Getting Ready for Winter

It’s gotten chilly here in the deep south which is a reminder to make sure we are ready for winter. Although winters here are fairly mild, we still encounter many below freezing days, and once every 10 years or so we have significant snow fall. When it snows more than a dusting here everything shuts down, so no matter where you live you should expect the unexpected.

How to Sharpen Lawn Mower Blades -Video

Time to Winterize - The Yard

Things to do in your yard before winter:

Trim trees if there are branches close to the house or electrical wires.
Dig up and transfer flower bulbs, plant spring bulbs.
Mulch perennial flower beds.
Reseed bare spots in the lawn.
Seal driveways, brick patios and wood decks.
Move potted plants indoors before the first freeze.
Rake debris away from buildings. Leave some fallen leaves to fertilize your grass.
Stock up on salt/cat litter for frozen walk ways.
Empty water hoses and store in a shed/garage.

Time to Winterize - Secure the Outside

There are all kinds of things that need to be done to get ready for winter, many things you can assign to your older children.

Making sure that the house is ready for winter can make you more comfortable and save you money in the end.

Here are a few suggestions:

Furnace Inspection - Have your furnace inspected to make sure it is running properly. You don’t want that first cold snap to prove that it’s not.

Change all air filters.

If you have a fireplace get the pipes/chimney cleaned before you have to use it. The last thing you want is to call the fire department and have a house full of smoke, or worse.

Check the exterior doors and windows; this is the number one way to loose heat.

Caulk windows.

Replace weather stripping on doors.

Check your roof for any loose shingles or potential problems, you don’t want to make repairs once that winter wind starts blowing or the freezing ice and snow start falling.

Clean out all gutters and downspouts.

Inspect your foundation for any cracks that need to be filled, this will help keep the wind and rodents out.

Install smoke and carbon monoxide detectors. Put new batteries in all detectors.

Prevent Plumbing Freezes

How to Build a Deck - Videos

Here are some really good tutorials produced by Lowes to show you how to build a deck. These would be really good for your young men to watch to understand how a deck is built and get familiar with the terms that builders use.