All the things you should do for fall but never remember to do. A complete fall checklist of the tasks you need to before winter hits. Like cleaning gutters and eating pie.
The first day that I wear flannel pajamas to bed marks the official start of fall for me. The next day the fluffy blanket for the sofa comes out, I stop shaving my legs and I start my annual thumbs exercises so in a couple of weeks I'm can quickly scroll past all the perfect-families-in-matching-plaid-picking-apples reels on Instagram.
The shadows are longer, the streets are quieter and I'm hankering for anything made with cheese and potatoes.
Since I just lit a pumpkin spice candle I'm going to assume it is indeed fall. YAY FALL!! Every season is my favourite season when I'm at the start of it. So hello fall ... you're my favourite.
I even like the home maintenance tasks associated with autumn like raking leaves and stacking firewood. I like them for exactly half an hour and then I want to set the leaves, the firewood and my hair on fire with a pumpkin spice candle.
Getting ready for winter can be both gross and exciting so I've comprised a list of all the things that you should do to get ready to fall. Both the fun and the not so fun.
Things To Do To Get Ready for Fall
- Clean the gutters.
- Wash the windows inside and out.
- Have the chimney cleaned.
- Lumber. Jack. Plaid.
- Order Firewood.
- Make a batch of chili.
- Replace or clean furnace filter.
- Haul out the blankets for the couch.
- Replace beer in fridge with whiskey in liquor cabinet.
- Pull out the big, fluffy duvet.
- Put outdoor cushions away while they're still dry. If they get wet when the temperatures drop they'll never dry out.
- Make a list of the indoor jobs you want to get done before spring. Like binge watching Doogie Howser. Again.
- Good bye ferns, hello mums.
- Surround every inch around your house with yard bags and watch as the leaves fall directly in them.
- Throw away your razors. It's hairy season.
- Cover up and clean your air conditioner. You don't need to cover the whole thing, just the top where leaves can blow in.
- Make and eat an entire homemade pumpkin pie yourself.
- Remove any pergola covers.
- Empty any ceramic or clay pots outside that are too large to bring indoors. If you don't they'll freeze and crack.
- Book an appointment to have your winter tires put on.
- The indoor months can get lonely and boring. Sign up for a fall class with friends or family.
- Plant your spring bulbs and dig up & divide your dahlias.
- Wanna be the hit of the street for Halloween? You'd better start figuring that shit out now. Here's inspiration.
- Throw away those 3 dead plants you bought in the spring and never planted.
- Can, can, can. Tomatoes, peaches, chili sauce, hot peppers, pickles.
T O M A T O E S
C H I L I S A U C E
- Ask an elderly or single neighbour if they need help with anything.
- Kids preventing you from getting stuff done? Send them out to play and tell them not to come home until they have at least one bruise.
- Clean out your fridge to make room for the winter cheeses.
- Haul out the flannel pajamas that have been in hiding for 4 months and now smell like drawer.
- Buy a puzzle so you're ready for winter. This particular one is good for October.
- Read all of the classic Charlie Brown football cartoons
- Pumpkin. Spice. Latte.
- Sweep
- Clean your condensate pump if you have one.
- Make baked apples.
- Dry any herbs you can scrounge from your garden before they croak.
Fall Checklist
Instructions
- Clean the gutters
- Wash the windows inside and out
- Have the chimney cleaned
- Lumber. Jack. Plaid.
- Order Firewood
- Make a batch of chili
- Replace or clean furnace filter
- Haul out the blankets for the couch
- Replace beer in fridge with whiskey in liquor cabinet
- Mouse proof your house
- Pull out the big fluffy duvet
- Put outdoor cushions away while they're still dry. If they get wet when the temperatures drop they'll never dry out.
- Make a list of the indoor jobs you want to get done before spring. Like binge watching Doogie Howser. Again.
