With the clocks set, I turned to the standard home tip everyone knows for Daylight Savings – changing the smoke detector batteries…

You know, the little rascals that chirp their new battery request around 2 or 3am in this house. Always! And it’s a high-pitched chirp no one wants to hear at that early hour. So give yourself a pass and change out those batteries now. It’s a good idea to stay on top of the batteries anyway because these guys are lifesavers!

Next up, during this time I change the batteries in the tv remotes and give them a good wipe down while they have my attention…

I do the same thing with the house phone handsets. Yep, some of these do require batteries (check yours). Our phones are definitely due for a wipe down by this point.

Another good task to hit during this time of year is cleaning your computer keyboards, mice and changing batteries. I own a wireless keyboard and trackpad. Both require batteries…

And with the amount of time I spend here typing, they certainly need cleaning…

The computer used by the kids has a wireless keyboard, so I changed those batteries and cleaned it as well. Their mouse is wired, but as you can imagine…dirty handprints all over it, so it was cleaned!…

Many of you have seen this product before. It’s a huge help for removing dust and crumbs from a keyboard or other tiny, hard to reach areas / electronics…

This product can be found in office supply stores. It’s great for getting into the teeny-tiny grooves of keyboard keys. To clean mine I take the keyboard outside to spray out all of the loose bits. Doing this outside will keep you from cleaning up yet another mess. You’d be surprised how much and what will appear from inside your keyboard. Yuck! Then, I turn off the keyboard and wipe down every key. This goes without saying, but it’s not a good idea to spray cleansers directly onto your keyboard or mouse. Instead spray a little cleanser into a dry rag until it’s slightly damp or use a pre-moistened wipe.

Moving on, the bedding was changed from spring / summer to fall / winter…

Speaking of bedding, it’s also a great time of year to flip / rotate your mattress and vacuum it as well.

This is also a good time of year to replace burned out light bulbs both inside and outside your home. The other day I noticed one of Natalie’s bulbs was out…

Not only can you replace dead bulbs, but this is a great time to stock up your bulb supply so you’re never out when you need one.

Something else I enjoy doing during the fall Daylight Savings period is getting my calendar for the following year. I’ve been using the Martha Stewart calendar binder insert for over a year and love it…

If you’ve been reading my blog for a while this will look familiar to you. And actually, I’m glad I started looking for it because I can’t find it anywhere. I’m slightly worried she may discontinue this one…pleaseohpleaseno! Anyway, the hunt is on for me. But maybe your version is in stock, so grab your 2015 calendar and add it to your household binder or filofax.

With cold weather on the way, there are additional ways to prepare your home for the winter months…and winter illnesses too! You can see 8 additional tips along with everything else I mentioned above in this free printable I created for you guys. It’s nothing fancy, but could be useful in your home management binder / organizer.

Print, enjoy and then go knock some of these off your list!…

Oh, and if you have any task ideas, please share in the comments below!

Have a great day!