A Fall Home Maintenance Checklist: Prepare And Have A Cozy Winter
We all love Spring and summer outdoor living, but you need to have a solid Fall home maintenance checklist to have a cozy winter.
When you’re a homeowner, your time is inevitably tied up with maintenance around the home, including prepping for Fall and Winter.
I don’t know about you, but I don’t want any mishaps and issues in the middle of a cold winter. That’s why this preparing your home for Fall checklist can help you start making your home cozy and secure before the cold temperatures arrive.
Your Fall Home Maintenance Checklist
Prepping for Fall means lots of putting things away, and ensuring things are turned off and ready to weather cold, freezing temperatures (depending on where you live).
If you’re like me, winter is a tough time of the year. You want to be focusing on making winter bearable – not dealing with issues. You want to be doing fun winter activities instead of dealing with issues.
This list contains the key things you need to do to ensure that your winter has fewer issues and your home is weather-proof, as best as possible.
Preparing Your Home For Fall – Exterior Activities
These are key activities to do outside your home to prep it for winter:
- Check your foundation – look for cracks and get them repaired
- Stuff copper wire mesh into the gaps in your exterior brick and any cracks around pipes
- Inspect and clean your gutters
- Clean up trees and shrubs: trim and cut dead branches
- Clean up your dryer vents and make sure they are protected from rodents
- Put away outdoor furniture
- Drain and store water hoses
- Shut off the outdoor water faucets and taps (usually a shut-off inside your home)
- Check the exterior caulking on your windows and sliding doors
- Winterize your doors: make sure your weather stripping is still good
- Clean gutters and downspouts
- If you have a drain on your property, ensure it’s clear of leaves
- Rake your lawns and clear out old, dried-up plants
- Put away any lights or decorations
- Do a once-over of your roof: have shingles replaced or anything that’s loose fixed
- Clean out your garage and check weatherstripping to keep it cozy and warm(er)
Prepping For Fall – Interior Activity Checklist
While exterior activities are important for winterizing your home, there are many things to do inside as well.
Looking forward to the Springtime? Check out my Spring outdoor maintenance list.
- Change the air filter in your furnace
- Have your heating system serviced before you put it on
- While you’re having your heating system serviced, have your water heater checked too
- Check your weather stripping on doors and windows: you can get replacements to prevent cold leaks. Use a candle to check for drafts.
- If you have a sump pump, check that it works. It may need maintenance to prevent basement flooding.
- Test your carbon monoxide and fire alarms. Replace batteries when you have the Fall time change – Daylight Savings Time.
- Clean out and prep your indoor humidifiers for cold and flu season. Stock up on distilled water.
- Prepare your Fall scents to boost your cozy home aesthetic.
| RELATED: 5 Things To Check And Fix When You Move Into A Resale Home
Additional Fall Home Preparations
While this post is mostly about maintenance, there are a few other preps you can make to the exterior and interior of your home.
Many of these are just preparing for the inevitable changes you’ll need to make to fun things like home decor. There are a few not-so-fun tips too – more practical than anything.
Exterior Home Preps
- Get your Fall decor for your entryway ready (hay bales, pumpkins, candle holders, Fall florals, buckets and Halloween decorations)
- Pull out your winter decorations: now is the best time to prepare when the temperature is still warm. Look at what you need to replace. Start planning on how you’ll outshine your neighbours.
- If you live in a snow belt area, stock up on ice remover and make sure your shovels or snow removal machine is in working order.
- For your car, replace the mats with winter ones if you have them, throw an ice scraper into your trunk or back seat, and update your emergency kit with a blanket and other essentials for cold temperatures.
Indoor Home Preps
- Clean out your front hall closet and prepare your winter coats and boots. Make sure that if you’ve got kids, you clear out those that are too small.
- Take blankets and other cozy accessories out of storage. Consider things like hand warmers and other items that will keep you warm.
- Have a drafty doorway and a whole bunch of old orphan socks? Create a sock snake to place at drafty doors. This is a great craft activity with little kids.
- Stock up on vegetables that can last in a cold room. Onions, potatoes and cabbages can last a few weeks to months in a cold cellar.
- Get warm beverages and soups stocked up. Winter days are perfect for hygge moments with a good cup of tea, coffee or soup in a mug.
- Love coffee cakes? Bake up a few and freeze them for chilly days when you want to just relax, or when guests drop by.
- Have your carpets cleaned, or do a thorough dusting of smaller rugs. Take them outside and beat the dust out of them.
- Do a deep clean on your oven in prep for the Holiday season.
| RELATED: Fast, Easy Housecleaning Tips For Busy People
Prepping For Fall Now And Chilling Out Throughout Winter
While the weather is still reasonably warm and daylight long enough, prepare for colder winter months.
You’ll thank me for it later!
I know you’ll want to enjoy the Fall season with less stress.
From prepping your home for Fall to simple maintenance activities, I hope this list has helped you keep track of what you need to do.
QUESTION: What else should be included in this Fall home maintenance checklist?
Love this post? Share it with others on Pinterest – thank you!
Feature Image: Photo by Aubrey Odom on Unsplash
