Autumn is a season filled with excitement and activities. Between the changing of the weather and the return of school, there’s a lot of things you should probably be working on before this season actually hits. In fact, if you update your honey do list before the cool weather settles in, you could end up saving a whole lot of money in the upcoming seasons. Don’t worry though, the items on your list don’t have to be pricey or time consuming. So, roll up your sleeves and get ready to make this list a must before the first leaf ends up falling in your yard. You’ll be grateful that you did!
1. Touch Ups
The last weeks of summer are the perfect to break down and give your home a little TLC because it will be months before this is going to be convenient again. You might want to start with pressure washing the house. This will help get grime and potential molds off it, but it will also bring a sense of pride back into the home. Once the home is washed, you might want to determine if it needs a new coat of paint or if it looks fine as is. Of course, you should also pressure wash the deck if you have one. If you haven’t already done so, you should weather proof it too. This is fairly inexpensive and will keep your nice wood looking good and staying strong for years longer. Another must have task is to caulk around the doors and windows. Sometimes, the caulking gets old which allows cool or hot air to leak into the home, thus raising your bills. You should also check out the roof to see if you may need to re-shingle before the cold and wet months set in. Last but not least, make sure you get everything out of your gutters. You’ll probably have to do this again, but if you give them a good cleaning prior to the cold months, you shouldn’t have to do it in the cold as often.
2. Clean Up Gardening Supplies
One thing you’ll want to do before the freezes hit, is to clean up all of the gardening supplies you use in the spring and summer. You might want to start with the water hose. Simply unhook and drain the hose to prevent it from being damaged from the cold weather. Hoses are usually easy to store, so this task shouldn’t even take up 10 minutes of your time. Once you have the hose unhooked, place insulated covers over your spigots. This helps prevent problems with your pipes and external damage to your home. Of course, you should always pick up basic gardening tools out of the yard, such as rakes, hoes, shovels and so on. These can quickly be buried in the snow, which won’t just damage the tool but could do some serious bodily harm to anyone that steps or plays on the tool.
3. Maintain Fireplace
Fireplaces are pretty much incredible. They bring a nice cozy feel to any home and can even cut down on your energy bills when the cold weather kicks in. Of course, they can also be incredibly dangerous if you’re not careful. Thus, you should use the last few weeks of summer to get your fireplace checked out and ready to go. Generally, there’s a few things you can look out for when it comes to your chimney but it might be better to bring in a professional to do the job for you. It really depends on who you hire when it comes to price range, but if you talk to your insurance company you should be able to get an inspection for free or a discounted price because it is preventive care. You should also take the time to clean out your chimney, and fireplace. There’s plenty of services for this, but if you want to save on some money then it isn’t as hard as you think. There’s even special logs you can burn to clean it for you throughout the cold seasons, so you won’t even have to worry about it after the initial cleaning. Before you light the fire, you should also make sure all of your safety equipment is up to date too.
4. Schedule a Home Inspection
Getting the home inspected once a year is actually a great way to save on your home insurance as well as repairs and overall monthly bills. Sometimes, your home insurance company will actually send one out to you for free, so make sure to discuss this with the company to see if this option is available to you. If so, then you’ve already saved a whole lot of money! If not, then make sure to shop around and base your decision on reviews. The inspection will make sure your home’s insulation is up to par so your home will stay warmer and cooler, depending on your needs. The inspector should also check out your radiator, heater and other cooling and heating devices. This not only makes sure everything is going to save you money throughout the year, but it will also keep your home safer than ever. This preventive measure can even help you catch problems that may take a lot to repair if you wait too long.
