Household Maintenance Tasks To Tackle Before the Holidays

This post is sponsored by 3-in-One Brand

Today I wanted to chat a bit about some tasks you can tackle now to prepare your home for the coming winter season. Before all the decking of the halls begins, now is a great time to tackle those minor (but need-to-be-done) household projects before the holiday craziness sets in. These are the types of things that are easy to overlook but if you take a few minutes one day to get them all done you will be glad you did.

Replace Smoke Detector Batteries

This one is always top of my must-do list and yet we always seem to procrastinate it. Then, at 3AM our smoke detectors start chirping and WILL NOT STOP! They say you should switch out your batteries each year at Daylight Savings Time (which is this weekend) so consider this your reminder! Keeping the right size battery on hand, and then switching them all out annually, will hopefully prevent those dreaded middle of the night wake ups and keep your family safe and protected.

Fix Squeaky Doors with 3-IN-ONE_® Multi–Purpose Oil

We love this useful oil for a ton of projects but especially for all our squeaky doors and cabinets. A few drops of 3-IN-ONE_® Multi–Purpose Oil and everything will move smoothly and quietly, no creaking doors in the middle of the night! We keep our kitchen cabinet doors oiled using this, as well as our bedroom doors to ensure they all move quietly without sticking. I also like to use it on my antique cabinet furniture doors as the oil helps the hardware hold up against corrosion as they age. This oil is also useful for maintaining sewing machines, keeping suitcase wheels rolling smoothly (be sure to check those if you plan to travel this holiday) and we use it to keep our kids’ bikes greased up and the gears moving correctly. You can learn more about 3-IN-ONE_® Multi-purpose Oil here.

Vacuum Out Dryer Vent

As the daughter of a career fireman, this one is hard-wired for me! It is always a good idea to periodically vacuum out the dryer vent that leads to the outside of your home. While it may not guarantee against a dryer fire, it is the best way to minimize the chances of any built up debris igniting and causing a dangerous fire.

Winterize Your Exterior Hose Connections

Before it gets cold in your neck of the woods, be sure to turn off your outside hose bibs. We know from experience that this can be a costly item to overlook. A few years ago we sold our home in the middle of winter, and being so busy with the sale and getting moved we overlooked this detail (after the home inspection which needed the water on) and our pipes froze! We had to pay for a costly repair a few weeks later at settlement so we are now careful to do this each year before the temperatures fall.

Clean Your Oven

With all the holiday baking and Thanksgiving/Christmas cooking ahead now is the time to clean your oven. You can either use your self-cleaner and let it run as directed or one of the other techniques to do it more naturally. Going ahead and cleaning it now means your house won’t be filled with smoke instead of the aroma of cooking turkey or cookies.

Change Air Filters

Fall, like spring, is also allergy season so make sure you change out the air filters in your home before winter sets in. This will reduce any leftover allergens that have accumulated on your filters. I also try to vacuum all my bathroom exhaust fans as dust accumulates on them, so I do this task at the same time I change out my filters. Also be sure to check your humidifier (if you have one) and replace any filters before it starts churning out moisture during the dry winter months.

What household tasks do you do each year before winter sets in? Make sure you purchase some 3-IN-ONE Multi-purpose Oil to have on hand for all your household tasks.

You can find 3-IN-ONE Brand products at Walmart and other retailers.   

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