1. Clean and clear your plants

The first thing you would want to do is to prepare your plants for the winter. By preparing, we mean you should cut off the dead stems and clear the dead foliage. This step will prevent the entire plant from being rotten. Clearing the plants will also stop the insects from multiplying.

2. Bring certain plants inside

Certain plants, like green tomatoes, cannot survive biting cold. As a result, often you find luscious tomato plants dying in a day. You definitely don’t want that, right? If you have green tomatoes or other similar plants in your garden, the trick is to bring them inside. They will be able to thrive much better inside than outside in the biting American chill.

3. Clean up the entire garden

After the autumnal shedding, you should clean up the entire garden. Removing withered leaves from the garden will ensure there are no clogged pipes and drains. If there is a need for any repair in your garden or backyard, don’t delay it. Also, if you want, you may give your evergreen trees a good trim now!

4. Try and mulch the entire space

A splendid way to let your garden thrive happily through the winter is mulching the entire area. Covering the soil ensures it due to protection from the repeated frosts and excessive cold. One of the best ways to create a natural mulch is by covering the garden with the withered leaves that you collected in the previous step. This will keep the garden at a consistent temperature and prevent the soil from getting ruined.

You can do so by collecting fallen leaves and leaving them to rot, as leaf mold also discourages weeds. Thereafter, spread a layer of mulch over the soil around your plants, bushes, and shrubs. This trick will also work for areas experiencing heavy storms alongside snow and rain.

5. Don’t fertilize your roses

If you have roses, it is always good to not fertilize them post summers. Also, do not prune or cut blossoms for this will stimulate growth resulting in the plant’s death at first frost. If you live in excessive colder regions, you can use a burlap shelter as an added protection alongside the mulch that we spoke about in the last point. All these will ensure your roses stay happy all through the winter.

The post Maintain Your Garden Through The Harsh Winter With These Simple Tips appeared first on Pep Up Home.

1. Clean and clear the gutter

Often while house maintenance, we forget about the gutter and the drainage system, which is an integral part of our house. Before the winter arrives, you would want to clear it, and even replace the same if need be. After all, if they get clogged during the winters, you might end up having flooded interiors, which no one wants during winters at least.

2. Turn off and disconnect your garden hoses

The next step is to check and make sure all the garden and outdoor faucets are turned off. Also, make sure to turn off and drain all the outdoor hoses from spigots so that the water does not freeze inside these pipes. Freezing water inside pipes may result in them bursting, which none of us really wants.

3. Fix and fill the gaps in your driveway

Now, this may seem absolutely unnecessary and tedious chore. However, trust us when we term it as one of the main maintenance chores. If you ignore a tiny gap in your driveway, water can seep into the same during the winter, freeze and eventually make that small gap bigger. And if it gets way too bigger, your entire concrete set-up might crumble, resulting in the creation of a giant pothole. We are pretty sure you can do without the pothole, right? So, take care of it now before it gets too late and costly.

4. Fertilize your lawn

Wondering why we are talking about lawns and gardens here for winter maintenance? Well, it is often said that prevention is better than cure. Likewise, take care of your lawn from today if you want to maintain it well tomorrow. While the grass might not grow during winters, the roots are always active. So, make sure to apply fertilizers that will prevent further winter damage. Doing this will ensure the grass to grow fast and smoothly right after the winters, making your spring and summer look bright and verdant.

5. Check your heaters

It goes without saying that heaters are by far the most important and utilized household item during winters. So, before the fall and winter arrive, you would want to ensure that your heaters are running smoothly. If you use wood hearth, you might want to check the chimney for any maintenance that it may need. Furthermore, check if your carbon monoxide detector has proper batteries in place or rather change them before it gets too late.

The post Prepare Your Home For Winters With These Easy Fall Maintenance Tasks appeared first on Pep Up Home.

1. Spell out a message for your guests

If you have guests coming over for dinner party or lunch, you can use pumpkins to spell out the message. For this, you would need to paint the pumpkins (the number of which should be equal to the number of letters). After the paint is dry, you can stick marquee lights on them to spell out the word. It may seem hectic but it’s extremely easy and worth the effort. Alternately, you can also get one big pumpkin and carve out the message.

2. Pumpkin vases to display succulents

Parties without flower decoration are not quite a party. So, for the next party, you throw, chuck the usual vases and swap them with pumpkin. Pumpkins are very pretty in color, and you can accentuate the orange tone with blushed succulents in pale pinks, green and so on. They look extremely charming and are a unique way to display flowers.

