The home improvement season is winding down now as the day slowly get a little cooler and the sun starts setting a little earlier. Fall is traditionally a slow time for home improvements due to several factors including the beginning of school, the lack of sunlight and the impending trifecta of fall holidays from Halloween to Thanksgiving to Christmas. There are still, however, a lot of great things you can do between now and then and the cooler but still mild weather of the early fall makes it easy to accomplish a lot of these projects without breaking much of a sweat.

This fall in particular is a good time to consider some larger home improvement projects. The slowing economy and housing market means a lot of home improvement contractors and big box hardware stores are hurting for sales and many are offering lower prices and all sorts of amazing home improvement financing offers at the moment. But even if you’re not planning any big projects, there are plenty of smaller home improvement projects you can do this fall to get your home ready for winter and the upcoming months of holiday activity.

Here are seven great projects that won’t take much time or cost much money but will definitely make your home a nicer place to live in the upcoming months.

Seal or Replace Windows and Doors: The dry air of the fall and the heat of the summer can do a number on the caulk and sealant around most exterior doors and windows, so be sure to do a quick inspection around your home to make sure everything is still in top condition. A little air leak or crevice may not seem like much now, but it doesn’t take much to make a house drafty and cold enough to raise your heating bills. It’s no fun trying to caulk around exterior windows in January, so take advantage of the good weather and do it now. If your windows and doors are old or no in good enough repair to caulk you may want to consider replacing them. I took three years to completely replace all the windows in my house, doing just a few windows each fall.

Plant Grass: Want a thick carpet of green grass in the spring? Plant grass seed and overseed your lawn between September and early November, being sure to make sure it gets plenty of water. Next year your lawn will be established and will have a head start on the growing season by already being in the ground.

Plant Flower Bulbs: Nothing says spring like flowers popping out of the ground in March, but March is still too cool and often wet to do any real gardening. Save yourself the trouble by getting your gardening going now instead of later. Flower bulbs will stay dormant all winter long and will make your spring flower beds look like you’ve been working hard on them every weekend in March! You may want to use some gardening mesh or deterent for squirrels and other small animals who find flower bulbs to be a tasty treat.

Inspect Your Furnace and Fireplace: Sure, it’s inconvenient and sometimes dangerous when your air conditioner doesn’t work, but if your heat breaks down in the dead of winter you could have a life-threatening situation on your hands. Have your furnace or heating system inspected before you really need to use it and be sure to replace any filters in advance of the cold weather. If you have a fireplace you may also want to have it inspected and cleaned before you go to start the first fire of the season and find that you have some unexpected problems.

Clean Out Your Gutters: Falling leaves and accumulated sticks and twigs from all season can quickly block up your gutters which means that snow and ice can get stuck and possibly even weigh down your gutters to the point where they bend or break. In additional to cleaning out your gutters you may want to consider installing gutter caps or guards and making sure that all your gutters drain out far enough from your home’s foundation as to not cause any problems. Even if you already have gutter guards be sure to check everything over and look for blockages because even the best guards still let in some debris from time to time.

Add Insulation To Your Home: No matter how insulated your home may be, a little more couldn’t hurt. Older homes can almost always use another layer of insulation in their attics and walls. Attics are usually easy to fill, but walls are a little more difficult. There are several methods which include cutting holes in your walls and blowing in insulation. Even putting up new siding with a layer of external insulation can help cut down on heating bills and help your home retain heat.

Paint Those Walls: If you want to get ready for all those visitors for the upcoming holidays then you might want to spruce up a few rooms with new coats of paint. Painting is relatively easy to do and a fairly inexpensive home improvement project that can make a dramatic difference in the feel of a room. Use the mild fall weather to paint indoors and leave the windows open to help alleviate the fumes and help the paint dry faster. For a little extra charge you can try one of the many new lines of eco-friendly and low-odor paints offered by most big home improvement stores like The Home Depot and Lowe’s.

So there you have it, seven quick home improvement projects you can dive into this fall before the weather turns cold and holidays keep you busy!