6 Easy Ways to Prep Your Home for Winter

We have rounded up a list of crucial indoor and outdoor tasks you can easily do yourself, and take less than 20 minutes. Completing these tasks can help you avoid costly repairs in the future!

Indoor

1. Reverse your ceiling fan: If you have ceiling fans, there should be a switch to enable the blades to run clockwise. When the blades run in a clockwise motion it can help push heated air down, potentially saving you money on your heating bills!
2. Dig out the humidifier: This is especially important for people with kiddos. Don’t wait until you’re woken up at 3am with a bloody or stuffy nose! Adding essential oils to your humidifier can also be a great way to boost your family’s health!
3. Clean out your clothes dryer vent: It’s easier than you think! Start by shimmying the dryer out from the wall, then disconnect the vent pipe, and vacuum lint out of the pipe and where it connects to the machine. The leading cause of house fires are vents clogged with old dryer lint! Before your dryer is filled with sweaters, take this precaution.

Outdoor

1. Disconnect your hose: Disconnecting your hose and letting your spigot drain should be done as soon as the weather reaches freezing temperatures. Leaving your hose connected risks your pipes freezing and, in some cases, even bursting! Leading to extremely costly repairs. Take the time to complete this simple task.
2. Think ahead – buy ice melt: You will thank yourself later. When you need ice melt, you never want to brave the temperatures to go out and get it! Moreover, everyone will be rushing to the store for this item after a storm. Keeping some on hand can save you the headache of running to the store in the freezing cold and grabbing some. Let’s face it, temperatures in the Midwest can change at the drop of a hat, you never know when you may need some!
3. Mow over those leaves: You read that right! Mowing over the leaves in your yard speeds up the decomposition process. Allowing the leaves to decompose in place will help to fertilize your soil and give your lawn plenty of nutrients before winter.