In the chaos of school activities and all things holiday on the horizon, it’s easy to let home maintenance tasks slip our minds/get put on the back burner. If your mind is feeling extra cluttered and foggy, some winter home maintenance chores may not even be on your radar. So today, we’re gonna do a quick review with a home winterizing checklist so you can make the calls, add tasks to the list, and put them on the calendar.
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Home Winterizing Checklist
If it’s something important and something that needs to get done, actually schedule it. If not, chances are, it won’t get done since everything else seems to take priority. Here are some of the regular home tasks to consider as we head into the cool months!
Things to do now to winterize your home…
- Get your chimney inspected and cleaned.
- Schedule service to inspect your furnace.
- Change out furnace filter(s).
- Remove cushions and pillows from outdoor furniture, if they are not protected from the weather. Or, put covers on/move furniture.
- Discard dead annuals and vegetable plants.
- Trim dead flowers from flowering shrubs. (NOTE: Follow grower’s instructions, as some shrubs need to be trimmed in early spring instead.)
- Rake/blow/gather leaves as they fall.
- Check/replace your weather stripping around your doors — not only to protect from drafts but also from critters looking to get in.
- Drain outdoor water hoses and unhook from the faucets.
- Cover your outdoor faucets with faucet protectors.
- Clean your gutters after the leaves have fallen.
- Freshen your mulch with new pine straw or bark chips.
- Drain your sprinkler system, if applicable.
- Make sure you have recommended tools for your area and temperatures — ice scrapers for windshields, snow shovels, salt, etc.
- Check/add insulation to water pipe, if in extreme temperatures and applicable.
- Switch out warm weather front door wreath.
- Switch out seasonal door mats.
- Remove cobwebs from porches and under-hangs. (This tool has a 20′ telescopic pole with several different attachments!)
- Order firewood.
Sources: Chaise Lounges (set of 2) | Umbrella (black pole/canvas sand w/black trim) | Umbrella Stand & Weight | Outdoor Side Table | Stone Planter (XL) | Ledge Lounger In-Pool Chairs (set of 2) | In-Pool Side Table
Winterizing The Pool Area
If you’re like us and have a pool, you may have some additional winterizing chores to do. With where we live (Georgia) and our specific type of pool (concrete/pebble finish), it was actually recommended to us to not close our pool down and it gets serviced throughout the winter (the pump automatically turns on at specific temperature lows to prevent freezing). Many of you have to add covers, lower water levels, etc. so use your own pool guidelines in terms of your actual pool. For the other items…
- The Ledge Lounger In-Pool Chairs and In-Pool Side Table have to be drained and stored in the basement.
- The Chaise Lounges and Umbrellas are taken to the basement.
- All small items, like our pillows and pool toys are stored in the poolside storage box.
- As I mentioned, we do not cover our pool, so the pool pump runs all year long. But if you do cover your pool, adding the cover and winterizing your pump are two big items on your list.
Sources: Chaise Lounges (set of 2) | Umbrella (black pole/canvas sand w/black trim) | Umbrella Stand & Weight | Outdoor Side Table | Stone Planter (XL) | Ledge Lounger In-Pool Chairs (set of 2) | In-Pool Side Table
Items To Have On Hand To Winterize Your Home
- Furnace filter(s)
- Work gloves
- Pruning shears
- Branch lopper
- Leaf rake
- Leaf blower
- Outdoor faucet covers
- Mulch
- Seasonal wreath (See my favorites HERE!)
- Cobweb brush
- Firewood holder
Extra Curb Appeal Projects
Install Landscape/House Lights — we have our home lights on a timer year-round but I love our Christmas lights that get installed each November. BTW- we get on the schedule each year in JULY as these vendors schedules fill up quickly!
Add a Few Bushes/Trees/Landscape Improvements Each Year — fall is a great time to do this in north Georgia!
Switch Landscape Ground Cover (Straw to Mulch)
Front Door – Re-Stain/Paint/Spareurothane
Emergency Essentials To Have On Hand In Case Of A Winter Storm
From personal experience, I’ve found that it is best to be prepared in case Mother Nature gifts us with a storm of any type. Several years ago, we unexpectedly had temps fall to single digits for several days in a row, in early winter. While we were lucky, many other folks in our area lost power, had frozen water pipes that burst and fallen trees. Here are some of the items we have on the ready in case of a power outage from a snow storm or ice storm.
