The Checklist: Keep chores indoors during the July heat

Create or clean a home office

(Ian Waldie/Getty Images)

On a day when you’re loath to leave your air-conditioned home, take the time to establish a home office or make the one you have function better. If you’re lucky enough to have a dedicated room, you might just need to sort through stacks of bills, catalogues and whatever else is piled up. Cull what you no longer need, and set up files or bins to organize and store the rest.

If you don’t have an office, create a miniature one in a room that also has another purpose. You might be able to fit a desk into a corner of a dining room that you don’t use often. Or set up a mail-sorting area in a mudroom or laundry, especially if it’s by the door you use most frequently. Another possibility: Clean out one shelf of a bookcase and add trays or file boxes (like ones made for storing magazines) to hold bills and the like.

Getting rid of books you no longer need or have room for is easy. Many local libraries are grateful for donations, which they sell to support other library programs.

Oil your garage door

To keep the biggest moving part in your house working smoothly, spray lubricant on your garage door’s hinges, rollers and tracks. While you’re at it, look for signs of more serious trouble:

— Inspect springs, hinges, cables and other parts for signs of wear.

— Check whether the door is balanced. To do this, close the door and disconnect the opener. Then lift the door manually. Make sure it goes up evenly and stays open.

— Test the reversing mechanism, which is designed to keep the door from closing on someone. While the door is open, place a piece of wood directly underneath. Then turn the door opener back on and signal the door to close. It should reverse the instant it touches the wood.

If anything is amiss, call a service technician from a garage door company. Adjusting a garage door isn’t a DIY project; there’s a serious risk of injury if you don’t do it right.

Use AC efficiently

With a few simple steps, you can significantly reduce the load on your air conditioner, reducing your power bill and your contribution to global warming:

— Set the thermostat at 78 degrees or higher. Every degree below 78 costs you about 8 percent more on your power bill.

— Install a ceiling fan and use it when people are in the room. Switch it off when the room is unoccupied.

— Limit the use of kitchen and bath fans while the air conditioner runs. They exhaust the cool air you just paid for.

— Keep your air conditioner running efficiently by cleaning the indoor and the outdoor coils. (Find specifics at the Family Handyman.)