Home Maintenance

 

Over the past six weeks I've been working on some tasks around the house, mainly in preparation of winter and colder weather.  Lots of little things that will help me keep my home well maintained and hopefully make my life a little bit easier in the process.

 

Fresh caulk always looks so nice and clean

To begin with I placed an online order with Home Depot using a gift card I had earned from doing surveys which got me a few no cost supplies to help me get some of these jobs done.  I needed to re-caulk the backsplash behind my kitchen sink where it had cracked and worn away.  I got the old caulking scraped up and cleaned, then laid a nice bead of caulk along the bottom of the backsplash where it meets the countertop.  I smoothed it out with my finger and allowed it to dry and cure overnight.  This task took less than five minutes to complete this job, but it will keep my kitchen counters and the wall behind it better protected.

 

I got our drafty back door better insulated and airtight

I had replaced the brick molding on our back door last month so I made sure to caulk it well and make it weather tight.  I also went around and caulked the windows as needed too.  Making sure the doors and windows are all caulked will keep them from being drafty and help hold the heat indoors better.

 

With all of the big trees in my yard it is difficult to keep these gutters clear

A big item on my winter preparation list to complete was to clean out the gutters, yet again, but this time I installed gutter guards which was part of my online Home Depot order.  I'm hopeful my days of climbing the ladder twice a year to remove leaves and debris from the gutters is now a thing of the past.  Finger crossed they do the trick.  They were really easy to install too.  You just slip one side under your first row of shingles and the other side snaps into place on the front edge of the gutter.

 

I sure hope these help

This summer I worked hard to purge, clean out and reorganize my garage.  Clutter accumulation has been a long standing issue out there but now I have plenty of space to work on any projects I may wish to do as well as some really good storage.  I have plenty of room to store the extra supplies I like to stock up on for the upcoming winter.  Having a clutter free and organized space makes it so much nicer to access what I need when I need it.  It is so nice to go out to my garage now.

 

I got all of the A/C units and box fans cleaned up and stored away for winter

Some of the siding on the house has come loose at the seams so I grabbed some screws and my drill and got that all secured so next time it rains I won't need to worry about water getting into the walls.  I also did some caulking along those seems to make them even more water tight.

 

The garage is much easier to keep tidy now
The stuff on the floor on the left is gone too!

Fortunately, this year I didn't have too many home repairs to make, I am in pretty good shape around here.  I try to make repairs to my home as soon as the need arises rather than putting things off.  I find that by doing things right away the job at hand is usually quicker and easier than if I put it off and allow it to get worse.  Procrastination isn't good when it comes to maintaining a home.  I know it is always best to get things taken care of right away.  By taking good care of my house it will ensure I am able to keep a sound roof over my head for a good long time to come.