As Baby Boomers and their parents age, we’re receiving more questions about how to manage their housing and their inheritances. We’ll continue to publish these questions, comments and our responses, and encourage you to keep sending them our way.

As summer wraps up and fall and winter approach, there’s plenty to do to get your home ready for the coming season. To figure out what seasonal tasks to tackle first — yes, starting today — we spoke with Joni and Kitt of Practically Perfect, a Los Angeles–based organizing and lifestyle company, and Ria Safford of RiOrganize, a Southern California–based organization company, to see what organizing must-dos can help prepare your home (and your mind) for the busy fall and winter seasons.

If you’ re faced with ugly-, dark- or a hideous-colored paneling in a room, you have two choices: remove it completely or cover it up. If you rip it off the walls panel-by- panel, you’ ll find more challenges. The paneling was likely installed on furring strips leaving the walls pockmarked with nail holes to patch or removing dried up adhesive, both a lot of work.

If your lawn is starting to look a little bare, overseed it before winter. This promotes thick grass growth and helps prevent weed growth.

The ideal lawn height before winter hits is 2 inches. That’s short enough to prevent snow mold but long enough to protect the grass roots from cold temperatures.

In general, grass needs 1 to 2 inches of water a week for a healthy root system. Keep an eye on the daily temperature and make sure you water the grass before the first frost. This will strengthen the grass and protect it from cold damage.

In yards with lots of trees, make sure to regularly rake up the leaves and remove leaf piles.