Home

• Clean lint from clothes dryer vent, from the dryer drum to where the air is vented outdoors.
• Clean underside of range hood and clean or replace filter.
• Keep the air intake grill to a furnace or air conditioning appliance clean and free of dust and lint.
• Gently dust or use a soft brush to clean bathroom exhaust/ventilation fan blades. Work slowly as some blades are easily knocked out of alignment and can become noisy.
• Is it time to reapply grout sealer to grout? Follow the grout sealer manufacturer's recommendations for how frequently the grout should be sealed.
• Spruce up the appearance of chrome plated bathroom and kitchen fixtures. Automotive chrome cleaner and polish will often help to improve their appearance. Test first in an inconspicuous place. Once clean, if the cleaner doesn't contain a polish, coat the chrome with a quality automobile wax.
• Add books to your wish list. Every home should have at least three books on home repair and maintenance: one detailing how a house is constructed, a general how-to "encyclopedia" and a guide to cleaning.

Garden

• Annuals can still be planted, but unless they are in jumbo packs or 4 inch pots, they vegetate until warm weather. Consider planting Iceland poppies, pansy, viola, fairy primrose, calendulas, sweet William, flowering kale and flowering cabbage.
• Camellias (Japonicas and Sasanquas) are in bloom or in heavy bud now. Select yours. Look for the tag showing the colors of the flowers. 
• Perennials now in bloom and available are English primroses. You can plant these in full sun at this time of the year. The blooms will tend to fade in hot summer sun.
• Bring branches indoors of forsythia and flowering quince for forcing. You'll have brilliant displays of color during the holiday season.
• Water any plants under overhangs.  They may not get rain and can suffer from lack of moisture even when rain is coming down in buckets.
• Strawberries, bare-root fruit and nut trees, cane berries and grapevines are just coming into the nurseries. Get yours while they are in prime condition.
• Use dormant spray on deciduous fruit trees, shrubs, roses and berries to kill overwintering insects, their eggs and any disease organisms hiding on the plants.