While spring cleaning is a popular time to get important tasks done around the house, the fall season is just as important. With winter right around the corner, it’s important to get your home prepped and ready to face the cold. So if you’re wondering what you should be doing around your house this fall season, here are a few steps you should take to improve your home.

1. Get Your Heating System Ready

With the cold weather on its way, you’re going to want to ensure your heating system is functioning properly. If you wait too long, you could find yourself stuck in the cold without heat.

• So make sure the furnace filter is clean to ensure it’s working as efficiently as possible.
• Additionally, you may want to consider having your ductwork cleaned so you can have clean, warm air blowing throughout your house all winter long.
• And don’t forget about proper ventilation and insulation. Having good insulation can help reduce heating and cooling costs by over 40% because it helps prevent air from escaping from the house.

The insulation in your attic and walls should be done right so you can ensure you’re not wasting energy trying to heat your home. And lastly, if you have a chimney or fireplace that you plan on using this winter, make sure a professional comes to inspect and clean it. If you fail to have your chimney cleaned and inspected regularly, you could risk a fire or serious damage to the system. So overall, make sure all of your heating systems are good to go.

2. Prioritize Safety

The fall and winter seasons are some of the most common times that people fall and get hurt. In fact, with about one million Americans getting injured from slip and fall accidents each year, the risk of injury greatly increases during winter months. Whether it’s from icy sidewalks or slippery floors, falling is a serious risk you don’t want to have in your home. So, now is the time to fall-proof your home. You should ensure all entryways to your home are well-lit and there aren’t any hazards like loose floorboards that could cause a fall.

And speaking of floors, now is a great time to upgrade any flooring that is worn. With the four key factors considered when choosing floor protection being water resistance, durability, improved comfort, and ease of cleaning, make sure to choose flooring that can help prevent falls as well as looks good in your home. And when it comes to your sidewalk and driveway, make sure the ground is as level as possible. This can help prevent water from freezing unevenly and people tripping and falling.

If safety is something your home is lacking, now is the time to take care of it.

Don’t Forget the Yard Work

While your grass may be slowly dying throughout the fall season, now is actually the best time to fertilize and reseed your lawn. So if there is any lawn maintenance you’ve been needing to do, now is the time to do so. Additionally, you should prune any trees and shrubs to ensure they’re in good shape and limit the amount of damage they’ll receive in the cold, harsh winter.

You should also be sure to clean out your gutters so they can effectively drain the water from snow once it starts falling. And don’t forget to cover up any flowers or shrubbery that need added protection in the cold temperatures.

You can even bring in some flowers and fall foliage from outside to spruce up the inside of your home — this can be especially beneficial seeing as how 88% of people say receiving flowers can put them in a better mood. So keep away the winter blues by adding some flowers to your home decor. All in all, make sure your yard is clean and cared for as the temperatures continue to drop.

Fall is a time to enjoy the cool, crisp air and all the fun the season has to offer. But don’t forget about these important home improvement tasks or else you might find yourself in some trouble come winter.