Today on the blog I wanted to dedicate some space to chat about home maintenance tasks, specifically autumn home maintenance tasks. I also wanted to offer a few ideas to save a little bit of money as we enter a new season. I'm not sure about you but with the rising cost of just about everything I've been trying do little bits here and there in hopes it'll make a bit of a difference in our monthly spending. First let's talk home maintenance.

"The power of finding beauty in the humblest things makes home happy and life lovely."

-Louisa May Alcott

  • WASH WINDOWS | WINDOWSILLS
  • STOCK UP ON FIREWOOD
  • RAKE THE LEAVES | Of course the boys love this and are happy little helpers. Especially if it means getting to jump in a pile or two.
  • MAINTAIN THE YARD | My husband and I usually cut back some of our bushes, trees and plants during the fall season. Take some time to tidy up your garden as well.
  • CHECK YOUR GUTTERS - We have gutter guards, but our old home did not. All the falling leaves can quickly clog up gutters.
  • CLEAN PATIO | STORE COVER LAWN FURNITURE - I like to give our patio a good wash + wash the outdoor furniture and get it stored away. Don't forget to clean your grill as well.
  • DRAIN YOUR HOSES AND PUT THEM AWAY
  • FILL GAS CONTAINERS FOR SNOW BLOWER - We always make sure we have everything we need ready ro go because we have had huge snow falls in October already
  • TAKE INVENTORY OF WINTER TOOLS AND SUPPLIES - One year all our shovels were broken and we didn't realize it. We learned our lesson and always check before snow season.
  • SERVICE YOUR LAWNMOWER
  • ORGANIZE AND DE-CLUTTER GARAGE AND SHEDS - While the weather is cool and you are switching and storing anyway…now is a great time for a clean out and de-clutter.
  • CHECK FIREPLACE | CLEAN - My husband always cleans out the fireplace and chimney and has it inspected to make sure it is safe for another season,
  • CHECK HVAC FILTER - With everything being closed up its important to make sure your filters are clean.
  • CHECK HEATING SYSTEM - We have actually had our heat go at the start of winter, so now we try it out and make sure its in working order.
  • CLEAN VENTS
  • REVERSE YOUR CEILING FANS
  • CLEAN ALL ROOMS | I talked about my fall cleaning HERE
  • CLEAN OVEN
  • TAKE STOCK OF PANTRY AND FREEZER
  • STOCK UP ON LANTERNS and CANDLES

Simple Ways To Save

I actually dedicated an entire post a little while back. You can read about it HERE. It included ideas on how to cut spending. Since we are coming up on winter I thought I'd share a few ideas that may help lower your spending as we enter a new season.

  • Consider holding off turning your heat on. If you could just hold off until November[ish] you're likely to be able to save a noticeable amount. Instead make use of your fireplace if you have one.
  • Have curtains, blinds, drapes etc. Having window treatments can really help to insulate and keep the hot sun out as well as warm air in.
  • In the mornings and evenings when it is the darkest consider using candles or lanterns. I love going about my morning tasks by candlelight and what is cozier than eating a family meal by the glow of flickering candles.
  • Hang your clothing to dry. I love having a drying rack in our front room where our fireplace is. Here is where I'll hang as much as I can so that I'm not always running the dryer.
  • Consider not washing your clothes every single time you wear them. I feel like in the winter we are not sweating like we are in the heat of summer and the boys aren't rolling around in mud outside so we can get away with wearing our outfits at least 2 times before washing. Unless visibly dirty, obviously.
  • Unplug. I actually unplug anything that is not in use. I don't leave small appliances plugged in, lamps, radios. If we aren't using it, I have it unplugged. We also have things on power strips so we can turn things completely off at night before bed. We even have our WiFi on a switch and it gets shut off at night.

I hope these lists have been helpful, thanks a bunch for dropping in today, friends!

Blessings,

Bree

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