Daylight Savings Time is here. We fell back an hour and should be caught up on our sleep now. When you own a home or rent, there are several things that should be done 2 times a year and this is the perfect time to remember.
1- Change all of your clocks, obviously. Many do it for you now, but there is still the few that just are not SMART enough. Car, Microwave, Old Clocks, Oven, etc.
2- Flip you mattress, yes this needs to be done a couple of times a year to keep it from getting deformed and broken down in one place. I like to pull the whole bed out and vacuum behind, under, and everywhere. It is a great day to do some deep cleaning. I mean you do have an extra hour!
3- Change the batteries in your smoke detectors- This is super important for several reasons. The obvious, you want them to work if there happens to be a fire. Also, there is nothing more annoying than that high pitched chirp that happens in the middle of the night when you are all warm, cozy, and snuggled into a deep sleep.
4- Change the filters in your HVAC- It is super smart to do this before you run the heater and also before the summer when the air is running. Keeping this clean and changed 2 times a year, keeps the air in your home filtered as well as keeps your energy consumption down a little. A clogged filter does no good for anyone.
5- Winterize your outdoors- It was almost 90 yesterday in Sonoma, but it is probably still time to face the facts that its time to put the sensitive plants a little closer to the house. Yes, I have a coffee tree that I have been babying for 5 years.
It is also a good time to put your cushions and such away for the winter. Give your barbecue a deep clean. Do some winter fertilizing. My cute husband even put out his rain gauge a month ago. If you have one, this is the time to set it up.
6- Clean out the gutters- In Sonoma Valley, this probably should have been done about a month ago in anticipation of fire season, but if you have not already done it or even if you have they probably need it again. Fall leaves are coming down fast and you want those gutters clean so the water can flow through the gutters easily. Gutters are important because they keep the water from dripping down the wood siding and causing wood rot.
7- Restock and check your BOB “bug out bag”
What is this you ask? It is your emergency kit. Food, water, flashlights, candles, blankets, etc. Just ask yourself, what would you need for 3 days if there was an emergency. Don’t be naive, emergencies happen everywhere. Have a plan, what clothes do you want, shoes, computers, important papers,(we keep ours in a safe deposit box at the bank). If you family is separated, do you have a preset meeting place? If your kids are at school, a friends, etc and there is no communication. Do they know how to find you? After living on the islands, we had to use this plan a few times. Denny’s was our Kona plan. City Hall is our Sonoma plan. 
Make one, you will never be sorry.
