of homeowner DIY advice and information at RosieontheHouse.com.

And if you are in need of a quality contractor you can trust, visit our list of Arizona’s very best contractors or service providers for your home improvement projects at RosieontheHouse.com, Arizona’s most trusted referral network.

Tune in to KTAR every Saturday morning from 7-11 a.m. for the Rosie on the House broadcast!