Fall Is Coming – Is Your Home Ready

Part 3

Glad to see you back. I hope you found the first 2 parts informative. Now onto the yard, gardens and trees/shrubs. All the things I’m not fond of. I had my fill when I was a kid. If you’re an outdoors kind of person, you’ll probably find this really rewarding, but for the rest of us, we just have to bair and grin it.

Yard Maintenance

Inspect trees. Trees can cause lots of damage if not cared for. Some of the things to check for are damaged limbs. These could break causing damage to homes, automobiles and worse yet people. While inspecting remember to look around for limbs to close to the power lines and the roof. If these are an issue, contact a professional to avoid any accidents.

Trim landscaping. Time to move on to the landscaping that you’ve probably invested time and money into; so don’t slack now. You’ll need to cut back bushes, shrubs, and flowers as recommended for your climate zone. Add any additional mulch if needed to provide an additional layer of warmth.

Have flowerpots. If you keep plants or flower in pots year-round, bring them inside. The cooler seasons can be devastating on them. For the pots having annual plants (those you replace each year), you should empty, clean, dry out and store them till spring.

Plant bulbs. For everyone with a green thumb, fall is the time to plant your bulbs for spring.  Get them in the ground now and see the fruits of your labor in spring.

Leaf removal. Personally, I raked to many leaves growing up, so I hate this one for sure. But get the kids involved if inclined to do so. It’s always fun jumping in the piles a few times. Once the leaves are raked you can place them in your compost pile if you have one. Alternatively, you can bag them in your garbage bags and leave at the curb for community pick up. You will need to check with your local city or town for requirements and pick up schedules.

Fertilize lawn. Fall fertilization is important to help prevent winter damage and spring weeds. Believe me, I know this all to well. Visit your local garden center or check online to find out which type of fertilizer you need and when to apply it. If you have a lawn service, they should do this for you.

Put away seasonal furniture. Your nice outdoor furniture will last much longer if taken care for during the offseason. The task here is to clean and store the seasonal outdoor furniture. Remove and clean cushions. Wash and dry they furniture and store it in a dry place over winter.

Close the pool. Yes, fall is here and it’s time to close that pool. Hopefully, you’ve had many great days splashing around. You can either have a professional close the pool for you or visit your pool supply store and they’ll be able to assist with all the products necessary to close it.

Organize the shed. Well, your shed is filling up with summer items. You have a couple of options here. You can rotate the winter items to the front and the summer items to the back. The other option that may work is to designate a side of the shed to winter and the other side to summer. However you decide, the purpose is to make sure the stored items are easily accessible. Also, don’t forget to remove any liquids that will freeze.

I hope you found this series very informative. Check out our other topics and visit The Cotton Home Team on YouTube for quick tips related to real estate.