There's never a better time than the new year to give your home a miniature facelift with easy to do exterior refreshes that increase the curb appeal of your home. When your home is your refuge, it's important that it be beautiful, clean, and welcoming. From the gutters and the siding to your windows and flower beds, it's important to keep certain key parts of your home's exterior in top shape. Here are 5 "quick fixes" that you can do this month to get ready for spring and start the new year right.

1. Paint the Front Door

Your front door is quite literally the first impression most people get of your house. It should complement your exterior color palette, but it should also pop with a bit of color or contrast to make it stand out from the rest of your home. If your front door blends in with the color of your brick so much that you're not sure where the door is from several feet away, it's time to upgrade to some color!

Popular front door colors this year are darker colors like navy and rich burgundy, and bolder colors like burnt orange and deep purple. Of course, classic yet eye-catching colors like red and teal are still on trend.

2. Refresh Your Front Porch

After the holidays, it's a good bet that your porch needs a little TLC. Sweeping, washing, and organizing your front porch is a good start, but you may want to take it a step further. Replace your welcome mat (especially if it's worn or in poor condition) and check up on your lighting. Do your porch light bulbs need replacing? Does the light fixture itself need replacing?

You can also replace worn out house numbers with larger, more attractive, or unique numbers that help your home to stand out and be easy to find. If you have patio furniture, consider if it needs replacing and decide if you want to go with something similar or if you want to completely change the look. Planning on spending more time outdoors this spring and enjoying the warmer weather? Install a porch swing now so it's ready to use when the cold weather moves out.

3. Clean Your Siding or Brick

Once a year, it's a good idea to have your home's siding or brick power washed, because it doesn't take long for dirt and grime to build up. While spraying it with a hose can certainly help, it's unlikely to get the siding or brick clean enough to go through another year of changing seasons and harsh weather. Power washing can be done on your own if you know what you're doing and have the necessary equipment; however, it's often easier for busy families to have someone else power wash for you.

Avoid putting that one handy neighbor on the spot by asking them and just hire a professional instead—one that you can trust to do a thorough job. If you don't have time to power wash your siding, you can bet your neighbors don't either, no matter how much they'd like to lend a helping hand.

4. Polish Your Windows

If you can't wait for warmer weather to throw your windows open and enjoy the fresh spring air, get a head start by having your windows cleaned inside and out. You'll need more than just some window cleaner and paper towels to remove fingerprints. You'll want to disassemble the window to clean both sides, as well as cleaning storm windows. Often, it's easiest to hire a professional to do this job.

5. Add Mulch to Flower Beds and Remove Weeds

It may seem like spring is months away, but time flies and it will be here before you know it. Take some time this month to remove the weeds from your flower beds and add mulch, getting them ready for your spring planting. The last thing you want to do when spring actually arrives is to have to start from scratch with your flower beds when you'd rather be planting colorful blooms and enjoying the fresh air and sunshine. By getting your flower beds ready now, come spring, you won't have to do a thing to get your beds looking great.

As the new year unfolds, make sure your home look as great on the outside as it feels on the inside. Getting started early on home refresh projects will give you a head start on prepping for warmer weather that is just around the corner.