Thursday, October 16, 2008

TMR Frugal Living Tip #40

Today's thrifty living tip is get your house prepared for winter. Some of you are already having winter weather. Take the time now to keep the heat in and the cold out. I have 22 windows in my house. I would love to replace them, but that's an investment we can't afford to make right now. Instead we are going to weather strip all the doors and windows. We also redid my front door this year by filling in the small cracks on the door and staining it. I no longer feel the air being pushed in. Here are some great suggestions to help you cut down on your heating bill.

1. Caulk your windows or doors or put the weather stripping
2. Clean your gutters removing all debris
3. Trim any trees that could fall and damage property
4. Wrap your exposed pipes and drain all garden hoses plus shut off water to outside plumbing
5. Clean or replace your heating filters and clean all vents
6. Clean your fireplace and chimney since creosote can build up

There are many other ways to prepare your house for winter. We don't have snow so many of these tips don't apply to me. I am sure I missed a few, but no matter how you heat your house, test it to make sure it's running properly. Also, clean it out and the vents so it will run better. We still don't have to run our heater for at least another month, but we are ready when we do. If you can afford it, then insulating your house is another great way to conserve energy. I will post some more great tips all winter to help you lower your bills.

1 comments:

Unknown said...

wow, that all sounds like work...which is not something I am into...do you hire out? LOL Thanks for the list...will add it to hubby's honey-do list.