Fall is upon us, the leaves have changed, and it’s time to get some of the routine home maintenance out of the way before it gets too cold.  When it starts to snow,especially in the Northern Utah real estate market, no one likes to do yard work. If you don’t prepare your home in the fall seasons, and clean up the yard, when spring comes along, you could be left with an unsightly mess.

5 Tips To Prepare Your Home For The Winter Season

Clean Out The Rain Gutters – If you have rain gutters the fall is the best time to get them cleaned up.  Cleaning rain gutters isn’t that difficult of a task, it’s just a tedious one.  The easiest way to get the junk out is to use a high pressure hose, and just wash away the junk. After getting most of the debris out, it’s easy to just take a small trowel and scrape the remaining junk out. After you scrape, give it one more spray, and your gutters should be clean as a whistle.

Take Care Of You Pots And Planters – If your like most home owners, you have some planters or potted plants sitting around the yard.  They are really easy to take care of, all you have to do is empty the dirt, or put them in a place where they don’t freeze. Otherwise, if you don’t empty or store your planters, there’s a good chance they will either crack, or fall apart.

Rake The Leaves – When I was a kid I disliked raking leaves, and most the time it was usually punishment. Now that I am a homeowner, I know how important is it to keep your yard free of leaves in the fall. If you have a lot of leaves, and you don’t take care of them, you might find your grass in the spring dead or unsightly.  Leaves can smother your lawn and replacing a lawn can cost a pretty penny, so it’s a good rule of thumb to get rid of the leaves in the fall.

Weed And Feed The Lawn – The best time to weed and feed the lawn is in the fall. If you add weed killer in the fall, the weeds will store the poison in their roots during the winter season, and will prevent a breakout in the spring. By feeding your lawn with fertilizer in the fall, you are promoting healthy root growth, and will help your lawn grow greener and faster in the spring.

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Give Your Tools A Tune-Up – After all the fall cleanup, if you want your tools to be productive in the spring, make sure you clean them up, give ‘em a spray of oil, and store them in a dry place. For metal shovels, make sure you put the head upwards, this will help detour rusting when it dries. Sheers need to be oiled up, wheel barrels should be left upside down,  and don’t forget to spray off the underside of the lawnmower.

Being a homeowner brings responsibility and if you maintain your yard regularly, the value of your home will reflect it. Keep up on your yard work and enjoy the winter!