3. Swap your house number plate with pumpkins

Make the entrance of your house quirky and smart by using pumpkins to display your house number on. This cute little gesture will not only make it easier for your guests to locate you (and the party!) but also make an extremely unique gateway. You can add a pumpkin succulent vase beside the pumpkin with house number to jazz up the situation.

4. Transform your table into art with pumpkins

Pumpkins are pretty, let’s admit. Otherwise, how could simple addition of pumpkins of different sizes make your table a charming display of art? For that fall special lunch or dinner party, keep pumpkins of different sizes and DIY rustic candle-sticks. Keep them on the center of the table and scatter that area with freshly fallen maple leaves. And you’re done! You can thank us later.

5. Mini-pumpkins to jazz up your living room

When it comes to decorating your living room for the fall and winters, mini pumpkins are the way to go. Keep them in a cluster or scatter them around your room, they look pretty and extremely adorable in every setup. You can keep them in glass jars or canisters or even as bouquets – we promise the decor will be the highlight of your party.

6. DIY cute pumpkin candle holders

Can you decorate your entire home with pumpkins and not use them as candle-holders? Of course, not! And that is exactly what you can do to jazz up your party. Carve out designs on one side of the pumpkin and insert delicate tea-lights. Keep them wherever in the home you want to, they will look pretty and appealing always. you can also use string lights.

The post 6 Creative Ideas To Decorate Your Living Space With Pumpkins! appeared first on Pep Up Home.

Retailing at a price of just $59.99, this Amazon’s favorite blanket is essentially a reversible heated blanket. The ruby-colored beauty has one regal flannel side and another fluffy side, which you can snuggle in depending on your mood and the cold. It further comes with three heat settings that ensure its usability in varying degrees of coldness, and an extra-long cord to enable you to remain seated (or even working) in your position while it gets charged. The Maxkare electric blanket has a run time for four hours, which is indeed a bonus coming at such an affordable price range.

Worried about the product’s hygiene on being used for longer periods of time? Well, you would be elated to know that this blanket can well be washed in your own washing machine itself despite being an electric one.

This cozy blanket further makes up for a great gift this festive season. Or, if you are willing to keep it with you, you can as well add it as a sofa throw or a bed throw. Its vibrant color is sure to look great with all kinds of decor. You can snuggle in it as you watch your favorite show on TV or play indoor games with your partner or kids while it snows outside.

Ah! There is, however, one downside. If you buy just a piece of this blanket, be ready to fight with your family members over who’s going to use this blanket. It is that soft and warm!

The post This $60 Find Can Be Your Secret To Save Money On Energy Bills This Winter appeared first on Pep Up Home.

Now, it goes without saying how important the fireplaces and chimneys are in a home situated in a cold area. It is a great way to keep the house warm and comfortable without having to bother about spending too much electricity. So, before the winter ushers itself in its full might, follow these great tips to make your fireplace and chimney winter-ready:

1. Sweep the chimney properly

According to the guidelines furnished by the National Fire Protection Association, a chimney must be swept thoroughly at least once every year to ensure its smooth operation without inviting any hazards. The dangerous debris and soot, if not cleared, may pose a great fire threat to the house. However, all you need in a proper sweeping to clear this mess and the probability of danger.

2. Note the abnormalities while checking for damages

While you or a professional sweep the chimney, ensure that you note any abnormalities that might be there. It can be even something as trifle as an odd smell that should not be emitting from the chimney or fireplace. Also, if you find any loose bricks or mortars or any further damage to your chimney or fireplace – especially if they are old – make sure you note them down, too, and repair immediately.

3. Inspect the gasket material and damper

Gaskets are very important parts of chimneys, which when it does not work properly, may supply more oxygen to the fire than needed, resulting in overheating and even hazardous fire. After completing the same, you should go on to check the damper – which is essentially a valve inside the chimney regulating airflow. If you want to ensure a safe warmth inside your entire home, this step is indispensable.

4. Clean the bowler

If you have a fireplace with a bowler, make sure it is adequately cleaned. The fireplaces generally don’t have any filtered bowler so the accumulation of soot and other debris is common. So, clean up your bowler to ensure it does not have any buildup before the commencement of the winters.

5. Cap your chimney

Capping the chimney is again extremely important for you don’t want any birds, squirrel, rain and even now entering your home through it. So, check and clean the cap. If your chimney as a faulty cap or the cap is missing in its entirety, now is the right time to repair or replace it.

6. Check your smoke detectors

Keep your smoke detectors properly checked, with batteries intact and the alarm in running condition. These smoke detectors help you identify carbon monoxide and other hazardous gas emissions. So, taking care of the smoke detectors and alarms must feature in your priority list.

The post Excellent Tips To Make Your Fireplace And Chimney Winter-Ready appeared first on Pep Up Home.