DIY Fall To-Do List for a Warm, Cozy Winter Home
Fall offers perfect weather to get those chores done before the blustery days of winter set in. Make a DIY fall to-do list so you can enjoy a warm, cozy home all winter. Start the fall to-do list with these easy DIY chores, then add a couple last minute chores of your own.
Get the Wood
Whether you heat the entire home with a wood burning stove or just like sitting by a warm fireplace on a cold winter’s night, you’re going to need wood. The earlier in the fall you get the wood, the better. If you cut the firewood yourself, fall provides the perfect temperatures for making a trip to the woods with a chain saw. If you purchase fir wood, do it early in the fall to avoid the winter rush of customers to the wood supplier. Also, wood needs time to dry out so it will burn better and longer.
Seasoned hardwood is best for long-term heat and pine is best for the quick-igniting kindling. Store the wood off the ground, away from the house (to keep termites away from the structure) and cover the top, but leave both ends uncovered so the wood pile will have air circulation to continue the drying process.
Service the Equipment
Certain pieces of equipment are used only during the winter, then stored for the remaining three seasons. If you wait until the snow falls in winter to get out your snow blower, you could have a problem. Get out that snow blower, plow, generator or whatever type of winter-related equipment you own in the fall and test it to ensure it’s in working order. Have any mechanical problems fixed before the rush of winter and get prepared with a supply of gas for all your small engines.
Insulating Against Cold
Exterior doors, check. Windows, check. Everything has been weather-stripped, caulked or otherwise insulated against the cold so the interior of the home will stay warm and cozy. How about the indoor electrical outlets and light switch plates? Have you insulated them? An unbelievable amount of cold air can enter a home through un-insulated electrical outlets and switch plates. Fortunately, it’s an easy DIY fall to-do list fix. Purchase as many foam gaskets for switch plates and outlets as needed, turn off your home’s circuit breaker, then go from room to room and remove electric outlet covers and switch plates. Place a foam gasket in each one, then replace the covers. For outlets that are not being used, place a child-proof shock-guard in each outlet to prevent even the tiniest amount of cold air from entering your home.
