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Fall fix-ups. The home and garden experts at Farmers’ Almanac recommend the following tasks to help ready your home for winter. Get these chores out of the way to leave time for seasonal fun, and look for more information — including helpful how-to videos — at .
Inside
Change the furnace filter.
Check all doors and windows for drafts and apply weather stripping, caulking or putty where heat sneaks out.
Test all smoke detectors and replace batteries if necessary.
Check for proper insulation and add more, if needed. Your attic floor is key since heat rises and is lost.
Protect plumbing even if pipes have never frozen in the past. Use pipe jackets, fiberglass insulation or electric heating tape. Wrap lines that run through exterior walls.
Insulate your water tank to retain heat. It’s better for the environment and winter bills.
Outside
Clean gutters.
Disconnect hoses and store them indoors for the winter.
Trim trees and shrubs that touch the house.
Put up storm windows.
Stock up on sand and salt for icy, snowy weather.
Pull out annuals once they’ve died back.
Have your chimney inspected and cleaned, if necessary.
Plant flower bulbs including lilies, daffodils and tulips.
money
Custom sofa giveaway. Bassett Furniture is celebrating its 106th anniversary by giving away a custom-designed sofa every day through Dec. 18. The company’s custom upholstery design options include more than 750 fabrics, arms, backs, pillows and bases. Log on to . to use the interactive custom upholstery and design tool to enter and possibly win your free sofa.
energy
Refillable cleaning bottles. Arm & Hammer’s new Essentials Cleaners are plant-based products sold as small concentrate cartridges. Simply fill an empty bottle with regular tap water and mix in the concentrate cartridge. The plastic bottle can be reused over and over again with only the purchase of refill cartridges. The company says consumers will buy 80 percent less packaging than traditional pre-filled cleaners, and production and delivery of the product is easier on the environment. The products range from $2.68 to $2.99 for the Starter Kit, which contains the reusable trigger spray bottle and one cartridge. Refill packs with two cartridges are $3.74 to $3.99. Details and retail information are available at armandhammeressentials .
