It’s spring, birds are chirping, and your grass is growing as fast the weeds. It needs some cutting. You head to your garage or your garden shed to drag out the ol' lawnmower from where you shoved it and forgot it last fall. Hey, what do know? It still has gas in the tank!

You pull the rope. The engine makes spinning noises, but that’s all. Oh, well, it has been sitting for months, after all. You pull again. Nothing. And again, and again, and again. So it’s off to a repair shop. This isn’t going to be cheap.

Some simple maintenance done last fall would have avoided all that the aggravation and expense. It can also help you avoid having to buy a new mower sooner than necessary. You don’t have to be a mechanic to do this; all you need is the will, about a half hour, and some simple, basic hand tools you probably already own.

If you don’t have these tools, you can buy them for a lot less than a repair bill or, worse yet, the price of a new mower. The same tools can be used for many other jobs around the home.

A good quality, inexpensive socket set and a screwdriver with a selection of interchangeable bits is all you need. Make sure the socket set includes a spark plug socket. You will also need some rags and quart of SAE 30 motor oil. You will also need an inexpensive spark plug gapping tool, which found at many hardware store or any auto supply store.

Before you make your last cut of the season, check how much gas is in the tank. All you need is just enough to finish the job. After you have cut the grass don’t shut off the mower, let it run out of gas. When it has stopped, set the controls as if you were going to start it again and pull the starter. If it starts, let it run again until it stops by itself. Do the same again, only this time pull the start three or four times. This will ensure all the fuel has been used up. You want an empty tank when storing your mower for the winter or any other long period. An alternative is to fill the tank and add fuel stabilizer according to the directions on the container.