The 15 Must-Dos of Fall Yard Cleanup

Autumn means football games and visits to the local pumpkin patch. It also means it’s time to get your yard ready for winter. The right preparation now will save you time and energy when spring rolls around, and will keep you and your family safe in the yard year-round.

From safety-proofing your yard to prepping your lawn for next spring, these steps cover everything homeowners should tackle this fall — whether you live in snowy Minnesota or sunny Arizona.

Fallen leaves and weeds are the perfect place for pests to settle in for the winter. Clear out flower beds to keep the critters away from your house. Pay special attention to rose beds, as their foliage can foster disease over the winter.

Safety tip: Debris poses a fire risk on top of giving pests a cozy place to hide. Clear dry leaves, sticks, and other natural sources of fuel that can feed a fire.

After the final harvest, pull out old vegetable plants and remove debris. Now is the time to prep your soil for maximum yield next season. USDA Extension recommends the following:

• Skip the tiller: Removing plant debris by hand leaves important nutrient networks in tact.
• Aerate with a broadfork tool: This adds oxygen to your soil without disturbing the layers, preserving a rich soil structure.
• Leave the leaves alone: Fallen leaves provide a natural mulch that will break down over the winter and release nutrients into the soil.

Sustainability tip: Consider composting vegetable debris — it enriches your soil for next year and keep waste out of landfills.

Trim up dead, damaged, or diseased branches you didn’t get to in the summer. Prune out-of-place tree branches that may cause trouble during the winter. You don’t want any branches breaking and falling during the snowfall to come.

Safety tip: If you live in a place with winter storms, pruning can significantly reduce your risk of damage to your home or other property during a storm.

In many areas, fall and winter are the soggiest seasons. Before the rain and snow start falling, clear out the leaves and other debris from your home's rain gutters. Check for proper drainage, clear out any blockages with a small garden trowel, and rinse with a hose.

Safety tip: Clogged gutters can lead to foundation damage and basement flooding. On top of cleaning out the main gutters, check your downspouts as well to make sure they are directing water away from your home's foundation.

Drain all water from hoses, fountains, drip irrigation systems, and other water features, and store them in a dry place. Water left standing over the winter may damage your equipment if it freezes.

Break up soil to keep water from pooling and guarantee that nutrients will reach the roots over the winter. A garden fork will do the job for small yards, but larger yards may require a walk-behind aerator, which should be available to rent for a reasonable price.

Best times to aerate:

• Northern U.S. – Early to mid-September for cool-season grasses like Kentucky Bluegrass and Fescue.
• Mid-Atlantic/Central U.S. – Late August to mid-October for these transitional zones with a mix of grass types.
• Southern U.S. – Skip fall aeration and mark your calendar to do it in late spring to early summer instead. Common warm-weather grasses like Bermuda and Zoysia grow best in warm weather, and fall aeration doesn't give it enough time to recover.

Send your yard into winter with the nutrients it needs to survive the long, cold sleep. Add a fall lawn fertilizer with high phosphorous content to encourage root growth and enjoy a lush, green lawn come spring.

Safety tip: Be sure to read all the instructions before applying phosphorus fertilizer, and wear protective gear like gloves and safety goggles to prevent damage or irritation from powders or splashes.

Fall leaves are a beautiful sight until they're all over your lawn. Left alone, leaf litter can suffocate the grass.

So, rake them up, shred them, and use them as mulch for young trees, shrubs, and flower beds to provide a boost of nutrients, help with weed control, and keep roots warm. You might even be able to skip the raking part if you use a lawn mower to mulch the leaves in your yard.

Safety tip: Be mindful of the safety risks of leaf accumulation: wet leaves are a slipping hazard and piles of dry leaves can be a fire hazard. Be mindful when using equipment to mulch leaves — give your mower a cool-down period before cleaning to reduce fire risk and keep mulch and leaf piles away from areas close to open flames (like a patio fireplace or grill).

Trim any dead branches and cut back overgrown trees and bushes during your fall clean up routine. If you have spring-blooming perennials like lilac or forsythia, now is the time to prune without risking blooms. For fall bloomers, you may want to wait until they've stopped flowering, which can be late winter or early spring.

Safety tip: Don't give burglars a place to hide. Pay special attention to bushes, shrubs, and other plants close to your home, especially those near windows. This improves visibility around your home, which makes it less attractive to potential intruders.

Set your mower to a low setting and give the lawn a close buzz before winter sets in. This helps the soil dry out more quickly in the spring, which leads to a lusher lawn.

Safety tip: Your mower has worked hard all season. Before the final mow, ensure the blades are sharp to prevent accidents caused by added strain, which could lead to mechanical failure.

If your perennials really took off this year, go ahead and spread the love. Divide plants and add them to other beds where they will also do well. This saves money and time in the spring. Fall-blooming perennials like chrysanthemums shouldn’t be divided now—wait and divide them in the spring.

Which perennials to divide in the fall: Now is the best time to divide plants that bloom in spring and early summer, like peonies, hostas, iris, ornamental grasses, and daylilies.

Keep sensitive perennials, shrubs, and roses in top shape through the cold days of winter. Add mulch to the base and wrap plants in cloth barriers to prevent damage from freezing. Depending on the hardiness of the plant and your climate, you can use a single sheet or blanket or wrap them in a combination of cloth and plastic.

Zones where cold protection is crucial: Protecting plants that are sensitive to cold is important in any USDA Plant Hardiness Zone where your plants' cold-tolerance level will be exceeded. If you live in a zone with average low temperatures of 25°F or below, this is a must-do. If you're unsure, you can look up your plant's hardiness zone online or check with a local nursery to see if it's temperature guidance is higher than your local growing zone.

Some plants do best when planted in the fall. If you want to add new shrubs or spring bulbs like hyacinth, now is the time to get them in the ground. Fall annuals like pansies are also a great addition to keep some color in your yard as other plants go to sleep.

Success tip: For the best results, plant bulbs six to eight weeks before the first hard freeze is expected. Almanac.com has a Frost Dates Calculator to help you plan your fall gardening schedule.

Prevent the growth of mold and mildew by giving the deck a good power wash. If you don’t have a pressure washer, you can rent one from a garden store. Once the deck is clean and dry, add a weatherproofing stain to protect the wood from moisture damage over the winter.

Safety tip: To prevent slips and slides over the winter months, we also recommend power-washing patios, porches, and walkways. For extra traction, consider applying a non-slip coating with grit additives to give steps and pathways a textured finish.

Plants get diseases just like humans and animals. Even if your gardening tools retire for the fall and winter, be sure to clean them thoroughly before storing them for the off season. All-purpose cleaner or rubbing alcohol can disinfect small tools like pruners and loppers while you can use bleach for larger metal tools like shovels.

Safety tip: Gardening and lawn tools are an investment. Don't put it at risk by storing them in an unsecured shed or other storage area. Add a padlock to sheds or look into a lockable outdoor storage box that's also weatherproof.

These fall yard tasks aren’t just about making things look tidy — they help protect your home, reduce risks, and set you up for a safe, stress-free spring. If you follow this checklist you’re bound to have a wonderfully winterized yard that will be ready to wow you with lush, green bounty once the warm weather returns.

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