The snow’s almost gone. The temps are climbing, and you can feel that spring energy reinvigorating your life again. Before you head off to see The Jays’ home opener, you’ve got to do some yard clean up.

Your yard serves you well and deserves some sprucing up for the summer. Even though some early warm weather might trick you, you know in your heart when the time is to start cleaning up from the winter.

You also know when you’re just trying to delay the day when you’ve got to get those yard tools out of winter storage and put them to good use.

Before you start work, though, check out these five great tips to help you get your yard into shape for the summer.

1. Get rid of the debris
You’d think that with all that snow nothing would have accumulated in your yard over the winter, but you’d be wrong. Grab your rake and get rid of all the leaves, sticks, branches, and anything deposited on your yard from your pets.

Your rake is your best friend for this task. Put all those dead leaves, pine cones, and other debris into a central location to make bagging and hauling easier. Raking the leaves is important because this helps to minimize the risk of fungus or bacteria.

2. Work on your flower and garden beds
Clean the excess debris from your flower beds. If you grow annuals, remove last year’s dead plants. They’re not coming back again. If you got perennials, trim these down to 10 or 12 centimeters.

After you finish these tasks; aerate and fertilize the soil to make your garden ready for planting after you’re sure the frost is not coming back.

3. Re-rake your lawn
The first go-round was to remove the debris from your yard, this time you’re raking to get rid of any tenacious dead grass and to reveal any bald spots.

Only rake when all the snow is gone and your yard is dry; otherwise, you risk pulling up perfectly good grass and creating even more bald spots.

You’ll probably spend the most time getting your lawn ready, but maintaining a beautiful yard through the summer starts with getting it ready in the spring.

4. Cure those bald spots
The bald spots on your head will probably have to stay, but the ones on your lawn are simpler to cure. After you’ve raked and cleared out any dead turf, spread a couple of centimeters of compost over the bare ground.

Raking will help prepare the soil ahead of seeding time which will help increase your germination rate.

5. Prepare for battle against weeds
Spring is a great time to apply a pre-emergent herbicide, especially for a culprit like crabgrass. Later on, you can take care of any broadleaf issues you might have, but this is the right time to get a headstart on those weeds.

Yard clean up is a necessary part of spring cleaning. When you do it right by following these simple tips, you’ll save yourself a lot of work later on and have much more time to enjoy the outdoors this summer.