As we in the United States of America, prepare to celebrate Thanksgiving Day, I thought this quote may spur us to show how thankful we are.
I like to think that we show ourselves gratitude when we take care of our homes. No matter how large or small your home is, there are always things to do.
As the seasons change, there are different maintenance steps to take to ensure our homes run as well as they can.
This month, I’m focusing on outdoor maintenance activities.
Here in Georgia, the weather has started to turn much cooler. We haven’t had any frost advisories yet, but I’m sure they are coming.
What can you do to prepare?
There are several things you can do to help your heating system run as efficiently as possible.
If you haven’t already, change the filter in your HV/AC unit.
Check to make sure no furniture is in front of return air vents or heating vents. If there is, move the furniture.
Prevent a flood inside your house from a burst pipe.
Find the shutoff valve for the outside water, turn it off, and drain the line. Drain any hoses you have outside, coil them, and bring them into a shed or the garage.
Attend to outside furniture and planters.
If you like to sit outside and watch the birds and if you like to garden, there are a few things to do to put the furniture and garden to bed for the winter.
Let’s talk about the furniture first.
Leave your furniture outside unless you have a great place to store it that will not impact putting your car in the garage.
I recommend bringing the cushions inside as they don’t always do as well outside. Wash the cushion covers if possible and put the cushions in an extra-large garbage bag or two. These can be stored in the garage. This will save you money as the cushions will last another season or more.
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