It’s the last month of the year and if you’re a homeowner, you know what that means. We have a lengthy holiday season that includes Christmas and New Year celebrations, as well as some last preparations for winter we have to get out of the way.
Our goal this month is to finish up home improvement tasks and repairs for the winter, and of course, prepare the house for the holiday season as best we can. So here’s your ultimate December home checklist!
Finish winterizing your home
There are a few important safety precautions you can’t miss before winter comes. Take a moment to winterize your home’s outdoor area, such as protecting faucets and draining pipes, as well as trimming down trees.
If you’re wondering why these are so important, I’ve recently covered how to prepare your home for the winter!
Bring out the layers
It’s already getting chilly in most regions, so if you haven’t already, it’s time to fully immerse yourself in winter layers. Take out throw blankets for the couch, and heavy blankets for the bedroom, as well as your winter clothing.
Since some of it may have been stored for a while, it might take a few days to wash and dry everything, which is why starting early is best.
Set up your holiday decoration
Christmas is the star of the show this month and you will see it pretty much all over the world. It’s time to get a Christmas tree and decorate your home!
There are plenty of options for both indoor and outdoor decoration, depending on how much you want. And our inspiration blog is filled with Christmas decoration ideas, so don’t forget to check them out!
Inspect your home’s insulation
With the cold becoming more unforgiving, you might want to inspect your attic insulation to make sure it’s holding up. Besides that, it’s also crucial to insulate your doors and windows, especially if you notice a cold breeze coming from any of them.
It’s not just the minor inconvenience of a bit of cold wind, it’s because these “cracks severely impair your heating system from maintaining a comfortable temperature. As such, it will have to work harder and for longer to achieve good results, which spends way more energy, skyrocketing your bills.
Taking some time to properly insulate your home as part of your December home improvement tasks will save you a lot of money on energy and heating bills for the upcoming months.
Get the fireplace ready
Many homeowners enjoy sitting by the fireplace, even more so during Christmas. But as the fireplace may have been dormant for a while, you have to perform a chimney inspection first. A clogged chimney will trap the smoke inside your home and create a fire hazard, and it can also become home to a variety of small animals.
After that, remember to acquire a stock of firewood and firestarters ahead of time. You can store firewood outside in large quantities, ensuring you don’t run out of heat on a cold night.
Prepare for holiday celebrations
Holiday celebrations will be the bulk of December, culminating with Christmas and shortly followed by New Year’s Eve. There’s a lot to prepare for.
Decide on recipes. If you’re hosting, try to research and prepare for your recipes ahead of time. You need to know what to buy and how much food to make, so deciding on the recipes early is a good idea. And if you’re hosting for the first time, we have a guide on how to host Thanksgiving dinner that might be useful to you. Sure, Thanksgiving is already over, but the principles of hosting a family celebration are the same!
Prepare for guests. Most households receive family over Christmas and sometimes they stay at least for a few days. Take some time to prepare your home for guests, such as ensuring they have where to sleep and shower in peace during their stay.
Don’t forget about the gifts! The gifts are the highlight of Christmas and it’s way easier to manage if you start early. There are plenty of sales and offers during this time, so make a list of all the people you want to gift to and start looking for gift ideas. If you order gifts online, they have plenty of time to arrive before the big day.
How about we kick things off with that chimney sweep? Everyone loves to sit by the fireplace during this time of the year. Get free quotes today for chimney sweeping pros in your area!
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