How to Get Your Home Ready for Fall

Fall time is without a doubt one of the coziest times of the year. If autumn is one of your favorite seasons, prepare your home by implementing these tips and tricks.

Stock up on Pillows and Blankets

Fall is when the weather starts to drop. Prepare yourself and your home by stocking up on various knitted blankets and pillows to keep you warm while watching movies on the couch.

Adding chunky blankets to a room is also a great way to decorate the space during this time of year, especially if you live in a family home, with guests constantly stopping by.

If you find that you’re still feeling chilly, despite all of the cozy blankets in your family home, you may require professional heating and cooling services. Find a contractor in your area to discover the route of the problem.

Create a Coffee and Hot Chocolate Bar in Your Kitchen

One way to truly get into the fall mood is to spend your morning sipping on a steaming cup of pumpkin spice flavored coffee. You can bring all of the flavors of fall into your ritual cup of joe by creating a convenient coffee bar.

To create this cozy nook for your beverages in your home, start by creating a base. You can use a repurposed cabinet or a cart on wheels. This base should be large enough to set your coffee maker on top of it.

Next, hang your favorite fall-inspired mugs from hooks on the wall. Add jars filled with your favorite seasonings and sugar. For instance, display nutmeg, cinnamon, or brown sugar — whatever you like to add to your cup of joe!

Also, place any flavored syrups that remind you of fall. Some fall favorites include salted caramel, snickerdoodle, spiced apple, and pumpkin spice.

You may find yourself drinking more coffee at home than in the cafe this fall when it’s easily organized and beautifully displayed in your home!

Clean and Cover Outdoor Furniture

Fall is known for bringing out the hot chocolate and scary movies in your home. However, the season also brings in the cooler and rainier climate. Ensure your patio furniture lasts years by covering it up properly once summer is over. Use a stretchy vinyl cover that can endure the next six months. Once the summer rays hit your yard, feel free to peel them off and enjoy your yard once more!

Cover Your Pool

Speaking of covering things in your yard, you should also cover up your pool in your family home.

Placing a cover will prevent bugs from falling and dying into the water. Taking this precaution will also keep the pool well-maintained until your family is ready to dive in again.

Add a Firepit to Your Yard

It’s a bummer that fall time reduces your chance of entertaining family and friends outdoors. Or does it? You don’t have to spend your time outdoors swimming to have a great time. You can also warm up by a toasty firepit!

This activity allows you to roast marshmallows, and exchange scary stories by the fire. To build a firepit, start by selecting what type of pit you prefer. You can choose from:

• a firepit ring
• in-ground firepit
• an outdoor fireplace
• a wood-burning grill
• a propane firepit
• a firepit table

Narrowing this decision down can help you decide whether you can DIY this project on your own, or if you need to hire a contractor.

New construction homes tend to have a lot of space, so take the plunge and invest in a firepit of some kind if you want your home to feel fall-ready for guests.

Be Prepared for Lots of Leaves

Fall time is also when the leaves begin to fall off the branches. While they are gorgeous, coming in various shades of orange, brown, and red, they also cover up your yard! Implement a new routine, where you’re able to rake up the excess leaves every weekend. If you have the time, try to rake every third day of the week instead.

If you want to get ahead of those pesky leaves, hire a tree trimming service so you won’t have to worry about them blocking your landscape and driveway.

Clean Your Gutters and Install Guards

Those leaves do manage to get everywhere — yes, even the gutters! Clean them out as soon as summer is over. Use a leaf blower to get every single leave out of your family home or ask a professional about seamless gutter services. While you’re getting rid of leaves, also check your gutters for debris or lose shingles. This is a quick way you can determine whether you need a proper roof inspection as well.

Get Your Roof Checked

Moving onto the roof and away from gutter services, make sure to contact a roofing service once the weather gets chillier. The reason being is that you want a sturdy roof to endure all of those fall and winter storms.

Prepare Your Garden for the Cooler Climate

Don’t spend all of your time worrying about the family home itself — consider the surrounding area as well. For example, if you have a garden, take special precautions to ensure it survives the harsher climate. Pot some of your plants and bring them indoors. Replace them with plants that thrive in chillier weather.

