Spring Forward Fall Back - Routines For Your House Around This Biannual Event

The spring forward fall back biannual event changes the time forward or back an hour, but you can also use the event to remember to do certain chores around your home.

Photo by alancleaver_2000

Then, on the first Sunday of November, at 2 a.m., in the United States is the end of Daylight Saving Time for the year, and that is when people "fall back." This means that people move their clocks back one hour and "gain" an hour.

I'm personally not an early riser by nature, so I love fall back and hate spring forward, but either way it becomes the new normal pretty fast.

* Generally Daylight Saving Time is observed in most of the United States, with a few notable exceptions including Arizona, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, U.S. Virgin Islands and American Samoa.

Upcoming Spring Forward Fall Back Dates

• March 11, 2012 - spring forward
• November 4, 2012 - fall back

Other Routines You Can Schedule Around Spring Forward Fall Back Around Your Home

As you can see from the dates listed above we're about to change our clocks again. When that happens I personally have a couple of other routines I also try to do at the same time, just as a way to remember some things that I don't need to do very often, but do need to get done around the house.

Some examples of these include:

• Air and turn your mattresses
• Clean drapes and curtains, and replace lighter or heavier ones, depending on the season
• Wash rugs and clean carpets
• Clean your basement, garage and/or attic
• Take the time to make this your seasonal cleaning weekend, such as for spring cleaning or fall cleaning
• Make sure your supplies are up to date in your first aid kit (check this first aid kit checklist for more details)
• Check your smoke detectors and at least once a year change the batteries in them, whether you think the batteries need to be changed or not
• Update your family's fire escape plans and practice a family fire drill

The reason that spring forward fall back time is such a good time to do these chores is because it comes during a change of seasons, when several things need to be done around your house.

Further, these types of routine things that don't occur at least monthly can be difficult to remeber in general, and also to remember when you did it last. A set time every year can help jog your memory, making the task easier for you to recall.

So this year try doing some of these additional steps when you are going around to each room of your house (and don't forget your car!) changing your clocks.

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