Fall Home Maintenance Checklist for Fox Valley Homeowners: 5 Jobs, 0 Tools to Buy
Fall in the Fox Valley comes with a short list of jobs that protect your home through winter: clearing the gutters, sealing window drafts, feeding the lawn, hauling leaves and cleaning out the garage. Each one needs a tool most homeowners use once or twice a year. If you've bought or sold a home with Holzl Homes, you can borrow every one of those tools free from the Holzl Homes Tool Shed, whether you live in Geneva, Batavia, St. Charles, Aurora, Naperville, Elgin or nearby.
Key takeaways
- The five jobs: gutters, window drafts, lawn feeding, leaf and mulch hauling, garage cleanout.
- When to do them: before winter settles in, while the weather still cooperates.
- What it costs Holzl Homes clients to borrow the tools: nothing.
- Who can borrow: anyone who has bought or sold a home with Holzl Homes, for as long as they own their home.
- How to reserve: sign in to the HomeCare Client Portal, pick your tool and dates, pick it up, bring it back.
- Where we serve: the Fox Valley area and beyond, including Batavia, Geneva, St. Charles, Aurora, Naperville, Elgin and surrounding Kane County communities.
The 5-Job Fall Checklist
1. Clean the gutters. Fall leaves fill gutters fast in tree-lined Fox Valley neighborhoods. Clogged gutters can send water toward your foundation and freeze into ice dams over winter. Clear them once most of the leaves have dropped. Tool you'll need: an extension ladder. Borrow the aluminum ladder from the Tool Shed.
2. Seal drafty windows. A thin bead of caulk around window trim is one of the cheapest ways to keep warm air in through an Illinois winter. Check the exterior trim and interior casing for gaps or cracked old caulk. Tool you'll need: a caulking gun. The Tool Shed has two, so you and a neighbor can work at the same time.
3. Feed the lawn before winter. A fall feeding helps grass store energy for spring. An even spread matters more than the product you choose. Tool you'll need: a broadcast spreader. Borrow ours instead of buying one you'll use twice a year.
4. Haul leaves and mulch. Raking is the easy part. Moving the piles to the curb, compost or garden beds is where the afternoon goes. Tool you'll need: a wheelbarrow. Borrow it, use it, bring it back.
5. Clean out the garage. Clearing out leaves, dirt and summer debris before winter makes room for the car and keeps salt and slush from mixing into the mess. Tool you'll need: a wet/dry vacuum. Borrow the one from the Tool Shed.
Before You Buy a Tool, Ask One Question
When's the second time you'll use it?
For a lot of fall projects, the honest answer is “probably never.” That's the tool that ends up behind the lawnmower for five years. The Tool Shed exists so Holzl Homes clients can skip that step entirely.
Bonus: Get the Front Door Ready Before Thanksgiving
Thanksgiving is Thursday, November 26. If your front door is the first thing guests see and it's peeling, there's still time. A door refresh usually means stripping old paint, sanding, and repainting on a flat work surface. The Tool Shed has everything for it: the heat gun, the electric sander, the airless paint sprayer and the folding sawhorse and jobsite table.
Everything in the Holzl Homes Tool Shed
- Aluminum ladder
- Cordless drill driver kit
- Airless paint sprayer
- Electric sander
- Heat gun
- Caulking guns (two)
- Folding sawhorse and jobsite table
- Wet/dry vacuum
- Air mover and carpet dryer
- Broadcast spreader
- Wheelbarrow
How Borrowing Works
Sign in to the HomeCare Client Portal, choose what you need and the dates you want it, pick it up, and bring it back when the job is done. It takes about two minutes.
Who Can Use It
Anyone who has bought or sold a home through Holzl Homes. There's no expiration date. We call this group our Forever Clients, and a client who closed eight years ago gets the same access as someone who closed last month.
The Tool Shed is one piece of Holzl HomeCare™, our program for looking after clients before they buy or sell, through the move, and every year they're in the home after that.
About Holzl Homes
Holzl Homes is a real estate team with Keller Williams Infinity Illinois Real Estate Team, led by Carie Holzl alongside brokers Stacy Schoester, Christa Mabry and Michelle Meyer. The team has sold $225M+ in career home volume and worked with 650+ families across Kane County, placing it in the top 1% of agents in the area.
Holzl Homes, 5 N. Third St., Suite 201, Geneva, IL 60134. (630) 299-4459. holzlhomes.com
Frequently asked questions
What should be on a fall home maintenance checklist in the Fox Valley?
At minimum: clean the gutters, seal window drafts, feed the lawn, clear leaves and mulch, and clean out the garage. These five jobs protect your home from water, cold air and winter mess.
When should I clean my gutters in the fall?
After most of the leaves have fallen, and before winter weather sets in. In heavily wooded areas, some homeowners clean them twice.
Do I need to buy a ladder, spreader or wet/dry vac for fall chores?
Not if you're a Holzl Homes client. Every tool on this checklist is in the Tool Shed and free to borrow.
Is the Tool Shed free?
Yes. No rental fee, no membership cost and no charge per use.
Can I borrow tools if I didn't buy or sell with Holzl Homes?
Not yet. The Tool Shed is open to anyone who has bought or sold a home with us. If you're thinking about buying or selling in the Fox Valley area and beyond, reach out and we'll talk about what that looks like.
How long can I keep a tool?
You choose your dates when you reserve it. Each item shows its booking window in the HomeCare Client Portal before you confirm.
Which towns does Holzl Homes serve?
The Fox Valley area and beyond: Batavia, Geneva, St. Charles, Aurora, Naperville, Elgin, Elburn, West Chicago, Wheaton, Oswego and the communities around them.
Already a client? Sign in to the HomeCare Client Portal to reserve your tools. Thinking about buying or selling in the Fox Valley area and beyond? Call (630) 299-4459 or visit holzlhomes.com.
Keller Williams Infinity, independently owned and operated.
