1. How about putting up you Christmas lights early. Just don't turn them on yet. It sure beats going outside in the cold and freezing while getting the lights hung around your roof.
2. Make sure your furnace is in good working order. If it has a filter, check that the filter is clean and replace it if it's not clean. Ensure that the thermostat and pilot light are working properly and that the pipe bringing fuel to your furnace isn't leaking or loose
3. Consider installing a programmable thermostat for your heater. It can save you up to 15% by not having heat on when you don't need it while you're under your warm blankets or away during the day. Then it can be programmed to come back on before you wake up in the morning or return home from work.
4. Have your heating ducts cleaned. It's recommended that the ducts be vacuumed every five years. Check your fireplace and have your chimney cleaned out by a chimney sweep. Fires can start in a chimney from years of creosote built up in a dirty chimney.
5. Remove your hoses from your outside faucets and drain the water from the hoses. If you have a frost proof hose bib, they can still freeze and burst if a hose is left connected to it. The way a frost free faucet works is it shuts the water source off inside the home with a long shut off stem inside the basement. However, if a garden hose is still connected to the faucet, water will be trapped beyond the shut off and will freeze and break. Always disconnect your hoses.
6. Get to know your plumbing. Learn how to shut the main water off in your home and know where your pipes are located. If your pipes do freeze, time is of the essence. The quicker you can shut off the water, or direct your plumber to the problem, the better chance you have to prevent water damage.
7. Trim trees and remove dead branches. Ice, snow, and wind could cause weak trees or branches to break, damaging your home or car, or injuring someone walking on your property.
8. Clean those gutters. Once the leaves fall, remove them and other debris from your home's gutters - you can do this by hand or use a 2-1/2" wide spackle knife or use a long attachment hose to a leaf blower. Blocked gutters & downspouts can form ice dams, in which water backs up, freezes and causes water to seep into the house. As you're hosing out your gutters, look for leaks and misaligned pipes. Also, make sure the downspouts aren't blocked at the bottom where they exit.
9. After a snow storm, make sure snow piles are not blocking your downspouts or sump pump discharge outlets. Remove piles of snow from around doorways, sliding glass doors, basement window wells, or low to the ground windows. As the snow melts, water can seep in around these areas and also damage the seals on insulated glass.
10. Seal your home from drafts. Go around your home and inspect for air drafts around windows, doors, and fireplaces. Seal any leaks with weather stripping or caulk.
11. Better yet, consider window replacement with a newer energy efficient insulated glass window, with a vinyl or aluminum clad maintenance free exterior.
12. If new windows aren't in the budget, consider adding storm windows and storm doors. These also add the benefit of the screens in the warmer months for letting the fresh air in.
13. Check your attic for proper insulation. You should have 10-12" of blown in insulation or at least an R-30 in batt insulation. If you go and put plywood down in your attic and compress all that insulation, you're defeating the insulation value. Always build up the ceiling joists height above the insulation if you are going to lay down plywood for storage. Be careful not to overload the space, ceiling joist by design are meant to support the ceiling hanging from it and not a whole storage area of all your treasures. I wouldn't be concerned about a few boxes with Christmas decorations or out of season cloths.
14. When it snow and freezes on your sidewalk, don't use salt on the concrete. Salt can deteriorate the concrete over time. It's best to use kitty litter or sand.
15. Change the batteries on your smoke or carbon monoxide detectors. Test them to make sure they are in working order.
Do you have any I missed? Please post your comments .