As the year begins to wind down, there are several things we try to get done before the snow flies. These fall and winter preps will go a long way toward preventing problems later. Every single one of these may not apply to every single person, as living situations vary from household to household. But consider these reminders as a way of brainstorming other things that might be unique to your situation.
It’s important to remember that preparedness isn’t just about disaster mitigation. It’s about making life easier all around.
Preparing for the Fall and Winter Months
In the Yard
There are several things we do in the yard to prep for fall and winter. Let’s start with one thing we don’t do, which is rake leaves. Leaf debris is good for the soil. It also provides food and shelter for a range of beneficial insects. We’ll clean up sticks and branches if they fall, but leaves can stay put.
The garden gets put to bed, which involves pulling up any remaining dead plants and adding compost to the soil. This is also when we’ll plant garlic to harvest in spring.
We don’t always purchase firewood, but we likely will this year. We have a typical gas furnace, but we also have a wood stove that can provide supplemental heat as needed to cut down on utility bills. Plus, it’s an asset in case of some sort of grid-down emergency.
Garden hoses will be drained and stored away for the season. Outdoor spigots will be covered to help prevent any issues with freezing.
Gutters will be cleaned, including downspouts. Doing this goes a long way toward preventing ice dams in the winter, which can be quite damaging.
The lawnmower will be used one last time and run dry. It gets swapped out for the snowblower in terms of garage positioning. The snowblower gets inspected and tested well before it’s actually needed.
Ice melt buckets are placed by the front door as well as the garage door. Snow and ice removal tools, such as shovels and choppers, are also put into position.
In the Home
There are a few things we do inside the house to prep for fall and winter as well. For starters, the crockpot gets unpacked from the cupboard. What can I say? We live in the Midwest. We were issued a crockpot when we bought the house. It’s great for all manner of hearty soups and stews.
Couch and chair blankets are dug out from closets, washed and dried, and put into position throughout the living room. We keep the house pretty cool during the winter, with the thermostat usually set around 65°F. While we’re digging in the closets, we’ll pull jackets and other winter outerwear to the front.
Before it gets too cold outside, we’ll wash the windows inside and out. This is a tedious job, but the windows aren’t going to clean themselves, unfortunately. As we work our way around, we’ll eyeball the weatherstripping around exterior doors to see if anything needs to be replaced.
The more we prep for fall and winter, the less work we’ll have through the seasons. It’s all about doing what we can to ensure life moves as smoothly as can be expected.
