With cooler weather and the holiday season in sight, early autumn is a great time for taking inventory of household areas in need of a little TLC. Here are 10 home features you’ll feel good about organizing or cleaning early in the season (while time is on your side), in anticipation of these longer nights and home celebrations.
1. Clean cabinet door and drawer fronts. Cabinets take their fair share of abuse, with all the splatters they collect daily. If yours have raised decorative panels, dust is also certain to join the mess. Even though we might overlook dirt and grime on our own cabinets, guests are certain to notice. Wipe the fronts down with a mild cleanser suitable to your cabinetry’s finish.
Hint: Cotton swabs make fantastic cleaning tools for cracks.
Titus Built, LLC
2. Launder pet bedding. If your household spent any area of the summer enjoying the fantastic outdoors, the proof is probably all over (and indoors) your pet’s bedding.
Clean slipcovers and pillows according to the manufacturer’s guidelines. Continue to utilize a pest repellant to ward off undesirable bugs. Rosemary, lavender, lemon and cedar oils in spray type offer natural protection and have an excellent aroma.
LDa Architecture & Interiors
3. Edit your cookbook collection. In case your bookshelves are packed too closely, it will be hard find the vacation recipes you want. Pare down your library by photocopying your favorite recipes. Add them to a designated binder or upload them to a notebook or tablet.
Donate novels you do not need to charity or give preferred ones to somebody who’s hoping to accumulate a collection.
Why Your Kitchen Wants Its Own iPad
Dwelling Building Group
4. Freshen up baseboards. Much like cabinets, baseboards get beaten up. Wiping down baseboards might be all you want to feel good about inviting guests in your home. For high-traffic locations, however, paint touchups will reestablish baseboards to their original beauty.
Julie Ranee Photography
5. Eliminate paint. Aside from your baseboard paint, you probably have many other old cans of paint (likely colors which were painted over ages ago) lying about.
Over time paint can leak through rusting cans, leaving you with a large issue. Check with your community recycling or hazardous waste center about properly disposing your stockpile. Imagine how much storage you’ll need for holiday decorations with all those headphones gone.
Hint: Consider using old headphones to make unique planters.
More ways to decorate with a can of paint
Culbertson Durst Interiors
6. Clean out the couch. Yes, you need to. You never know exactly what you’ll discover deep within these corners, particularly if you’ve got children or guests that keep lots of coins in their pockets.
Confession : I routinely stick the vacuum hose deep within the recesses of my family couch, and it is a protracted process where lots of cereal and cracker pieces make a terrible crackling sound. The good news is, we have found lots of socks, pens and mystery pieces we all thought were lost forever. Nothing starts puzzle season better than a comprehensive collection!
Infiniti® Master Builder Inc..
7. Clean your dining chairs. Do not spoil a beautiful dinner event by having your well-dressed guests sit on chairs covered in the remnants of a prior party. Now’s the time to vacuum, steam clean or spot clean every seat.
Hint: In case you are not certain how to wash your chairs’ upholstery, then call in a professional. The experts have seen and cleaned it all.
Jenn Hannotte / Hannotte Interiors
8. Have your chimney inspected. Should you burn wood in your fireplace, it is important to have a professional chimney sweeper check and, if necessary, wash your chimney annually. Doing so reduces the danger of a house fire and carbon monoxide poisoning due to creosote buildup or other obstacles.
How to Receive your fireplace ready
Atelier BOOM TOWN
9. Replace the batteries in smoke and carbon monoxide sensors. This is the season when candles and wood-burning fireplaces increase the danger of home fires.
The Home Depot
Kidde Gas and Carbon Monoxide Detector – $29.88
Keep your loved ones and home safe by replacing batteries in all apparatus and performing a quick test to make sure they’re still in working condition.
In case you don’t have any carbon monoxide detectors, this is the perfect time to stock up.
The Home Depot
Ready America Grab ‘n Go Emergency Kit – $143
10. Update your emergency kit. September is National Preparedness Month. Ensure that you have a safety plan for your household, such as pets, and sufficient emergency supplies for 3 times. The Red Cross offers a whole list of everything you’ll need.
Inform us : how can you utilize this time of year to prepare for winter?