Fall is just around the corner and the cooler evenings have got me thinking that it’s time to start getting ready for it! Today I’m going to share a checklist of things that are important to do for getting your home ready for fall and winter.
#1 Change your air filters
If you’re like our family, you probably use your air conditioner a lot during the summer months. It gets up to 100+ degrees here so our air is always on. This means that our air filters get full of gunk and restrict air flow if they don’t get changed out. So start fall off right by changing your air filters, which will help reduce the amount of energy needed to heat your home. 🙂 We use the Filtrete Ultra Allergen Reduction Filter because it can help to reduce allergens in our home.
#2 Check your screens
I don’t know about you but when it starts cooling down in the evenings, we love to leave our windows open. The smell of the cool evening air is one of my favorite things. The thing I don’t like though are bugs, getting in our house to chasing the evening lights. To get prepared for having your windows open walk around and open each of your windows and check the screens. Is there a tight seal between the window and the screen? Are any of the screens bent? If you find a bent screen pop it out of the window and bend it back into place. It should be an easy fix but if you find one that’s tough to bend back, usually a hammer will do the trick. 🙂
#3 Check doors and weather stripping
When it gets cold outside, the last thing you want is all that cold air getting in your house. Walk around your house and check all your doors to make sure there are no gaps between the door and the frame. I recommend doing this at different times of the day because depending on the lighting you may or may not see a gap. When the sun was going down the other day I JUST noticed (we’ve lived here for a year) a big gap on the top of the door in our living room. Luckily fixing gaps around a door is a quick fix. Purchase weather stripping online or at your local hardware store, measure it, and put it in place. Checking all your doors to make sure there are no gaps, will keep your house warm and cozy all fall and winter!
#4 Put away outdoor furniture
As soon as school starts we rarely have time to gather around the pool, and before we know it the rainy season is here. Take a few minutes to wipe down your outdoor furniture and cover it or store it somewhere it won’t get damaged by the weather. I store ours under our top story deck to protect it from the wind and rain. This will keep your outdoor furniture in good condition and help it last longer.
If you have a pool make sure to bring in the pool toys too. Go through all the toys and throw out anything that’s broken. Make a list of what you’ll need for next year and hit up the stores! Now is the time to stock up while things are on clearance.
#5 Prepare your entryway
Fall and winter usually mean lots of rain (we’re praying for it this year because we’re in a drought right now). Get your entryway ready for the rainy weather by making a place for guests to store their umbrellas and wet boots. I bought this metal basket at Walmart to hold umbrellas and I’m planning to make a tray (like this one) for guests to put their wet boots on, so it won’t ruin my wood floors.
By doing these 5 simple things your house will be ready for the cooler fall months. I don’t know what it is about fall but I love it and crave it every year. Next on the list is fall cleaning and decorating! For a full Fall Cleaning Checklist click HERE and you can print one for FREE!
Disclaimers – I am a Filtrete brand ambassador; this post is sponsored by Filtrete but as always, all opinions are my own and additional products used in the project were selected by me.
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Good tips! These are the kind of fall to-dos that my husband and I tend to forget — especially the air filters!
Good checklist! Thanks for the free print list. Now I won’t leave out one thing or another. 🙂
Thanks for the cleaning checklist, it’s quite helpful. I’m almost done with tha fall cleaning and there are only few things left. Great tips, changing air filters is a very good idea. Thank you for these reminders!