Fall is a beautiful time of year, and one of my personal favourites. The leaves, the cooler weather, and the feeling of everything starting back up after a stagnant summer. I think it would lose lots of it’s charm if pumpkin wasn’t so freakin’ delicious, because man do I love that stuff! Hand me pumpkin flavoured anything and I’m happy as a clam.

Spring cleaning is something that almost every household engages in. It is essentially just getting your living space ready for summer when you will inevitably have guests and less time to de-clutter and clean up. However, there should also be a preparation for winter in the fall.

Especially if you are a home owner, there are things that you should be looking at doing before the cooler weather comes rolling in. We have recently been in full-blown summer mode, which means yard work, yard work, and more yard work, but since it’s already halfway through the summer, we are starting to prepare for what comes in the fall.

Clean Your Gutters

Summer and spring means road dust, pollen, and plant build up in your gutters. Your gutters don’t get much time to shine in the summer, because things tend to dry up a bit, but as soon as fall comes around most cities experience more precipitation over all. Cleaning out your gutters is a must-do before fall to avoid any mishaps and permanent water damage to your home.

Check Your Furnace Filter

Nobody wants to be caught in the winter without heat, or with a $500 heating bill because of an inefficient heater. Believe it or not, your filter can have a lot to do with the efficiency with which your furnace heats your home. It should be replaced once per year if you have a standard filter.

Clean Your Fireplace

If you have a fireplace, it should be cleaned before the first use. Wood burning fireplaces will need a chimney sweep, and gas fireplaces should be serviced as well. If you have a wood burning fireplace, it’s generally a good idea to have it tested once every few years to ensure that a chimney fire or something of that nature will not happen.

Seed/Fertilize Your Lawn

The best time to seed and fertilize your lawn is in the early spring and in the early fall. This is because you get more rain but still a lot of sunshine during these times of year. It will grow much thicker and better if you do so in the fall, which means that you will have a beautiful lawn next spring and summer.

Outside Maintenance

I’ve recently washed our garage door, repaired some rain screen (okay, I didn’t do that part. That was all my partner), cleaned the outside of the windows, did some paint touch-ups, and J has dug some holes to add some fence posts with concrete.

are all things that we had to do in the summer, when the weather is warmer. Digging holes in cold, or even frozen ground is not realistic. You don’t want to be outside in the cool weather with a hose scrubbing down your garage door (those things get really, surprisingly dirty). Paint doesn’t dry very quickly if the air is slightly cold or damp like it tends to be in the fall and winter.

Go around the perimeter of your home to list what you want to have done before it starts to get cool out.

I love changing seasons, but they do put a timeline on when you can do certain things around your home. Don’t be left in the cold of winter at a standstill because you forgot to get ready.