- Gutter Covers. You know why they call autumn ‘Fall’? Because that’s what the leaves are getting ready to do. And the pine needles. And acorns. And sweet gum balls…

Get those gutters covered now and save yourself time and money later. Believe me, cleaning your gutters is a crap-job, even if you have a new ladder. BONUS - clean gutters will help keep water out of your basement!

Know this tho – a flat gutter cover that lies in your gutter is not the answer, you need something with a curve on it to allow most of the leaves to go over the edge and off the gutter.

Also know this – having gutter covers, no matter what kind, no matter what the sales person told you does not mean you are free to never clean your gutters ever again. Stuff will still get in there and build up over time. You will still need to have your gutters cleaned every other year or so…

- Get your furnace serviced. Avoid the rush - know that the first night you desire warm air it will be there. Get on the list of your favorite HVAC company to come out, change your filter (oh yeah - the filter) and tune up your furnace. Get on the schedule now. I will pause right here until you make the phone call…

… Got it? Good!...

- Check your insulation. You should have 20″ of blown in insulation in your attic to meet Energy Star requirements. Hop to it now and save some money - there are insulation installers out there now offering discounts. There are still some tax credits available I believe. Stick your head up in your attic – see wood joists on the floor? If yes, then you need insulation. Easy as that…

- Get your house on a pest control schedule. Get a whole house treatment now and sign up for quarterly inspections. Don’t wait until you see a bug in your house, kill them outside - now, and teach them a lesson.

Bonus service – only deal with companies that service the inside of your home too, after all, it’s the bugs inside that you want gone.

Get on it. You didn’t fight your way to the top of the food chain in order to chase a cockroach around your bathroom…

- Wrap exposed pipes. Take a moment and crawl through your crawlspace. See any plumbing pipes exposed? How about in your garage? You can wrap those with a foam wrapper and save some money this winter.

Foam pipe wrappers are available at all big box stores and can be installed by even the clumsiest of husbands.

Do it now and avoid freezing when you are trying to do it later…