Get Ready for Winter
Besides the yearly housecleaning, we have a thing called yearly 'home maintenance,' cleaning that seems to be overlooked or at least, put-on-hold and then it is overlooked!
However, some of these things can cost us money in the long run if we are not careful. By not taking care of things and keeping them clean, it can ruin appliances, cause rot, mildew, and much more. Causing us to spend even more money having to repair the original problem and then having to repair the result of overlooking our responsibilities.
Here are only a few of the Fall Cleaning items that we should keep high on our list of things to do.
- Replace furnace filters
- Vacuum out the air ducts and heating vents
- Vacuum the furnace area for dust and lint
- Vacuum and clean the dryer and vents
- Clean and vacuum areas around the telephone in-service
- Remove animal hair from carpets and furniture
- Remove lint and dust from your hairdryer and electric shaver
- Clean and vacuum the coils of your refrigerator and freezers
- Check all of your smoke detectors and carbon monoxide detectors
- Check for cracks outside of the home where mice, red squirrels and rodents can get in and make sure these areas are secure. Especially, around the chimney, eaves and at the base of your foundation.
- Dust the garage ceilings and walls and get out all spider webs, items that mice might use for nesting etc. Secure all windows and doors so they cannot get through a crawl space.
- If you bring in plants from the outside make sure that, you dump the old dirt and clean the plant thoroughly so you do not bring in unwanted pests.
- Check the chimney and fireplace for cracks, breaks and separations
- Change the oil in the lawn mower and close up for winter; as well as the weed eater, lawn edger etc.
- Get the snow blower ready; add fresh gas, a new spark plug and wax the shoot etc.
- Clean the window screens and outside windows, look for leaks
- Clean out the gutters and check for cracks or leaks, these can usually be repaired with silicone.
- Clean out the pantry- get rid of old items and anything that can cause insects, bacteria and mold to grow
- Turn mattresses and vacuum get rid of body oils as much as possible and loose hair and debris
- Clean off all cement and wood on the outside of the house at all of the entranceways. Using Dawn dish soap as a final wash also helps to deter ice from forming in these areas in the wintertime.
We tend to overlook some of the home maintenance things that in the long run will cost us money to repair because it has gone unattended. Fall is a good time of the year to check some of these things over it helps us to make our list of things to do when the weather is bad for on the inside of the house and helps to save our homes from winter winds.
Make a 'winter' maintenance guide and hang it in the garage for next year so that you do not overlook anything and you will be glad that you are organized.
Jan Hayner is a Professional Organizer that offers tips and hints on home organizing, maintenance and cleaning to help take the stress out of life. Get her free pamphlets and newsletter at Organizing Your Life THE EASY WAY