2. Check the fire extinguishers, purchase new ones if necessary and place one on each floor of the house.
3. Clean out the fireplace and have the chimney inspected.
4. Have a heating professional inspect the furnace and change the filter.
5. Check the weather stripping around windows and doors and replace the stripping if necessary.
6. Restock firewood and chop rounds if necessary.
7. Have the roof inspected and repaired if necessary.
8. Prepare vehicles for rainy weather. Check the tread of tires, check the breaks, the anti-freeze, wipers, weather stripping, break lights, and batteries.
9. Prepare winter emergency car kits with flashlights, batteries, portable radios, candles, and sand or kitty litter, and foods that can be prepared without heat or refrigeration. Prepare a black-out and first aid kit in the house as well.
10. Place the space heater and fuel in the garage where it can be accessed.11. Inspect areas around the house where animals might enter, such as rats, and raccoons, and repair any holes you find.
12. Replace outside light bulbs.
13. Place rugs in areas where muddy boots might walk.
14. Take down summer curtains and put them in storage. Put up thicker curtains for fall and winter.
15. Flip the mattresses and store summer sheets and blankets. Replace with flannel sheets and thicker blankets.
16. Store summer clothes and shoes and get out boots, slippers, robes, long socks and underwear, long sleeved shirts, sweaters, coats, hats and umbrellas.
17. Donate worn linens and clothes to women's shelters and homeless shelters.18. Place Throw-blankets around the house. 19. Donate canned goods to the food bank.
2. Set out extra bird feeders and suet feeders.
3. Clear debris from gutters and downspouts.
4. Transplant or divide perennials that have dead plant matter in the center.
5. Plant biennials and early-bloom perennials in early fall.
6. Plant trees and shrubs in early fall.
7. Remove summer plants from containers and replace with cool weather plants and evergreens.
8. Transplant deciduous trees and shrubs after they have dropped their leaves.
9. Store the garden hose before freezing weather and cover the faucet to protect the pipe from freezing.
10. Plant early spring bulbs before the ground freezes.
11. After the first frost, dig up non-hardy bulbs for winter storage.
12. Add 2 inches of mulch to the garden after the first frost, but not up to the woody trunks of plants.
13. Empty terra cotta pots and store in the garage so that they don't freeze and crack.
14. Place cement and fiberglass pots on feet so that they do not freeze to the ground
15. Store the lawn furniture and ornaments in the garage to prevent them from blowing away in strong wind storms.
16. Stir the compost pile.
17. Shred leaves and use them as mulch or mix them into the compost pile.
18. Prune shrubs and dead-head flowers.
19. Prune dead stems and crossed branches of dormant plants.
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