What the house needs in December, north of the equator
10 jobs, in five groups.
December is a quiet month for the house and a busy one for everything else, so keep the list short and keep it to the things that matter. Test the smoke alarms, which takes two minutes. Keep the dryer lint clear, because this is the month it runs hardest and lint is what turns a fault into a fire. Watch for condensation on the coldest windows and in the corners behind furniture, and open the windows for ten minutes a day whatever the weather is doing. Clean the oven properly while you are using it most. Outside, keep a hole open in the pond ice by standing a pan of hot water on it rather than breaking it, keep the bird feeders clean and full, and clean and oil the tools while nothing needs them.
Safety
- Test every smoke alarm
- Press the button on each one until it sounds. It takes two minutes and it is the single most useful thing on this list.
- Clear the lint from the dryer and its vent
- Every few weeks in the months you use it most. Lint is what turns a dryer fault into a fire, and the vent matters as much as the filter.
Inside
- Watch the cold corners for condensation
- Behind wardrobes, in window reveals, on the north or south facing wall. Black spotting is mould and it starts as water on the glass.
- Air the house for a few minutes a day
- Even in the cold. Ten minutes of open windows costs very little heat and takes out the moisture four people breathe out overnight.
- Clean the oven properly
- Do it in the season you use it most, which is when the spills happen. Cold oven, proper cleaner, an hour of waiting.
- Run a hot empty cycle in the washing machine
- Quarterly, at the hottest setting with a machine cleaner or a cup of soda crystals. It is what stops the door seal smelling.
The garden edge
- Clean, sharpen and oil the garden tools
- In the quiet months. A sharp spade is half the work of a blunt one and rust starts in the week they go away dirty.
- Clean the feeders and keep them filled
- Through the hard months, when it matters most. Clean them properly each time, because a dirty feeder spreads disease among the birds it feeds.
- Keep a hole open in the pond ice
- Stand a pan of hot water on it rather than breaking it, which sends a shock wave through the water that fish do not survive well.
- Turn off and drain the outside tap
- At the isolating valve inside, then open the tap outside to let the water out. It is the single commonest winter burst.
Tick them off as you go
This page is the plain list for December. The same list is tickable onthe house through the year, where the ticks are kept on your own device and cleared at the start of each year. Nothing is sent anywhere.
The garden half of the month is on the almanac page forDecember, which covers what to sow, what to plant out and what is ready to pick.