If you want to prepare your home for the colder months these tips will help you avoid forgetting some important tasks.
Autumn is a beautiful time of year with oranges, yellows and red in the fallen leaves and then come winter it is frosty, snowy and blustery outside. Naturally, despite autumn and winter being so beautiful and exciting, we want to cosy on up at home. We spend less time outside and more time with a hot chocolate inside whilst the storms rage on.
When you add the natural want to nest during the colder months with the many months of neglect the home has had whilst you enjoy time outdoors during summer, it makes perfect sense to get some vital cleaning done at this time of year.
To help you, here’s a checklist for autumn/ winter cleaning so you don’t forget these important tasks:
Declutter Your Self Storage Unit
If you make use of cheap self storage now is the time to declutter your space. During your visit you can:
- Take your winter clothes out for your seasonal wardrobe swap
- Remove any items you no longer need or want
- Check stored items
- Give it a sweep and a vacuum
- Perhaps move to a smaller unit if you have decluttered enough to leave more space
- Put summer furniture and tools into the unit
Clean & Store Summer Furniture & Toys
Now is a great time to clean all the furniture you want to keep in cheap self storage or the garage over winter. Doing this protects it from the wild weather of autumn and winter so come spring next year, it’s clean and ready to get back out again for more fun. You may want to do the same with summer garden toys, camping gear, summer sports equipment and even large garden tools and equipment.
Get Your Gutters In Order
All your guttering and spouts won’t have gotten much use over summer which means plants, moss and other items could have blocked it up. By cleaning them and checking they are clear you won’t get any overspills and leaks over autumn and winter.
Deep Clean Rugs, Furniture & Other Soft Furnishings
In order for carpets, rugs and other items to dry after a deep clean the weather needs to be pretty reasonable. The wetter and colder it is, the less likely these items will dry out. For that reason, the start of autumn is the final call for these cleaning tasks and deep cleaning of these items so they are fresh and clean to cosy into for winter.
Paint Touch-ups
Water based paints dry because the water in the mixture evaporates leaving the pigment and other paint ingredients to cure and go hard. When the weather is very hot and humid, the water in the environment is able to go into the paint faster than it is leaving the paint so it won’t dry. In winter, though, the issue is going to be freezing temperatures where the water particles in the paint freeze and so they cannot evaporate and the paint won’t dry. So if you need to do paint touch-ups and you favour water-based paints you need to get them done before temperatures can reach below 10 degrees Celsius as paint dries best at an ambient temperature of around 25 degrees Celsius.
Smoke & Carbon Monoxide Alarm Checks
As you’ll be using your heating system again and likely cooking more, checking your smoke and carbon monoxide alarms is vitally important. These devices literally save lives, so a simple check and battery change can make the difference between a life or death situation. You can find out more about fire alarms here.
Your House Will Be Safe & Clean For Cosy Times This Winter
By using our tips above and paying special attention to easily neglected cleaning tasks you can enjoy a safer, cleaner, cosier home in the coming months.