Have you noticed that new chill in the air? What does it mean for your house and lawn?
Time to prepare for winter! Here are some things you should be doing now:
- Aerate, fertilize and seed your lawn for beautiful spring grass.
- Bring cold sensitive plants inside.
- Have your furnace serviced.
- Change furnace filters to increase efficiency & save on your heating costs.
- Drain your hotwater heater and clean out sediment now to keep water hot all winter!
- Plant bulbs to produce spring blooms.
- Clear gutters & downspouts of leaves & debris. Keep this up until the leaves finish dropping.
- Shred and store all those falling leaves for next spring. They’ll be wonderful mulch for your spring flower beds.
- Store garden hoses to prevent cracking and leaking.
- Plug holes and air leaks in your home. Add insulation and caulking as needed to reduce winter heat bills.
- Put insulated doors on your fireplace so, when not in use, you can close it off to prevent heat from pouring out of your house through the chimney.
- Take walks & collect twigs to keep the fires blazing all winter long.
- Stock up on hearty soup recipes.
- Clean & store patio furniture. If you don’t have much room, at least bring in the cushions.
- Put out birdfeeders and keep them filled all winter to help our feathered friends through the cold months.
- Buy some pumpkins and some mums and enjoy the season!
What can you add?
Love your Blog. I read it everytime you post something! These are wonderful tips for the winter and I will utilize ALL of them!!!
Oct 20th, 2009 / 11:15 am
Thank you so much.
Oct 21st, 2009 / 1:11 pm
Hey Karen:
Yes, this list is almost complete at my house and my investment property and I am glad. It always make me sad to take all my beautiful plants and decor in for the winter.
Another thing I do is set up a “makeshift” greenhouse for my wonderful summer plants. I took the back wall in the garage, built a bench from end to end about 12′L x 2′W and covered it with heavy duty plastic wrap (you can buy it by the roll at any hardware store – cheap). I then built a box with scrap 2″ x 6″ lumber and lined it with heavy plastic. It is about half the length of the bench and the same width. I filled the box almost to the top with Miracle Grow soil and replanted the geraniums, asparagus ferns, impatients, etc. in the box. On each side of the box, I bought large plastic storage boxes so I could “sit” the larger plants in their containers in the storage box without replanting. This helps keep the water where it needs to be also. I have grow lights in the florescent light fixtures above and additional grow lights (for warmth)hanging across the back focused down on each of the areas. These are plugged into a timer which is on about 12 hours a day. I stapled heavy duty clear plastic wrap from the back wall across the top and let the plastic hang down, tucking it under the boxes. Luckily, I have a water source close by and I hook my Miracle Grow feeder to the water hose and hose everything once every 2 weeks. This way, I have blooming geraniums in January when it is cold, dark and grey outside. I love it as I can also “dig in the dirt” even when the dirt outside is frozen.
Almost all the plants make it, and I do not have to replace them when I am ready to take them back outside in April or May. It may not save money with the additional electrical costs, but it saves my sanity in the winter.
Oct 27th, 2009 / 10:17 am
Oh, my gosh. This is so fantastic. I would love to see photos of what you’ve done. Fabulous!
Oct 27th, 2009 / 10:27 am
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Oct 21st, 2010 / 10:38 am
Okay, so i had to go look up how to maintain a water heater (love D/IY Network). Here’s the link for those of you who need a step by step guide how to do it:
http://www.diynetwork.com/plumbing/tips-on-maintaining-a-water-heater/index.html
Thank you Karen for always teaching me something new. I love your blog!!
- Candyce
See you Saturday!
Oct 27th, 2010 / 10:31 am
Candyce:
Thanks for the link!
Oct 27th, 2010 / 11:07 am
Love your Blog. I read it everytime you post something! These are wonderful tips for the winter and I will utilize ALL of them!!!
Dec 23rd, 2010 / 6:17 pm
Love your Blog. I read it everytime you post something! These are wonderful tips for the winter and I will utilize ALL of them!!!
Dec 28th, 2010 / 10:56 pm