Battery Lanterns (similar)
Jackery Portable Power Station
Along with our power sources, here are a few more things we like to have on hand, in the event of a power outage during a winter snow or ice storm.
- BIG Yeti Cooler — In the past we’ve relied on our Yetis if the power goes out. You can find the 65 HERE and the HUGE 110 HERE. As a tip, if you’re going to the store for bread and milk prior to a pending winter storm, pick up some bags of ice too.
- Ice Packs — Especially when you aren’t sure of the ice, food, and power situation.
- 40 oz Stanley Tumblers — We use these daily, so it’s good to load them up with ice and water ahead of a pending storm.
- Big, industrial outdoor- rated extension cords
- Mini Flashlights — THESE aren’t industrial strength or anything, but they work well and they’re the ones we’ve always used with Eliza. She keeps them in her nightstand, typically. Having not one or two but several on hand was SO handy.
- Surge Protector Extension Cord — THIS ONE is what we have — it has a bunch of outlet ports and USB ports and is inexpensive on Amazon.
- Book Light — Ok, I’ve shared this little dimmable, 3-light setting clamp-style book light that I have, but I was so so grateful for it when the power went out. I keep it charged so it was ready to go, but it could have easily been recharged using the portable power bank, too. It also is designed to be a desktop lamp and can be set on a table so even if you don’t read but want to play games, it’s a great tool to have on hand. THIS book light with the horizontal head light is a great option too.
- Portable Charger — I stan THIS portable charger for phones, iPads, etc. so hard! I keep it charged and in my purse but it was definitely among the most used items during our storm. Of course, it can be recharged by a portable power bank or other creative means, but I love that it has a prong that unfolds and plugs directly in the wall so you can just throw one of your regular charging cables on it (without having to keep up with a lot of cables). It charges quickly and holds a battery for a long while.
- We always make sure we have bottled water and non-perishable food and snacks on hand too!
Outside Fun During The Cooler Weather Months
It doesn’t have to be all work and no play when the days are getting shorter and the nights are getting longer. The cooler weather months are a great time to spend outside for leisure activities. We’ve had a brutal summer, so I’ve been looking forward to the cooler days and nights to play and relax on the front porch, deck and in the yard. These are some of our favorite things to do (and items to have on hand) during the cooler days and evenings.
- Portable Bonfire Fire Pit — We love to use this Portable Bonfire Fire Pit on the deck when the temperatures fall. We even used it in the back yard to burn yard debris after the horrific storm we had last year. We also have THIS tabletop Mesa that’s perfect for keeping your hands warm and toasting marshmallows for s’mores. In past years, I gifted Dave with these items for Christmas, along with THESE fun color packs that color the flames.
- Cozy Throws and Blankets — I store various throws in the same lidded hamper that is used to store beach towels during pool season and we use them when an extra layer is needed when you’re sitting outside. I also recently treated myself to THIS heated faux fur throw that can be plugged into an outdoor electrical outlet or into THIS portable power station.
Lidded Hamper | Rattan Tissue Box Cover | Cabinet Drawer Pulls
- Bike and Scooter Riding in the Cul de Sac — Eliza has become a whiz at riding her bike this year and it’s a lot easier to say yes to bike rides in the neighborhood since the temps are now lower. Eliza’s Woom bike was her main Christmas gift last year and the investment was worth every penny for a first bike. She easily learned to ride without training wheels and the bike is lightweight enough to carry anywhere. Eliza also loves to ride her scooter that she’s had for several years.
- Backyard Activities — Since we now actually have a backyard, there’s a lot of space to relax and have fun. It’s a great area to bring out our corn hole boards and giant jenga game to play. Eliza loves to explore there and look for and collect rocks and leaves. (She even has a favorite tree!) She’s also peppered the tree line with THESE fairy garden stakes she made from a kit.
Do you have home-centric winter/cool weather tasks on your annual/semi-annual list? Let us know what we forgot!
Other Posts You May Like
- Home Maintenance Checklist, Frequency (& How Often I Actually Do Them)
- Comprehensive Spring Outdoor Checklist
- Our Insane Storm (& The Top Emergency Essentials That Were Most Helpful)
- 7 Ways To Make Your Home Look Like Fall (Without Actually Using Fall Decor)
- 15 Easy & Affordable Ways To Ready Your Home For Summer