It still feels like summer for most of us but Fall is either here or right around the corner. With the fresh air comes the perfect time to enjoy the outdoors and prepare your home for winter.

Each season is broken up into a separate to-do-list. Some items you may need to wait on or you will need to move up in the season depending on where you live and the climate.

We put together a checklist to help you keep track of what do you need to accomplish around your house. Take some time and read how to maintain some of the items on your list. We also considered how much it would cost for a person to fix a problem instead of waiting and possibly ruining something.

Of course, maintaining something is a lot cheaper than fixing it completely.

Print out the checklist here.

1. Lawn Mower

If you don’t empty the gas out of your lawnmower and it sits for months, the gasoline will slowly deteriorate the inner parts. What does that mean? It damages the internal engine. You can either remove the gas from the tank or purchase a bottle of Fuel Stabilizer. This prevents gas from degrading while it sits in the tank through the winter. Pour the fuel stabilizer in the tank. After doing this run your lawn mower for a few minutes to ensure the fuel stabilizer reaches the carburetor.

For a video on how to do this watch here

Maintenance Cost: $5.00 – $10.00

Buying a new lawn mower: $200.00 – $5,000.00

2. Garden Hoses, Outdoor Faucets, and Sprinkler System

If hoses are left on your faucets they can freeze and break away from the exterior resulting in a call to your plumber to fix. Here are 3 steps that will only take you minutes to do and save you money in the long run.

1. Remove your water hoses from all the outdoor faucets
2. Drain all the water from the hoses and store away until Spring
3. Just like taking all the water out of the hoses and faucets same goes for your sprinklers. Find your drain valves and remove the water from the system. Remove any above-ground sprinkler heads and shake the water out of those as well.
   1. Don’t have water valves? You can hire an irrigation pro to blow out your pipes.

Maintenance Cost: Time

Irrigation Pro: $50 – $100

Plumber Faucet Fix: $150 – $300

Broken Pipe Fix: $500 – $3,800

3. Sealing

Want to save energy and cut down on your electricity bill? Go around the outside of your house and find any cracks between trim and siding, around door frames and windows and don’t forget about pipes and wires. Sealing these air leaks will not only help conserve energy but will prevent moisture from getting inside your walls. What happens when moisture gets inside your walls? Mold and fungus start to grow.

TIP: Pick a nice day to seal everything. Don’t seal when temperatures are below 50 degrees.

Maintenance Cost: $5 for a tube of exterior caulk

Replacing a moldy wall: $500 – $6,000

4. Gutters

Clean out your gutters or be faced with ice damage. After the leaves fall – pull out your ladder and get all the fallen leaves, twigs, and gunk out. While you’re up there make sure your gutters aren’t sagging and trapping water. To eliminate the extensiveness of this, purchase gutter covers and have them installed.

Maintenance Cost: Time

Repairs/Replacements: $75- $230

5. Plants

Maintaining your plants is beneficial not only for the cosmetics of your home but keeping critters away and preventing any damage due to weather. You will want to do this later in the fall season, when the summer growth cycle is over. Keep in mind that every plant should be pruned at different times of the year. For a full list of plants to prune in the fall click here.

6. Fireplace

Before using your fireplace and causing a house fire – take a flashlight and look up. Make sure your damper opens and closes properly. Make sure that birds haven’t built a nest and that other leaves or branches are removed. A good rule of thumb is being able to see light on the other side.

Maintenance Cost: $125 – $250

Replacement Cost: Your House

These are only a few items on the checklist, but very important ones that may go unnoticed. We also created a spring/summer checklist. These checklists are a perfect addition to your home maintenance binder. That way you can keep track of what has been completed and what still needs to be done!

Tell us your home maintenance lesson in the comments! #YouLiveAndYouLearn

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