How to Prepare Your Home for Winter
Real LifeIf you live in an area where snow tires and flannel pajamas are winter essentials, you know that cold weather can bring unexpected surprises for your property.
It's October in the NYC area as I write this. Steve and I will be working on the gardens and lawn for the next few weekends. Then we will turn our attention to winterproofing our house.
Are you ready for winter this year?
How to Prepare Your Home for Winter
Prepare your home or rental property for winter so you can maintain its value:
- Get a tune-up for your heating system and change the filters.
- Check your carbon monoxide monitors and smoke detectors and replace if needed -- before you put up your Christmas tree or holiday decorations.
- Get your chimney cleaned if you have a fireplace.
- Turn off the water that leads to the outside faucets and sprinkler systems so those pipes don’t freeze and burst. (Learned from experience!)
- Install programmable thermostats. Ours are set to 65 at night and 68 during the hours when we are home. We’ve saved hundreds every season by doing this.
- Check your windows. Are caulking, plastic covers or new energy-efficient storm windows needed?
- Clean up your lawn and garden, adding mulch, raking leaves, planting bulbs and doing other landscape maintenance.
Watch this video for 3 Ways to Prepare Your Home for Winter.
My Snow Resume
In 1977, the Buffalo, NY area, where I grew up, had one of the worst blizzards in history. Snow reached my second-story window, and school was out for two weeks. Even though I live in the NYC area now, I ALWAYS prepare my home for winter. (see photos from the Buffalo Courier-Express)
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