Guess what? It's that fantastic time of the year when the leaves decide to jazz up their wardrobe with a splash of new colors!

Do you know how to prep your home for the approaching autumn? It's alright if you don't - because we are here to help you out!

For this featured blog, We're going to be talking about 7 things on how to get your home prepared for the Fall and Winter seasons. We will leave no stone unturned, your house will be ready both from the inside and on the outside!

Here in Louisiana, it always feels like things can go from one extreme to the other. Since the autumn season is fast approaching, We're going to be discussing all the things that you can do to get ready for autumn and, of course, winter!

1.) Let's talk Exterior

It’s not quite cold weather time for us here in Louisiana but it’s coming!! The first thing to absolutely do is to check your door and window weather stripping for drafts. If there is anything that needs to be repaired, go ahead and repair it now before those cold winter days come.

Check your gutters and downspouts and clear any blockage that they might have. While you're up there, check your roof for any cracked, loose, or missing shingles. Get that repaired before the snow ends up sitting on top of it for this winter.

Now that you've enjoyed your patio furniture, go ahead and get it all wiped clean and store it away for the season. Turn off all your outdoor faucets and drain and disconnect any of your garden hoses to prevent freezing and cracking.

If you have any cracks in your driveway, you might want to consider getting those fixed now. What will happen is water will get in and as the temperature drops and they freeze the cracks will actually get worse.

This is something that not a lot of people think about but we definitely recommend to all homeowners.

2.) Rake falling leaves as often as you can!

Fall means lots of falling leaves - which are majestic on their own, and kind of make the season special. Yet, we're gonna recommend that you rake them up as often as possible.

I know that this can be kind of a pain because once you rake up your whole yard, five minutes later it feels like it's covered again.

But, you want to make sure that you don't keep all those leaves on the grass, matting it down and holding in that moisture that could cause damage to your grass. Also, you would want to make sure they're all cleaned up and disposed of before the winter season hits.

3.) Keep cutting the grass

Just because Labor Day has come and gone does not mean that your grass has stopped growing!

Make sure to provide it with water. Maintain it at the proper height so that while the top growth slows and finally ceases, the roots continue to expand throughout the winter.

4.) Clean your landscaping tools

Preparing for Fall is also basically, a preparation for winter.

So once you're done taking care of all your exterior landscaping, it's a good idea to take all your landscaping tools and get them all cleaned up and stored for the winter.

5.) Clean Everything!

One of the things that we always recommend doing during Spring (but also a really good idea to do in the fall) is to clean out your pantry and your medicine cabinets. Get rid of anything you've been holding onto there! It has likely expired or you may have needed to get rid of it during spring cleaning but simply couldn't bring yourself to do so, and get rid of it now. Obviously, if you're disposing of any medicine, make sure you dispose of it in the correct way.

Don't forget your refrigerator, now is a great time to take everything out of the refrigerator and wipe it down. Have it ready when you start stocking it full of those stews and soups that you're gonna make in the following months.

Take the time to check on your closet. If you have anything that you haven't worn in at least a year, if not longer, make sure to go ahead and pull this out of the closet and donate it. Don't just pack them up so that you can pull them back out next year - save that space!

If you have kids, now it's a great time to get a head start on cleaning out all the toys that they no longer play with and donating them. If you have older children it's a really good idea to get them involved in this process.

If you have a working fireplace that you plan on using this winter, it's a great time to have a professional come out and inspect the chimney and clean it.

6.) Change your HVAC filter

Make sure that your HVAC filter has been changed out, cleaned, and ready to go.

You might also want to consider hiring a professional to come over to your home to do a once-over on your system, especially if it's older.

You certainly don't want to find out that your fHVAC filter is not working on that first cold day or cold night when you need to flip on the heat.

7.) Check your gadgets and home automation

The most common thing people always forget (and even in the presence of most third-party backup systems!) is to back up their computer files. So if you haven't done that in at least a year, now's a really good time to do it! Another common thing to do this time of year is to check all the batteries in your smoke detectors and Carbon Monoxide Detectors. If you've lived in your home for a while you might want to check your fire extinguisher and make sure that's still in proper working order.

Getting ready for the fall gives you better chances of being ready for the winter. So make sure to prepare and don't get lost and be swept away from the falling leaves this season!