13 Ways to Get Your House Ready for Fall — Inside and Out

Homeownership comes with a lot of responsibility. Throughout the year, you’ve got to stay on top of repairs and regular maintenance. 

And the transition from summer to fall is possibly the most important time to tend to your home and prepare for the upcoming change in seasons. Depending on where you live, during fall and winter, you might experience freezing temperatures and heavy rain or snow. Without proper winterization, that kind of weather can cause problems for your home and property, like burst pipes, foundation flooding, or sky-high heating bills. 

This year, head into fall knowing your house is ready for the weather inside and out. With a few simple checks, you can prepare your outdoor spaces for a better season next year, and ensure the safety of your family all year long. Plus, a little maintenance now can save you heaps on heating your home when temperatures drop!

Here’s how to prepare your home for fall and winter with our fall home maintenance tips!

Getting Ready for Fall Inside the House

Start your house prep inside. Here’s our fall to-do list for inside your home:

1. Check your doors and windows

• The best way to save money and electricity on heating your home is by ensuring your house has a strong barrier between what’s outside and what’s inside. 
• Fully close your doors and windows and check for drafts. If you notice cold air slipping in, get windows and doors repaired to save yourself costly heating bills this winter.

2. Change your filters

• Check your furnace and air conditioning filters and replace them if necessary.  
• When air filters are clogged, they cause heating and cooling systems to work harder to heat or cool your home. That means higher bills for you. 
• Be sure you’re not paying more for heating and air conditioning than you need to by cleaning or replacing your filters (depending on the system your home has). 
• Changing your air filter regularly can also help prevent reactions to seasonal allergies to pollen, pet dander, and dust. 
• Inspect these systems once a year and follow the instructions your qualified professional recommends for cleaning and replacing filters. 

3. Check your batteries

• While you’re taking stock of your home, check that your smoke and carbon monoxide detectors are working properly. Test them out and change the batteries if necessary. 

4. Stock up on space heaters

• Make sure you stay nice and warm as the weather turns cool. If you know your home tends to get drafty, you might want to invest in a space heater. 
• If you only need to heat up a single room, electric space heaters can be more energy and cost-efficient than household heating. 

5. Tend to your chimney

• If you have a chimney and fireplace, make sure to clean it out and get it serviced before you use it this fall. 
• The National Fire Protection Association recommends getting your chimneys and vents cleaned and inspected at least once a year by a professional. 
• Depending on how much you use your fireplace, you may need to get it inspected more often.  

Winterize Your Home Outside

Before you head indoors for the cooler months of the year, be sure to winterize the outside of your home.

1. Clean out your gutters

• Your gutters allow rainwater to flow into designated areas of your property. 
• If they’re clogged, rain can pool into places you don’t want it, including the cracks in your house or foundation. 
• Clear your gutters of rain and other debris to be sure they’re functioning properly. 

2. Shut off outdoor water supplies 

• When it comes to home maintenance and repair, there’s nothing worse than dealing with frozen pipes. When pipes freeze, the water in them expands and has nowhere to go. This creates force that can burst a pipe. 
• Before the temperatures drop, drain your outdoor faucets and hose hookups and turn off the water supplies that feed them. 
• That includes sprinkler systems. 

3. Put your garden to bed

• If your summer season was full of ripening tomatoes and sprouting herbs, give yourself a head start for next season by properly putting your garden to bed. 
• Pull up dead or dying plants.
• Till the soil. 
• Add fertilizer or ground crops to prepare the beds for their resting season. 
• Next year’s harvest will thank you! 

4. Fertilize your lawn 

• Speaking of keeping things green, apply fertilizers to your lawn in late summer or early fall to protect them during the winter. 
• This will help prevent damage and help the grass grow healthier next spring. 

5. Test out or replace your lawn equipment 

• Make sure your leaf blower and snowblower are in working condition long before you need them this fall. 
• Be sure you have a rake, snow shovel, and snow brush for your car as well. 

6. Pack away furniture or outdoor décor

• If you have outdoor furniture or decorations you love, save them from excess wear and tear. 
• Cover them tightly with a tarp or pack them away in your shed or garage to avoid water damage from rain, snow, and ice. 
• And while you’re at it…

7. Organize the garage

• It’s not always a fun task, but you’ll sure appreciate it when it’s done! 
• An organized garage can make things easier to find. 
• Plus, home repair projects are far easier to complete when you can easily access all of your tools. 

Keep that momentum going to organize your entire home before winter. 

Get Your Home Organized for Fall 

With colder weather, people tend to spend more time indoors. Get your home feeling comfortable and cozy by minimizing your belongings and getting organized. 

Start with one room at a time. Go through the cabinets, drawers, closets, and shelves and make a pile of things to donate, sell, and toss in the trash. (Hopefully most fit into the donate or sell pile — don’t forget that one man’s trash is another man’s treasure.) 

Once you’re down to the essentials, invest in organization to keep things looking orderly. Drawer Essentials has a wide variety of drawer organizers perfect for flatware, spices, cooking utensils, and more. 

When everything in the kitchen has a proper place, it makes cooking and meal prep much more enjoyable. 

And don’t stop there: clear out your bathrooms and give those drawers and cabinets some attention, too. Our bathroom craftsman organizers make everything in your drawers easy to see and access. 

For jewelry and small items (like craft supplies, school supplies, or collections), check out our jewelry tray inserts. You’ll keep things tidy while protecting valuables from damage. 

Get a Jumpstart on Fall Organization with Drawer Essentials 

Drawer Essentials has everything you need to organize every room in (and out of) the house. Shop by drawer size, get products custom-fit to your home, or tackle one room at a time. 

With Drawer Essentials, you’ll be able to see everything in your home so you can clear out what you no longer need. 

As you nest for fall and winter, invest in organization. Shop drawer organizers and more to keep your home tidy >