Like it or not, summer love has come and gone, and it’s now time to start preparing our homes and yards for the colder months ahead. Now is a great time to take advantage of the milder weather and give one last, heavy push to make your home’s exterior look as good as possible so that it will be in great shape and ready to go for next spring.
You’re likely to have noticed that your lawn has stopped thriving, so this should free up some time to work on other projects that have been on the back of your mind for the past few months. In addition to your preferred projects, some regular maintenance items should be addressed in this opportune season. Here are some of the tasks that can have the biggest impact on reducing your headaches for the coming spring:
Yard and Garden
Even if you’ve kept up with weeding your gardens throughout the year, you’re likely to have experienced some overgrowth as your plants soaked up the sun and water from the hot and bright summer. Now is a great time to trim them back and then remove any unnecessary growth. By thinning out your gardens, you are making space for your most valuable plants to grow and flourish. Beware that some plants do not take so well to an autumn pruning, however, so it’s a good idea to research the plants in your garden and make sure that they are amenable.
This is also an excellent time to begin wrapping any plants that will need a bit more insulation to keep them alive through the cold winter months. The exact plants that will require this treatment will vary depending on the variety and your specific climate, but in general, this is done in conjunction with trimming. Generally, it involves wrapping the base of the plant with burlap or similar fabric to offer some extra protection.
House Exterior
The fall is also a great time to give some extra attention to your home’s exterior, particularly those wood surfaces that are painted, such as decks and siding to protect them from the elements. A fresh coat of paint will not only look fantastic, but it will help maintain their integrity for years to come.
You mustn’t cut any corners here though; this is one task that’s important to get right – especially because these parts of your house can be so expensive to replace if they get worn down. You’ll want to strip away any peeling paint surfaces to make sure that the new coat that you apply will adequately adhere to the surfaces. The easiest way to accomplish this is to use a pressure washer, and there are plenty of affordable, consumer grade options to choose from. Once this is completed, you’ll need to apply a suitable base primer, which should be entirely and thoroughly set before you move on to the finish coat.
All of this can take quite some time, and it might be best to hire a professional to help you with some of the heavy liftings. Working with a contractor alone can often take up quite a bit of time, but it’s usually worth it for the amount of work they save you in the long run.
Winterization
Lastly, now is a great time to start preparing your yard for the winter. This won’t be done all at once, because some things you’ll still need to use from time to time, but it’s good to start thinking about these items so that you don’t leave everything to the last minute.
You’ll want to winterize any components of your home’s infrastructure that require it. The most common example is your home’s irrigation system. Once it becomes unnecessary to water your lawn on an ongoing basis, you’ll want to blow the lines out so that they don’t freeze and get damaged over the winter.
Of course, you’ll also want to start bringing in your outdoor furniture once it gets to a point where you stop using it. It may be the case that some of your furniture is too heavy, or you don’t have a place for it inside. In these scenarios, you’ll want to cover the furniture at a minimum to extend their life as long as possible.
Last but not least, you’ll want to winterize any power equipment that you use to maintain your yard. This includes but is not limited to the lawnmower, weed whackers, and wood chippers. The main idea is that you want to remove the gas from the tank so that it does not corrode the engine or collect water from moisture in the air over the cold months. The easiest way is to run the engines dry before storing them away. Also, you can add winterizing agents that may help them store properly until next spring.
With all of these steps completed, you should be in good shape to start your spring off with a bang. Have a pleasant and comfortable winter knowing your yard and home exterior are in a good way.
