WHY SPRING IS THE BEST TIME TO MOVE

Some love yard work. Same for spring cleaning. Planting, pruning, cleaning and organizing can revitalize your home. And you too, if it’s your thing.

The rest of us trudge through these chores. Or hire someone to do them for us.

But before you mope about mulching or whine about window cleaning, consider this: spring is the ideal time to prep your home for sale — and move into that bigger, better home you keep dreaming about but delaying.

This is your springboard to live up. You’re not simply pushing around dirt and rearranging boxes to do it all again next year; you’re laying the groundwork for your exciting next chapter.

Here are some reasons why spring is the ideal time to prep your home for sale — and some tips for making it easier.

Two birdhouses, one stone. Landscaping, planting and backyard beautification isn’t just a spring ritual when selling your home this time of year; it’s the work you’d have to do anyways to create compelling curb appeal. It’s a win-win. Now is the time to plant perennials, annuals, vegetables and groundcover. It’s also the time to keep out unwanted neighbors: weeds and bugs. Hit your broadleaf weeds with a spray as the temperature ticks up. Add dormant oil to counter overwintering insects and spray on your preferred insecticide as needed. While you’re outside, consider adding a fire pit or freshening up the patio furniture. If that grill is old and rusty, find a nice new cover for it.

Renovations don’t need to be taxing. Have you been putting off getting the chimney cleaned, the roof repaired or the shed replaced? Well, if you’re fortunate enough to receive a tax refund, the timing could be serendipitous. It could also help with that new home down payment.

A boxing match you can win. The clutter in your crawl space alone can keep you from putting your house on the market and looking for your dream home. But tis the season for unboxing, sorting and making runs to Goodwill to donate your old stuff to a good cause. All this hard work becomes much easier when the end game is moving into a new home — and not simply collapsing in your favorite lawn chair with an Arnold Palmer in hand.

Spring cleaning is had work. Yard work is hard work. But when they’re the means to the end — escaping your current house for an idyllic new home — it can become very gratifying exercise in sweat equity.