- Good bye ferns, hello mums
- Surround every inch around your house with yard bags and watch as the leaves fall directly in them
- Throw away your razors. It's hairy season
- Cover up and clean your air conditioner. You don't need to cover the whole thing, just the top where leaves can blow in
- Make and eat an entire homemade pumpkin pie yourself
- Buy fall scented candles
- Empty any ceramic or clay pots outside that are too large to bring indoors. If you don't they'll freeze and crack
- Book an appointment to have your winter tires put on
- The indoor months can get lonely and boring. Sign up for a fall class with friends or family
- Plant your spring bulbs and dig up & divide your dahlias
- Wanna be the hit of the street for Halloween? You'd better start figuring that shit out now. Here's inspiration
- Throw away those 3 dead plants you bought in the spring and never planted
- Can, can, can. Tomatoes, peaches, chili sauce, hot peppers, pickles
- Ask an elderly or single neighbour if they need help with anything
- Kids preventing you from getting stuff done? Send them out to play and tell them not to come home until they have at least one bruise
- Clean out your fridge to make room for the winter cheeses
- Haul out the flannel pajamas that have been in hiding for 4 months and now smell like drawer
- Buy a puzzle so you're ready for winter. Don't want a puzzle laying out on a table for weeks or months? Try quick finishing, cute 100 piece puzzles
- Cozy up your front porch
- Read all the classic Charlie Brown football cartoons
- Pumpkin Spice Latte
- Sweep
- Clean your condensate pump if you have one.
- Make baked apples.
- Dry any herbs that you can scrounge from your garden.
Notes
Or don't. Whatever.
All tasks guaranteed to be enjoyable for at least 15 minutes.
Darcy
Karen, if you moved to California you could halve your list.
Pamela
I live in California & don’t understand what half the things on the list mean!
Lisa Foley
Same here!
whitequeen96
Me too, I love California!
The naval orange tree should have fruit ready for harvest around Christmas!
Katy
Great list! I feel accomplished, we actually did most the outside stuff today. Plus I’m currently wearing flannel pajamas that smell like drawer!
Karen
I'm getting ready to host a Thanksgiving dinner tonight so I have accomplished none of the list things this weekend, lol. Well that's not true, I raked the leaves in the backyard. But my house is going to smell like turkey and stuffing in a few hours so that's basically the most important fall task. ;) ~ karen!
Monica
Enjoy your Thanksgiving! Can't wait for the pictures!
Letty Regan
#35 I couldn't figure out what sweet rolls had to do with rugs-as I was SO looking forward to a link to a recipe- but then I realized it was supposed to be "sweep" and was very disappointed. Any sweet roll recipes anyway?
Karen
LOL! Sorry no sweet roll recipe today. ~ karen!
Tamara
Also, if they're outdoor carpets why not leave them outdoors?? It's their calling.
Also, buy suet blocks for the birds & hang them so the dang squirrels & misc. rodents can't get them.
Karen
For the same reason you wouldn't leave anything else out in the winter. They get ruined twice as quickly because they're outside in the elements for twice as long as they need to be. ~ karen!
Elaine
I know, Letty! I was anticipating the next word to be “cinnamon” then back tracked and saw the comma between ‘sweet’ and ‘roll’. I think I smell your turkey from over here, Karen. Happy Thanksgiving to one and all.
Nancy Blue Moon
Great Autumn ideas Karen!...I could use a bit of help...I'm elderly you know...and single too!
Lisa G.
Empty the rain barrels so they don't freeze and crack.
Benjamin
Combine #6 and #23... Buy spice scented candles and take one over to your neighbor.
Karen
Ha! Aren't you the clever little rainbow. ~ karen!
Cathy Reeves
Re: #28– toss a roll of quarters in the yard, minus one and tell them they can’t come in till they find all 40 .
Mel
Ha! Love it! My boisterous boys would be back in within 5 minutes with multiple bruises so this is perfect!
Dale R Lacina
Sounds good. I'll have a freezer full of grapes that I cannot process now. Hopefully it has an easy way to deal with the seeds in my concords.
Thanks.
Dale R Lacina
Harvesting Concord grapes from a 40 foot set of vines that overachieved this year. I have already made 20 pints of grape jelly. Am setting up to do 50 pounds of grapes into a 5 gallon batch of Concord wine. I will need ideas or recipes of what to do next with the remaining half of the grapes on the vine.
Any offers will be accepted.
lyn
Grape pie is incredible. Google a recipe. The grapes can be prepped and frozen to be baked later. My mom used to do that. Mmmmmmm.
Mia Pratt
I make Grape Meringue Pie with the Lemon Meringue Pie recipe that came from the back of the old yellow Argo cornstarch box...just replace water in the recipe with grape juice and leave everything else just the way it is. It's fabulous!
ElenG
You are LOL funny, Karen. I forgot to hit send the first time. Hee!
Meg
I love this list! I'm so excited for fall this year, as I've moved back from Los Angeles to New England. Holy crap I'm going to make apple pies and step on crunchy leaves and curl up inside in plaid flannel shirts.
