Your Autumn Honey-Do List
A recent report about retail spending had a particular stat that stood out — sales at home and garden stores are up by almost 15 percent from last year. People are nesting something fierce during the COVID era and it makes complete sense. Even as quarantine restrictions have relaxed (fingers crossed), we’re still looking for ways to make our homes more comfortable, flexible and resilient. We are making investments in our homes and as it turns out, it is really fulfilling.
Seeing a home project through, from start to finish, is a tangible accomplishment and makes you feel like an everyday hero. In these days of uncertainty, having control and affecting outcomes is a great feeling. Now that autumn is fast approaching, we have a whole new set of “honey-do” lists to tackle. Your days of mowing may be numbered, but boy does your spouse have a list for you. Clean the gutters, caulk windows, rotate the brown liquors in front of the clear ones, replace batteries in your smoke and carbon monoxide detectors, invest in a really good soup pot, prepare your furnace for winter, clean your fireplace and chimney, dust off your vinyl jazz records (no more rosé wave vibes for you until next summer), repair exterior cracks on your house and paved areas, plant your bulbs for spring blooms, drain outdoor faucets and sprinkler systems, research hygge and clean your windows (once you are done with that annoying sprinkler that always hits the glass). Deep breath. Next, winterize your swamp cooler or A/C unit, clean your outdoor furniture and store it inside (with all that extra room most of us have), get your entry room ready for snow and mud, put away summer clothes/get prepared for sweater weather, check for drafts, inspect your roof for leaks (better yet, get your brother-in-law to do it), put away the linen throw/get out the down comforter, clean your humidifier (gross), find as many pumpkins as you possibly can and put them on/in everything and, finally, chop a lot of wood.
Now, if your fall plans include selling your beloved abode, that list just got a bit longer. Neutralize any weird odors (uh-oh, you just made garlic soup with your new soup pot), paint over that pumpkin spice colored accent wall with something more neutral and less controversial, clean your windows (phew, already did that), improve your landscaping (aka curb appeal), simplify your decor (where am I going to store all these pumpkins?), make minor repairs (check!), consider a new doormat, also consider a splash of new color on your front door, declutter (but I just put my outdoor furniture in my only storage area), fix loose handles, paint over scuff marks, put some nice mums outside for even more curb appeal, stow away your valuables (that first pressing Coltrane vinyl needs to go in to hiding), and, most importantly, clean until your fingers bleed. Oh, and find a really great real estate agent.