💢Daylight Savings Time Chore Checklist💢
We hate them but we all know that have to be done ... argh!!!
Maybe we can contribute to the economy and pay someone to do the chores for us ... there's a thought😄
🕑Change the batteries in ALL of your smoke alarms
🕑Refresh your emergency kits - make sure items are up to date e.g. tin goods, water, batteries etc ...
🕑Rotate the items in your pantry, fridge and medicine cabinet for expired products.
🕑Deep clean any outdoor patio furniture or pillows that may have been outdoors or stored during winter.
🕑Deep clean on your appliances. Pull out your fridge, stove, dryer and washer and clean vents, filters, and dust.
🕑Run a deep clean cycle in your dishwasher - either purchase a cleaner or just run an empty cycle on your hottest settings (Baking soda and vinegar are perfect to use here on this hot cleaning cycle). Clean your filter per manufacturer's suggestions. Be sure to clean those gaskets, too!
🕑Clean your oven. Keeping build-up of old food spills cleaned out of your oven helps make it run more efficiently.
🕑Clean the filter in your exhaust fan/hood. I simply soak mine in hot, soapy water + vinegar then I gently scrub with a soft brush if needed.
🕑Defrost, rotate and clean out your freezer. Be sure to vacuum out the vent to ensure quality airflow.
🕑Deep clean the drawers, shelves, and gaskets of your fridge.
🕑Deep clean the lint trap in your dryer and washer (newer washers have traps to clean, too) not just the screen, but down in the machine, and pull off the hose to shake out any residual lint build up. If you are unsure how to do this, Google is your friend or if you kept the manufacturer's manual, refer to that.
🕑Check everything fireplace related. Doing a visual check of fireplace will help against accidental fires or malfunction. Clean out filters, check for blocked flues, call for service if it's been a year, etc…
🕑Clear out the gutters, repairing any broken roof tiles and guttering that may have occurred during winter. I personally do this twice a year – at the end of winter and the end of summer. Doing this prevents all kind of nasties from occurring i.e. bird’s nests, grass suddenly appearing from the seeds that the birds have found around the neighbourhood, leaves from trees.
🕑Change any air conditioning unit or HRV unit filters.
🕑Rotating, flip and Vacuum a mattress. Rotating and flipping a mattress can help further the useful life of your mattress. Modern mattresses are a little harder to flip, but at least rotating can help give you a longer shot at not developing the deep valley rift between you and your partner.
Vacuuming monthly is suggested for maintenance to remove dead skin and other icky things we just don't really want to talk about. But try doing this at least semi-annually if you haven't done so before.
🕑Rotate your tyres (if you already haven't done so) also, make sure that you have the correct tyre pressure. If you are unsure as to how to do it, just anyone at the air pressure station, most people are more than willing to teach you to do it or even do it for you.
🕑Organise your wardrobe. This is a good time to rotate, clean, and inventory your seasonal clothing. Put away out of season clothes and hang out linens to refresh for the new season.
🕑And last by no means least, to see that glorious sunshine, you will need to clean the windows inside and out. It will give you a change to remove any mildew that may have formed around the window frames. This is a good time to also inspect for seals, weatherproofing, weather stripping on doors, too!
Have fun and even even more fun if you can delegate half of these chores 😄😄
What's your favourite recipe for courgettes?
Kia ora neighbours. If you've got a family recipe for courgettes, we'd love to see it and maybe publish it in our magazine. Send your recipe to mailbox@nzgardener.co.nz, and if we use it in the mag, you will receive a free copy of our January 2025 issue.
Live Q&A: Garden maintenance with Crewcut
This Wednesday, we are having another Neighbourly Q&A session. This time with John Bracewell from Crewcut.
John Bracewell, former Black Caps coach turned Franchisee Development Manager and currently the face of Crewcut’s #Movember campaign, knows a thing or two about keeping the grass looking sharp—whether it’s on a cricket pitch or in your backyard!
As a seasoned Crewcut franchisee, John is excited to answer your lawn and gardening questions. After years of perfecting the greens on the field, he's ready to share tips on how to knock your garden out of the park. Let's just say he’s as passionate about lush lawns as he is about a good game of cricket!
John is happy to answer questions about lawn mowing, tree/hedge trimming, tidying your garden, ride on mowing, you name it! He'll be online on Wednesday, 27th of November to answer them all.
Share your question below now ⬇️
Calling All Puzzle Masters! Can You Solve This?
When John was six years old he hammered a nail into his favorite tree to mark his height.
Ten years later at age sixteen, John returned to see how much higher the nail was.
If the tree grew by five centimetres each year, how much higher would the nail be?
Do you think you know the answer to our daily riddle? Don't spoil it for your neighbours! Simply 'Like' this post and we'll post the answer in the comments below at 2pm.
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Head here and hover on the Following button on the top right of the page (and it will show Unfollow) and then click it. If it is giving you the option to Follow, then you've successfully unfollowed the Riddles page.