Karen A
Fantastic :-D
Jill Ackerman
I believe it is only fair to add to this marvy list ~ chili is the perfect accompaniment to a binge-watch of Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries on Netflix. A perfectly sumptuous combination.
Alena
I am not even done yet with the summer chores (like those plants that I bought and never planted) but at least I just finished edging my yard (not sure if edging is the proper word - the front yard is sloping down to the sidewalk and it is covered with assorted groundcover which always pours over onto the sidewalk and before each winter, I have to hack away half a foot of it with my ice chopper tool.
Unlike you, I loved the spring but summer did, indeed, suck big time. No rain for 4 months - I am sick of that. Why could not we get 4" of the Harvey rain.
I have a friend in Florida but she safely made it to North Carolina so I am relieved. But I think of all Floridians - I had goosebumps when I listened to Irma coverage on Anderson Cooper last night.
Karen
Anderson does that to me all the time. But yes, it's terrifying. I really do hope everyone in Florida knows all of Canada is thinking of them and hoping they evacuate when they're told to evacuate. (who are these people who say ... Nah. Apocolyptic Hurricane? I'm gonna stick it out with my toddler and newborn.) I understand there's always the thought that it won't be that bad. But what happens when it is?? O.K. not sure why I laid this all on you, lol. ~ karen!
Jody
Reading this great list while cozily wrapped in a hoodie and quilt on the front porch. Also contemplating list of crafts to get done before spring planting
Karen
I know, right? It got cold. ~ karen!
Another Jody
I was still in shorts and t-shirt yesterday working in the garden. Now I can't find my jeans and warm sweaters soon enough.
Pam B
Hiya Karen!!! I am soooooo in favor of #23. I am a single, elderly neighbor, so come on down and help me out. Been minimalizing this year, and am too tired to do any fall stuffs. LOL Thanks for the list and the grins. Have a great weekend. Hugs!!!
Pam B
Oh, and I threw away the razors years ago, hehe.
Karen
Ha! There are certain things that you just can't do alone. Well, usually I figure out a way, but I also break a lot of things, including myself. ~ karen!
Kathy
Never would have thought to set out the bags to capture leaves. There's a product called Bag Buddy. It's a folding frame to support large trash bags. I have some shrubby things in two rows just far enough apart I have to clean between them. But could I line up bag buddies in there? I just may well try. I'm not the last house on the block but I am where the wind decides it can't carry these damn leaves another foot. Love a good list.
Karen
Ha! I was kind of saying that with a wink, but if you find out it actually works let me know, lol! ~ karen!
Patti Kears
Thank you God....I am not the only one who has to complete # 21.
Kathy
I'm all the way down here and now I have to ALL the way up there to see #21. Here's hoping it's something we have in common.
Karen
EVERYbody has those plants, lol. ~ karen!
Sabina Missana
But I'm still waiting for summer to start!!!
Mary W
Your chili looks like a porn queen with softly lit background, enticing! I have always wanted to learn to yodel - we even have a plastic yodeling pickle that we play when things are really intense and we need to it break up. You missed one fall duty that we in Florida appear to have become too well practiced at doing. I'm packing everything up in plastic garbage bags to lay in the floor, putting the most valuable (to me) things in plastic in my car, collecting medical records for me and the animals, and drinking my last cup before I commence again this morning with these duties. I hope to read you again very soon but planning on no electricity for a number of days. There is no gas, water or bread, the highway through town is bumper to bumper as lower FL drives through and I'm tired already. Wishing everyone well and thanks to all the people that will be doing way beyond work at the shelters where I will be headed.
Noreen Mckechnie
Oh no you ot the pickle in before I could. It is available on amazon, I just got the one I ordered. It is going to be a Christmas present. Karen you need to get one of these for practice help!
Karen
I already own one, lol! ~ karen
Petra
Wishing all you folks in the way of extreme weather a safe exit and a quick recovery. I'm so relieved that fire season here will soon be over and we'll be able to get on with fall chores (anything related to spark- creating power tools like chainsaws and lawn mowers which have been prohibited for months). We'll have a brief respite and then we'll be into storm season and all that comes with that. Otherwise it's all Brigadoon and Shangri -la.
And pumpkin pie....
LINDSAY CUDINI
I love your comment about throwing away the razors!!!!!!!!!
I also can throw away plants I bought in May/June that I didn't plant, glad I am not the only one!
Jenni
Thanks. That was funny. And motivating.