Getting Ready for Fall!
By Chris Petry
I’m about to tell you something that may shock you. Horrify you. Depress you. Have you removing clumps of your own hair like you’re weeding the garden. School is starting soon. How soon? In just one to two weeks, the majority of schools will have opened their doors for the Fall 2024-Spring 2025 learning season. Where did the time go?
Now that you’ve had a moment to compose yourself, let’s make a checklist of everything that has to be done to prepare for school and otherwise, as we head into the final part of 2024.
Purchasing school supplies – By now you’ve surely picked up some of the basic essentials your child will need to complete their assignments. Age-appropriate tools might include everything from pencils, ink pens, colored pencils, and crayons to lined paper, filing folders, tablets, laptops, and for the college-aged kiddos, furniture, storage tubs, lamps, and laundry baskets. A large number of retailers are in the midst of their back-to-school sales, including Target, Wal-Mart and Amazon, so be sure to shop for the best deals on crucial supplies.
Purchasing clothing- While it’s not essential that you spend thousands of dollars on new, expensive, designer clothes that will almost certainly be destroyed in quick order on the playground or otherwise, it’s fairly typical to pick up a few new pairs of pants, shirts, skirts, dresses, and shoes for the fresh school year. Much like learning supplies, there are deals everywhere at the moment on back-to-school duds. Nordstrom, Kohls, Macy’s, JC Penney, Old Navy and all the usual suspects have sales in effect on their websites and in-person stores as we speak.
Acquiring sporting equipment- Whether your kiddo’s participating in football, hockey, track and field, soccer or competitive dance, they’ll need the proper attire and sporting accessories to do so. Check with the major players like Dick’s Sporting Goods and Dunham’s, as well as local shops and chains who can help you procure the right supplies for your kid’s sporting excellence.
Preparing the house and yard for Autumn- Yeah, while it’s very important you get everything your offspring needs to be successful in school, you also have some home-related concerns to prepare for. While no one wants to think too much about it, what follows school? Fall. The leaves will be coming down and temperatures will be dipping. Plan some time, before the explosion of activity that comes with Fall, to address these things. Make sure yard equipment is in good working order (it should be coming out of summer), reseal windows and cracks in masonry, give the hedges and trees a final trim, schedule an inspection on your furnace, prepare to close the pool following Labor Day and maybe even dust off the Halloween decorations.
Get your home on the market- If your goal is to sell your home this year, now’s the time to cross the I’s and dot the t’s. Or wait, is that the other way around? Anyway, there’s no time like the present to make any last-minute repairs, finish any remodeling and seek the advice of a professional REALTOR who can help you devise a comprehensive marketing strategy to increase visibility for your home. If you’re looking to buy a home, inventory tends to dip in early October so the next several weeks will be important, providing more variety in the types of homes available to you.
School’s coming. Cool weather’s coming. Of course, no challenge is too great if you’re fully prepared to take it on. So, what are you waiting for?
