6 Tips for Preparing Your Home for Autumn
It starts with a slight drop in temperature. It’s not quite a ‘chill’ per se, but enough so that it’s simply not enough to wear a light jacket to the shops.
Usually, you’re home and getting ready for bed by the time it gets dark, but now, the evenings seem to be following you home from work. And actually, the floor in your house feels a little colder underfoot, and now the heating is on, and you’re fancying ‘something hearty’ for dinner. If you’re experiencing any one of these symptoms, chances are, it’s coming into Autumn.
While this can be an enjoyable time of year, with pumpkin spice lattes in hand and golden leaves crunching underfoot, Autumn is a time of change and decay in nature as the world we’ve known since Spring prepares itself for rebirth. In our world, things are much the same, and just as our environment prepares for Autumn and the cold Winter ahead, so must we.
In this blog, we’ll cover some worthwhile considerations that will keep your home shipshape for these magnificent seasons.
1. Fertilise your garden
If you are fortunate enough to have outdoor space, now is the time to sprinkle some fertiliser on your garden.
Autumn is when the natural world prepares for hibernation, and many Autumn garden feeds are purpose-built to strengthen roots, protect them through Winter, and encourage healthier growth in the spring for a healthier, less patchy appearance. Autumn feed can be found at any garden centre, in most DIY stores, and online.
2. Clean out gutters
Okay, maybe we were being a bit idealistic when we said that Autumn is known for hot, comforting drinks and crunchy leaves.
However, in our hometown of Glasgow and around much of the UK, Autumn is characterised by damp, rainy weather, which turns those lovely leaves into slippy, slidey masses. This nuisance underfoot can become a serious problem for your gutters.
If you’ve experienced heavy rainfall at this time of year, it’s best to get up there and clean your gutters thoroughly to remove leaves and any other natural debris like twigs and moss.
Doing so will prevent your home from being exposed to a myriad of issues, including water and foundational damage, mould and rot, plant growth and even pest infestation. The money you save on prevention can then be better spent on seasonal energy prices and, of course, Christmas presents!
3. Change your bedding
After a rigorous gutter clean, let’s go for an altogether cosier job. Starting in the bedroom, if you like a lighter duvet for the summer, it might be time to get ready for the cooler weather with a heavier tog duvet.
Alternatively, suppose you only have one duvet or aren’t quite prepared to commit to something heavier. In that case, it can be just as effective to layer blankets to get yourself feeling cosier.
Not only will the extra layers act as a weighted blanket, which can improve sleep quality, but they can also act as an attractive focal point for your bedding, particularly when using seasonal tones of mustard yellow, brown, and orange.
Remember, if you are changing bedding, especially winter bedding, take your time – it’s a marathon, not a sprint! Make sure you limber up for that challenging duvet change and take deep breaths.
4. Reset your heating timer
Now that the temperature is dropping, it might be a good idea to reset your heating schedule to a time that suits you so that you are comfortably warm when you need to be and don’t waste unnecessary money when the house is empty! The ideal time to heat your home is an hour before you wake up and an hour before you get home – no one likes a cold shower!
There’s nothing worse than walking into a freezing-cold house after a hard day’s work, so resetting your heating timer should be at the top of your list as the seasons change.
Whether you’re ensuring you have a nice hot shower for the cold, dark mornings or wasting energy by heating an empty house during the day, reset your timer to kick in an hour before you wake up and an hour before you get home.
5. Redecorate interiors and soft furnishings
This is another fun task, so get creative! Whether you want to spend a little or a lot, revamping your home for the changing weather is a great way to embrace its changes.
As we said, ‘cosy’ is the word, so it can be nice to have seasonal decorations that appear at this time of year.
This could be anything from a throw, blanket or set of cushion cases in muted seasonal colours to some artwork with complimentary colouring to some scented candles for pleasant scents and a warm light source.
6. Take in your garden furniture
Now that your home looks lovely and cosy inside, what about outside? If you’ve got some garden furniture that was the perfect accompaniment to a barbecue and glass of white wine on a summer evening, it might end up looking a little sad in the gloomier weather and may become sadder still should it be damaged by adverse weather and high winds.
If you’re confident that the summer weather has officially packed up and left town, don’t delay!
Dust it down, pack it up, and put it in the garage or a secure storage facility like GTW for the winter months. We’ll be happy to take it off your hands, keeping it good as new for next year when the weather begins to pick up again.
If you require any self-storage during the colder months, don’t hesitate to get in touch with our team! Click here to send us a message.