With the calendar poised to flip from August to September, many of us are ready for the upcoming fall season. The promise of cooler temperatures, brightly colored leaves, and autumn fan favorites, like football, make the season prime time for home decoration and preparation. As the summer season comes to a close, give these 8 tips a try to have your home in tip-top shape for all of those upcoming fall festivities.
Give Your Home a Post-Summer Scrub Down
Use our summer cleaning tips to give your home a thorough scrub before setting out your fall decorations. Dust tables and surfaces where decorations will display, sweep or even powerwash your outdoor spaces, and prepare your gardening tools for planting bulbs.
Plant Flowers Early
Fall is the best time to plant bulbs thanks to the cooler temperatures. October is a popular month for planting flowers bulbs meant to bloom in the spring. Just be sure to plant before the first frost sets in. The autumn season is also ideal for fertilizing your lawn and, of course, having your rake handy for the influx of leaves.
Pull Out the Decorations
With the house clean and the garden prepped, go ahead and retrieve your fall decorations. Pumpkin and leaf displays will bring the spirit of the season into your home. Explore craft stores or websites like Pinterest for inspiration. If you had a summer wreath, don’t forget to switch it out for a fall themed one. Throw pillows and blankets on the couch, as well as decorative outdoor displays, are other ideas for making your home cozy for the new season.
Switching seasons is also a great time to think about organization. Invest in clear tubs for your summer decorations, so that you can easily see what’s available next season. Do the same for your fall, winter, spring, and holiday decorations to make setting up your house for each season easy and enjoyable.
Clean Your Shutters and Let the Light In
Autumn nights mean earlier, darker nights, especially as autumn switches to winter. Hang onto as much of the sunlight as you can during the day by cleaning your windows and gently polishing your plantation shutters. Open the louvers wide and let the fall sunlight shine into your home.
Focus on Your Furnace
During the hot summer months, it’s easy to forget about your heating and cooling system. With cooler temperatures on the horizon, September is the perfect time to check out your heater. Make sure to follow any recommended maintenance for your furnace, such as replacing the filter and vacuuming your vents.
All of that summer air conditioning also takes a beating on your air filters. Remember to change the air filters in your home at the start of the season. For clean, quality air circulation, it’s often recommended to change your air filter monthly during the summer, so if you skipped this step, definitely install a fresh one for fall.
Complete Outdoor Painting Projects
As with gardening, fall temperatures are ideal for outdoor painting projects. If it was too hot (greater than 85° or 90° F) to repaint your front door this summer, for instance, consider using the cooler temperatures of fall to freshen up the entrances and exits of your home. Painting projects thrive in 60° F weather. Just don’t wait until winter, when the temperatures will be too cold!
Check Your Doors and Windows for Air Leaks
For maximum energy efficiency, take a close look at the sealants around your doors and windows as you clean. If you notice light shining through the side of your closed door or a break in the caulk around your windows, make plans to repair the air leak. Home improvement stores sell a variety of options for weather stripping and draft stopping. Your energy bills will be cheaper and your home will be more comfortable with updated, maintained door and window seals.
If you’re looking for further ways to reduce your energy costs and haven’t yet installed plantation shutters, then you’ll want to explore the types of plantation shutters available for your home. Plantation shutters are well-known for their beauty and ability to add value to a home, but they are also energy efficient, another tool for helping to control the temperature of your house.
Prepare for Winter — While Still in Fall
Use the fall season to complete any needed home maintenance in anticipation of the cold winter months. Clean your lawn mower, shut down your pool, inspect your roof, and have your winter equipment ready to go. De-icer and winter shovels are always much more difficult to find during the actual winter season. Have everything in order before the first snowfall hits and you’ll thank yourself when the time comes.
Ready for a Fall Home Reboot?
Shenandoah Shutters has been crafting authentic, fine wooden plantation shutters since 1990. We serve towns and cities within Virginia, Maryland, and Washington, D.C, routinely supplying our brilliant shutters to the historical, elegant homes of this region. Custom, all-wood plantation shutters provide unmatched beauty, energy efficiency, ambiance, style, durability, and functionality. While faux wood and other materials are also on the market, it is the natural, wooden plantation shutter that adds the highest value and warmest aesthetic to your home. No other window treatment can compare.
Shenandoah Shutters is locally owned and operated out of Richmond, Virginia. If you live near Richmond or plan on visiting, the Shenandoah Shutters woodshop and showroom offers potential clients the rare chance to see these shutters being made firsthand. You’ll learn our process and feel confident in choosing Shenandoah Shutters for your home.
Contact us online today for more information on updating your home with plantation shutters. You can also set-up a free, in-home design estimate and consultation with one of our consultants. No matter the size, shape, or type of your window, we can help you have the plantation shutters of your dreams. Check out our online gallery for a look at the wide variety of shutters that we’ve completed.
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