what autumn chores do you have at your home?

[forestdale]

I love autumn.  For me it's that time of year when I feel that everything is possible and all is right with the world.  However deluded those feelings may be, autumn gives me the energy to be creative and thoughtful about prepping for the coming winter. My main autumn focus is on my garden and animals and if I have time, I like to do some knitting too. 

There are some garden shrubs that like an autumn pruning and some that like to keep their foliage for protection during winter.  It was trial and error finding which was which, but it's under control now and if I do it right, I get massive new growth in spring.  I also like to lay straw mulch around the roses and I fertilize the camellias.

I get my animals ready for winter too, and autumn, with it's cooler days and nights, reminds me that soon sleeping outside will be a hardship.  For my dogs and cat, I make new bedding and wash all the regular bedding.  One dog sleeps on a bed above the floor - it's made of hessian on a metal fram, the other dog prefers the floor.  She has a padded hessian mattress.  For both of them I make a small quilt that goes on top of the hessian, they both have a woollen blanket too which my DH covers them with on cold winter nights.  Hettie the cat sleeps in a big cardboard box on a blanket.  This year, when she was sick, DH added a small electric blanket for her.  Did I tell you our animals are a spoilt lot?  These three sleep in our big shed. 

The chickens are in their coop.  I cut down a small sappling tree and make them new perches.  They like two perches; one for the senior members of the flock and one for the junior misses.  I clean out their coop from top to toe, scrub their nesting boxes and then when it's completely dry, I make new fluffy nests for them out of shredded paper from DH's office.  Sometimes they sleep in their nests, but mostly they sleep on the perches.  During winter we give them some warm oatmeal late in the afternoon when we feed our animals.

I'd love to know what autumn chores you have at your home.  We are all so different, I'll look forward to reading how you all spend your autumn.

[homesteadmamma]

We put our garden to bed - pull everything out and then till it twice, depositing our compost into it while tilling it. We make sure all our gardening tools are cleaned and hung properly in our garden shed.

I cover the perennials up with leaves and burlap.

Fall is the time of the year when I get my canning/preserving finished.

Fall is also the time of the year when I do a major stockpiling. It takes me two months (usually) to get enough of a stockpile for at least 6 months.

Fall is the time of year when we prepare our home for the longer and cold winter months. We make sure everything is ready, checking windows, checking water pipes in the basement, making sure we have our Christmas lights installed early, making sure our furnace is cleaned and ready.

[forestdale]

CJ, do you use window quilts in winter?

[homesteadmamma]

Rhonda, no we don't. We installed all new windows in our home the year we moved in, all except 3. On those 3 windows, we use acrylic plastic. When I talk of checking windows, its those 3 windows we check along with a basement window dh has to change from a screen window to a glass one.

[Mom23boys]

Chores for the fall around here would be:

~clearing the front porch
~checking for leaks around windows and doors
~sealing off any leaks
~wrapping the water faucet/pipes outdoors
~stockpiling food for winter
~decorating for fall ( I love to decorate)

[momof42003]

My fall chores would be

putting the garden "to bed"
getting all the outside kids toys put away till spring
getting all the garden "stuff" put away
checking for any repairs or leaks to the windows and doors..
changing out the summer stuff to the warmer stuff-ie blankets, and clothing.


This is about all that I can think of right now..

[Darlene]

~Smile at the woodpile
~Cleaning gardens and putting them to bed
~raking leaves
~get cars ready with snowbrush , & in trunk shovel, blanket, jumpercables etc. Make sure it's all tuned up and get some windshield fluid in there.
~switch garage & shed into winter mode. Away goes some stuff to the back and others like snowblower etc. come forward
~smile at the woodpile
~stock up on blackoil sunflower seed & suet for my feathered
friends
~put away patio furniture & hammock
~take down the window screens(& put away in basement) and wash windows so I can peek out them with an unobstructed view.Take screen out of front door & replace with glass. That way when it's just slightly chilly I can still open the wood door and have the screened windowed door bring lots of light in.
~decorate for the season. Corn stalks, punkins & mums for Fall
Wreath, and red bows with greenery for Christmas
~dig out the shovel & put it by back door
~find all the mittens, scarves,boots ,coats & make sure they are all ready for the season ahead
~smile at the woodpile...

[jlxian]

Our fall chore list is much the same as the others posted.

Our biggest chore is to get in the firewood for the winter. In previous years we have been able to get end cuts from a saw mill --- filling a utlity trailer for about $15 or $20. But the saw mill is out of business so we are scrounging for our wood this year. And DH has discovered that age has caught up with him when it comes to cutting, loading onto the trailer, unloading and splitting. Its not as "easy" as it used to be.

We also get all the windows covered with plastic. I'm considering making some kind of insulated window treatment this year like the window quilts. I just want it to be something that I can take down during the day --- I hate being cooped in a dark house.

This year I'm planning to go around with a caulking gun and fill every crack and crevice I can find.

Make draft stoppers for the bottoms of doors.

Be sure the propane tank is fairly full.

Winterize the cars.

I'm sure there are more --- just can't think of them right now.

[Michele Annette]

* Remove window screens, vaccum the sills, wash the windows and put up new insulating plastic.

* Bring out the area rugs for the kitchen and entryway.

* Build up the stockpile for us and our cats.

*Take inventory of candles, batteries, emergency supplies, etc.

* DH checks the furnace

* Wash all bedding for kitties and get out warmer bedding.

* Switch over to flannel sheets and warmer bedding as it gets colder.

* Buy supplies early for Christmas gifts, treats and wrapping.

* Bring out Winter clothing, put away Summer clothing.

* We have to change our oil in the car to a thinner grade in Winter.

* In the car we have an emergency blanket, snow brush/ice scraper, paper towels/rags, extra oil, windshield washer fluid, anti gel fuel additive for diesel.

* Empty the buckets in the back with the tomato plants, stack and put in the basement.

* Put garden hose in the basement

[Dedlered]

Put the patio furniture away
Winterize and close the pool
Get the snowblower and shovels out
order Wood
Find the winter coats and check for fit
Put the garden to bed
Stock up the freezer

[pkellyc]

Cleaning and more cleaning. basement, eves, windows, walls, drawers just about everything gets cleaned out and washed.
This year I need to replace a door sweep
We have two sheds and we swap summer stuff for winter stuff to the shed closest to the house
my basement windows need to be caulked
two more rooms to paint
I want the above all done by Halloween
Somehow I am not sure it will get all done this year, my dh is working 6 to 7 days a week. I am on my own.
And then the yard work, guttters, and leaves and more leaves 300 ft deep of property all covered in leaves, all the way to Thanksgiving!
I will try to post a picture when they are are turning and you will know what I mean
I also would like to wash our siding down (maybe this will get done maybe not)
A challenge this year for sure, I had better get moving!

[slowtypinwoman]

~ clean the gutters
~ Close the pool
~ cut and stack wood
~build up stock pile
~ burn off the garden
~clean stove pipe
~ get out the winter blankets
~ make sure the down comforter is ready
~ Start Christmas baking just after Halloween

[jlxian]

Originally posted by slowtypinwoman
~ clean the gutters
~ Close the pool
~ cut and stack wood
~build up stock pile
~ burn off the garden
~clean stove pipe
~ get out the winter blankets
~ make sure the down comforter is ready
~ Start Christmas baking just after Halloween

I forgot all about cleaning the stove pipe --- very necessary!

And beginning the Christmas baking, too, although I don't start after Halloween. You must make a bunch of stuff --- do you have a special fruitcake? Cookies? YUM!