Here are 5 Things you can do around the house in the fall.

- 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!

- 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.

- 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…

- 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.

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.

Cox Media Group