The end of cottage season has arrived, regrettably. Closing our summer home (as our four-year-old granddaughter calls it) is lots of work, as any cottage owner will tell you. This time of year is not nearly as much fun as the beginning of the season when the anticipation of summer weather motivates you.

Outdoor Chores

This week the weather has been especially nice, great for outdoor things like removing docks, storing outdoor furniture, winterizing the boat, cutting the lawn one last time, emptying containers of annual plants, and more. This year we are still cleaning up trees from the derecho that swept through our area in May.

The beautiful weather is also perfect for one last lakeside coffee and bonfire. And capturing a picture of one lone monarch still hanging around, gorging on nectar before his long trek south.

Inside Jobs for end of Cottage Season

Inside the cottage fridges have to be emptied and cleaned out, freezers defrosted, and any liquids moved to the basement pump room. We keep this area a bit warmer than freezing temperature so our water pipes don’t freeze up. The water gets turned off and the pipes are emptied with antifreeze run through them.

Food items get sorted into “home” and “stay”. This means I will have two of many things in my home fridge. Any nonperishable food that does not expire before next summer stays here, also stored inside the pump room.