Fall To-Do-List
Fall is in the air! And that means we need to think about doing our yearly home maintenance/projects to keep our home in its best shape and potentially avoid costly repairs.
September
Schedule bi-annual Air and Heating preventive maintenance.
Check and Replace all air filters.
Check all automatic light timers you have set as it gets darker earlier.
Schedule your quarterly exterminator service
Clean ceiling fans, base boards and hidden areas like behind couches, beds and entertainment centers.
Check around outside of home for any dry, hardening or cracking ground around home. As It has been warm for a while now and the ground around your home can become very dry, which can cause settling in the ground around and under your home, leading to foundation cracking and concerns.
Continue watering as your yard and gardens still need regular watering (this will also help keep the area around your home from drying up)
Look for areas inside of home you may want to touch up with paint.
October
As the season starts to change and it becomes cooler, we can start working on outdoor maintenance items.
Get your yard ready for the winter.
o Put fertilize in your yard so it
will do well over the winter and
be strong starting in early
spring.
o Along with fertilizing, spread
and put down ant and insect controlling products
o You can start watering your yard and gardens less as October goes on.
o Start trimming plants, trees and garden areas that you will need to cut back for
the winter so that these will be ready to grow strong when spring starts (Do
some research to see best time to start trimming for your plants, trees and
gardens).
HALLOWEEN. Get out those Halloween decorations and start decorating. After all, before you know it, it will be November 1st and you will start decorating for Thanksgiving.
As you should have some cooler days in October you can also begin working on those outdoor projectssuch as:
Any outdoor painting that needs to be done.
Power wash areas of the outside of home to keep clean and looking great (driveway, sides and gutters of home, windows).
Clean the pool filter (esp. later in the month) and so any other preventive maintenance for the winter months if you own a pool.
o In our area you can use your pool/hot tub (especially if you have hot tub and
heater) throughout most of the year, but there are still things such as
replacing any parts, filter cleaning, etc. that are easier and more convenient
to do when it is not so cold outside.
Make sure all your sprinkler heads are working properly and there are no leaks in the system. This is something I would recommend doing regularly, but at a minimum, take a look at this quarterly or bi-annually.
November
IT IS TIME TO “FALL BACK”, November 1st is the day we gain an hour, so before you go to bed the last day of October, be sure to set your clocks back one hour.
As you move the clocks, also remember you will need to change those automatic light timers again.
You have probably started cutting back your watering in October, so depending on your need now, you can continue to reduce watering.
o REMEMBER though you will still need do some watering to keep the areas
around the foundation of your home from being too dry. Many plants still
require watering during the winter, especially in our area of the country as if
it is dry or there are some warmer days, your gardens will still need watering.
o AGAIN, best to do a little research and make sure how best to care for your
gardens in the winter months.
o Prepare for what to do to keep your gardens, plants and trees safe in case of
colder weather.
Finish any outdoor maintenance items you did not complete in October, such as painting, trimming and garden maintenance, checking all outdoor lighting.
DECORATE for Thanksgiving and think about all the things we have to be thankful for (especially this year).
Many begin their decorating for Christmas in November. Regardless, if you are going to decorate in November or early December, start planning and gathering your Christmas decorations before the stores are out of decorations that you may be in need of.