Getting Home Ready for Fall: 10 Unmissable Tips for Homeowners
This summer’s record temperatures and wildfires raging across the world make it difficult to think that summer will be over in just over a month. Right now, you might be thinking about how to enjoy your summer holidays, plan vacations, and make sure you spend plenty of time with your friends and loved ones. However, summer is also an important season to get everything ready for the fall and winter months – and you should not miss out on this important opportunity!
After all, home maintenance is essential in the colder months, when there are more chances of something going wrong. Here is all you need to know to prevent emergencies and keep up with all of those jobs that are much easier to complete in the warm months of summer.
Rethink Your Outside Area
Your garden or outside area is one of the most important parts of the house to address. In fact, during summer, you might have used your garden for BBQs, parties, and gatherings. However, without proper maintenance, the winter months can affect the vegetation and cause significant damages to the soil.
Additionally, it is not true that you cannot enjoy your home’s outside areas in the colder months of fall! With the right preparation, you can enjoy time outdoors well into the cold season. Make sure you have a small fireplace and a covered area, such as a veranda or patio, where you can cuddle under blankets and throws.
Check Your Windows and Doors
The quality of your home’s door and windows play an important role in the level of efficiency of the home. In turn, this can impact how comfortable and liveable the home environment is during the winter months. Checking for air leaks and drafts is crucial, and you should always do so before the winter months come. By completing all of these checks in advance, you won’t need to deal with window and doors repair work when outside is cold, and you need your home’s openings to be as efficient as possible.
Wash and Get Ready Bedding and Clothing
Getting your bedding and clothing ready before autumn is important. In fact, depending on where you live, the temperatures can drop suddenly, thus making it difficult to organize everything you need in time. If you have found yourself in this situation in the past, make sure you are not falling for the same mistake this year!
Just wash and store bedding and winter clothing now. Completing all of these tasks during the summer months also means that the high temperatures will help you quickly dry up the fabric, which can help you save on labor and time.
Inspect Roof and Gutters
Your roof and gutters are the aspects of your home’s structure that are the most exposed to the elements. During the summer months, rainfall might be limited, but leaves and debris can accumulate anyway.
With the first rains of September and October, the gutters can become clogged, thus impacting your whole home’s drainage system. Inspecting the roof for damages is also important – do not do so in the winter months when the cold, ice, and rain can make working on the roof dangerous and uncomfortable!
Getting Home Ready for Fall: Declutter the Whole House
Summer is the perfect month to declutter your whole home. Studies have confirmed how clutter negatively impacts the brain – which is something to consider if you have moved to a remote working lifestyle. However, clutter also influences the inside environment of your home. In fact, unnecessary items stored for many months of the year can create a dusty, unhealthy environment.
The summer months are particularly beneficial for decluttering because the high temperatures make it easier to keep windows and doors open. And, you can even organize a garage sale to make the most of your possessions.
Getting home ready for fall: invest in a smart heating system
If you are looking to make your home more efficient, affordable, and sustainable, installing a smart thermostat is one of the first investments you should make. However, finding the perfect timing for it is also significant.
In fact, as soon as the temperatures start to drop, many homeowners will try to find some installation professionals to get these systems into their homes. Getting in touch with these experts during summer allows you to skip the queue, test the thermostat in advance, and find all the support you need in case something is not working properly.
Be Ready for Emergencies
During the winter months, power outages are not so uncommon. And, as the episodes of extreme weather worldwide are only increasing in number and intensity, you should start to get your home ready for blizzards and storms. To do so, make sure you have an emergency generator and a secure area where you can look after the safety of your whole family. Shutters on the windows can also be a smart investment.
Paint the Home
If you have been thinking about painting your home, the best time to do so is during the summer months. In fact, paint can take a while to dry, and doing so during the fall and winter months might represent significant disruptions to your daily life.
Getting home ready for fall: reorganize the Shed and the Garage
Your shed and garage are going to be key areas of the house during the winter months. You can store what you don’t need during fall and keep your garden tools and furniture away from the elements in your garage. Nonetheless, it is recommended to clean and reorganize your garage now, before the colder months come and make it challenging to work in poorly insulated house areas!
Plan Your Oil Deliveries and Stock Up on Firewood
If you rely on heating oil and gas for winter, it is essential to organize, plan, and book your deliveries in advance. Of course, you can’t know exactly how much of these fuels you will be using during winter, but there is nothing worse than running out and waiting hours or days for an order to be delivered.
Companies such as Tri Gas & Oil can take care of your gas and oil needs and help you plan your deliveries. Get in touch today to secure your spot and avoid a no-heat situation running out during winter.