5. Lawn Care
Believe it or not, but mowing your lawn is actually one of the best ways to save money. This is largely due to the fact that mold easily develops on lawns that weren’t mowed down before the cold and damp weather set in. So, if you can, get in a couple more mows before the leaves begin to fall. It’ll make your spring cleaning easier and will also make leaf clean up a lot better too. While you’re outside, you may want to go ahead and trim down the trees. Ice easily develops on branches which could cause your tree branches to break and land on your car, home, or worse yet, a passerby. So, by getting rid of them your life will be a whole lot easier. They will grow back in the spring time, so don’t worry. Plus, you can use this wood to help heat the home during the cold months. Also, you may want to work on trimming down bushes too. Animals often hide in bushes in the winter, which could be unsafe for your home and the branches can develop mode and other problems. Finally, you might want to start working on plant covers for nights that are meant to freeze. If you have plants that live all year then simply placing a coke bottle over them could keep the plant thriving.
6. Update Emergency Kit
Although most of the time we don’t want to think about the bad things that could happen, the upcoming months do pose more of a risk. Thus, it may be a good idea to go through your emergency kit to make sure you have enough food and water to last a little while. This doesn’t mean you have to go through and spend a lot of money on items like emergency food. Rather, put back some extra canned goods, especially the items that your family doesn’t often use. You may even want to buy a couple jugs of water to add to the supplies. This will greatly improve your chances of survival in an emergency without forcing you to spend a lot of money. Another thing you should do is check out your first kit to make sure the supplies aren’t outdated or damaged.
7. Arrange the Closet
One of the best ways to cut down on the money you spend during this period of time is to go through your closet. First, you should pull out all of the summer clothing that can’t be incorporated into a colder weather wardrobe. This can easily be packed away for next summer or can simply be moved to the back of the closet if you have the space. Then, take a few moments to pull out all of your autumn and winter clothing. You may want to try these items on and see if you still feel the same about them as you did last year. If they work for your wardrobe then put them back in the closet, if not then donate them or sell them. There’s no need to add to clutter by keeping clothing you don’t actually want. Once you sort out what you need, grab the sweater and jackets that need dry cleaned and rush them to your favorite cleaners. This will help cut down on the wait and possibly the price because the dry cleaner may bring up prices when the cold weather sets in and everyone is scurrying to clean their clothes.
8. Plan Activities
One of the worst things about autumn is that it does cut down on the amount of time that the kids can play outside. Thus, you’re going to need to come up with some activities to keep everyone busy so you won’t be tempted to go out and spend money to make everyone happy. There’s lots of great crafts that everyone can do using very inexpensive items. The crafts could even be a great way to get a head start on holiday gifts for friends and family. You might also look up games online to see if anything suits your needs. Of course, pulling out the collection of board games that you already own is also a great way to keep the whole family busy. You may also want to look for activities that will keep everyone physically active because our health needs don’t pause because of the weather. Dance or exercise based video games are a great way to get some workouts in, but you may also want to try a few active games.
9. Buy Weather Supplies
Preparing for sleet and snow may be a wise idea before the weather actually hits. If you hurry to the store, you should still be able to get weather based supplies at a decent price, which will already cut down on your spending. You should always shop based on your region though. If you do get a lot of ice and snow then make sure you have supplies to salt your drive and walkways. You should also have the items you need to get rid of ice off of your car. Tire straps and chains are another must, so you don’t get trapped in one area if an unexpected storm hits. Of course, you shouldn’t overlook autumn supplies. For instance, you’re going to need more heavy duty trash bags to help with the falling leaves. You may also want to consider composting leaves, if you like to garden.
10. Upgrade Decor
Now is the perfect time to pull in all of your patio furniture and summer decor and bring out your autumn inspired supplies. Simply dusting off last year’s decor is always fun and will allow you to plan out your decor options. Of course, if you’re wanting to take a more natural route then you could easily make up a scarecrow using all of the fallen leaves in your yard. Simply setting out gourds is another easy option, as is making a wreath out of twigs and pine cones. Of course, it’s not too late to get low prices on autumn and holiday decor because the season is still a month away!
Autumn is a great time to get your home ready for the cold and busy season. With these ten suggestions, you should be looking at a comfortable season that will allow you to have some fun and save some money. So, don’t be afraid to get your hands dirty before autumn arrives.