Buy Some Fall Scented Candles

Here’s another tip for making your family home cozier. Buy some fall scented candles in bulk and spread them around the home. Light them up whenever you need some pep in your step. Light them whenever you have guests over too.

Get Your Chimney Inspected

A chimney makes a family home feel even cozier. If you’re lucky enough to have one in your home, clean it out, and get it inspected before using it this fall. You can clean it out yourself, as long as you have these tools:

• a flashlight
• a cloth mask
• a drop cloth
• a long-handled brush
• poly sheeting
• duct tape
• a harness
• a shop vacuum
• safety glasses

While the average family may not have these tools simply lying around, calling a professional for help cleaning your chimney is not uncommon. In fact, after getting it inspected, your inspector may be able to refer you to a chimney sweep in your area.

Always take these steps before starting a fire in your chimney. Chimney fires are an incredibly real, scary, and threatening possibility if you don’t jump through these few hoops. They can destroy homes and lives.

Trim the Landscaping

You may also want to trim some of the shrubs around your home before it gets too cold outdoors. If you want fresh flowers in your yard, plant the bulbs underground in the fall, so they can sprout in the springtime and decorate your yard with vibrant and glorious colors.

Reinforce Windows and Doors

Since most of your heating and cooling escapes through the windows and doors, ensure they are properly insulated. If you’re tired of always feeling a draft, you can also switch to more energy-efficient windows. These are double panned and will save you a considerable amount on your heating bill come fall time.

Organize Your Outdoor Shed

Before the weather gets too frigid, it’s also an excellent idea to organize your shed. Remove any liquids that are likely to freeze. Also, place any outdoor furniture you don’t want to leave outdoors inside your storage unit.

Stock up on Firewood

Whether you have a chimney or a firepit in your yard, ensure you’re prepared to start a fire any day of the week. Stock up on firewood beforehand, so you don’t have to worry about running to the hardware or camping store in the middle of your busy week.

Replace all the Batteries in the Flashlights

While most cellphones nowadays have a flashlight feature, you should still have various other flashlights stashed around the home in case of a storm or power outage. Cellphones can die, and you need a backup plan for our family home.

Additionally, power outages are more likely to happen around the wintertime, therefore take this precaution and replace all the existing batteries with brand new ones!

Finish up or Rush Your Remodel

While fall time is cooler than the summer months, it’s still not nearly as chilly as the wintertime. Fall is the time to finish up any home remodeling projects you may have started. Spare yourself from working outdoors in the harsh climate and rush or completely pause the project.

Clean the Area Around Your HVAC systems

Call a heating service to ensure your family home will stay warm over the next six months and that your HVAC system is in good working condition. But you should also rake up any obstructions around these areas too. Obstructions can account for a 30% energy increase!

Get a Tankless Water Heater

There are various benefits of using a tankless water heater, especially once the temperature starts dropping.

The heater’s main advantages include:

• its superior energy efficiency in your family home
• its ability to save you more money over time
• its space-saving design

Additionally, a tankless water heater will also ensure you always have hot water for showers, and cooking. You’ll quickly find it to be a smart investment — after all, who likes cold showers in the middle of October!

Check the Pipes

Lastly, when preparing your family home for the fall time, you should check the pipes surrounding the exterior. Ensure they are properly insulated. If they freeze over, they can burst! If this does happen to you, call a plumber right away.

Place Winter Equipment in the Garage

Winter will be here before you know it, so act now. Put your winter gear where you can reach it. For example, place your snow shovels back into view in the garage.

Cover or Store Summer Vehicles Away

It’s time for those fun boating sessions to come to an end. But don’t worry, you can use it next summer as long as you take care of your vehicles while in storage. Rent out a unit to store your vehicles or place them into your garage. This tip goes for boats, RV’s, motorcycles, convertibles, or ATVs.

Final Words on Preparing for the Fall

There you have it! These are fool-proof ways to prepare yourself and your home for those chilly autumn months.

This prep should include some home maintenance and fun and enjoyable things and projects for your family home. You can’t have one without the other, especially come fall time this year. Therefore, ensure you’re a responsible homeowner and take the time to enjoy this perfect season.