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Daylight Saving Time officially ends this weekend, in the early morning hours of Sunday, Nov. 7. Clocks will be rolled back an hour, which means, for next new months, the sun will be rising earlier in the morning and start setting around the time you’re likely headed home from the office, if not before. Assuming you are going into an office again.
Yes, this is the second time we’ve rolled clocks back during a pandemic, though at least this year, the usual argument for ending Daylight Saving Time during the winter months—we don’t like kids heading off to school in the dark—feels a lot more relevant than it did in 2020, when more than half of kids were still learning remotely. Still, we’ve got those long dark evenings to look forward too. Sigh. Daylight Saving Time is ending, and you can say goodbye to the sun until March 2022.
But while you definitely want to make sure to set those clocks back before you head to bed on Saturday, Daylight Saving Time is also a good time to remind yourself to do a handful of other maintenance jobs around your home. While you’re going around manually changing your clocks, take care of a few other essential tasks you may have been putting off.
Put fresh batteries in your smoke alarms
You know how your smoke alarm always ends up running out of battery in the middle of the night? (Usually during a night when you you really needed to get some sleep?) Save yourself the future hassle and use Daylight Saving Time as an opportunity to check to make sure your smoke detectors are working and pop in a fresh set of batteries.
According to the National Fire Protection Agency, two-thirds of all fire deaths happen in homes where the smoke alarms aren’t working (or aren’t even there in the first place). Use Daylight Savings Time as your reminder to check on yours.
Reverse your ceiling fans
Ceiling fans can spin in two different directions. In the summer, you want the fan’s blade to spin counter-clockwise, which pushes air down. In the winter, it’s better for your fan to spin clockwise, which will pull the cold air up.
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Daylight Saving Time is a great time for you to take a few minutes to dust those fan blades and, while you’re cleaning, to flip the switch on the side to reverse the blades.
Replace your air filters
You’re about to turn on your heat, if you haven’t done so already. Use Daylight Saving Time as an opportunity to check your air filters. If you haven’t swapped them out in a while, they’re likely full of dust, which can be a fire hazard at worst and, at best, will prevent your heat from working as well as it could.
Check your gutters
You know when you don’t want to have to clean your gutters? In the dead of winter. Hop up on a ladder this weekend and check out your current gutter situation (or make an appointment for someone else to do so). Cleaning out all the dead leaves and debris is going to be much easier now than it will be a month from now, and could save you a costly roof repair bill later. Save yourself the hassle by planning ahead.
Restock your emergency kit
Everyone should have an emergency kit, packed with some non-perishable food and first-aid supplies, ready in the event of an earthquake, a hurricane, or some other disaster.
Use Daylight Saving Time to make sure your home emergency kit is fully stocked. If you ended up breaking into your stash during this past summer’s hurricanes, floods, and wildfires, for example, you’ll want to make sure you’ve replaced everything you’ve used so you’re prepared for the next one. (Now is also a good time to swap out your stockpile of canned goods for some that are a little fresher.)
This post was originally published in November 2018 and updated on Nov. 1, 2021 with more relevant information and context.
