7 Tips To Winterize Your Home

Inside: Avoid those high heating bills and costly repairs by winterizing your home. It's simple with these 7 tips to winterize your home.

I have noticed recently the weather turning from a nice fall day to the chilly weather of winter.

We've had a lot of cold weather recently. I've moved our outdoor furniture and grill to the garage for winter.

Before it gets too cold is a great time to get the house winterized. Taking a few hours to winterize the house can not only save you some money on your heating bills, but it can also help save you from some costly repairs like plumbing bills.

Save some money and time with these 7 tips to winterize your home.

7 Tips To Winterize Your Home

To winterize your home you will need a few things. You probably already have some of these things at home.

• Bug Spray
• Furnace Filter
• Gutter Scoop (I use this one on Amazon)
• Weather Stripping (if needed)
• Caulk (if needed

If you have storm windows now is a time to put those up too.

Spray For Bugs

I will admit, I HATE spiders. If hubby is home I make him kill the spiders. So, I try to do my best to keep the spiders out of the house.

As the weather turns cold they will try their best to work their way into your house. I like to spray all around the windows and doors, plus spray the base of the house for bugs.

It only takes about 20 minutes, but makes a big difference in keeping the bugs away. There are some great bug sprays that last up to 6 months, so if you spray now you won't have to spray again until March.

Change Your Filters

Before you turn on the heat this winter you should make sure to have a new air filter in your furnace.

This will not only keep your house warmer, but it can help keep your heating bill down.

Plus, your house will get less dusty when you frequently change your furnace filter. A dirty filter will make your furnace work harder and add dust to your home.

If you are like me and tend to forget when you change your filters I highly recommend Amazon. You can request that Amazon sends you a new filter every few months. Ours needs to be changed every 3 months, so every 3 months we get a new one in the mail and I know it's time to change it.

You can also get furnace filters delivered monthly from Second Nature. Your first filter is free and you can cancel at any time. Just head over here to sign up!

Remove Garden Hoses

One of the cheapest and easiest tips for winterizing your home is to remove the garden hose.

Removing the garden hoses is a simple, but very important task to winterize your home.

If you don't remove the hose your pipes can crack allowing water to seep through.

You may not even realize that you have a crack until you find the water damage in the house.

I like to take down my garden hoses in early October before it gets too cold. I just store them wrapped up in the garage until spring.

This simple task takes less than 15 minutes but can save you an expensive house repair.

Clean Your Gutters

Another must-do tip to winterize a home is to clean your gutters out. If you have trees near your gutters you will want to check them for leaves.

Leaves and sticks can build up in your gutters and stop the flow of water. With a heavy snowfall or when the water freezes it can damage the gutters or your house. Ice dams can gather in your gutters causing damage to your gutters or leaks in your roof.

A gutter scoop is a great way to quickly get all the leaves from the gutters and prevent damage to your home.

Replace Weather Stripping

Take a few minutes to inspect the weather-stripping on the exterior doors. Any weather-stripping that is torn or missing should be replaced. Cold air can easily get in through any of the small cracks. Weatherstripping acts like insulation to help keep the warm air in and the cold air out.

My dogs often tear up our weather-stripping when they jump up on the door so I like to check it every winter.

It only takes about 15 minutes to replace and really helps keep the cold drafts out.

If you don't want to buy weatherstripping at your local hardware store you can also get it on Amazon.

Chimney Inspection

Do you have a working chimney on your fireplace? If you do you should have it inspected every year. Creosote can build up along the walls of a chimney and cause problems or even a fire.

This is one of those winterizing tips I don't recommend you do yourself. I would recommend finding someone to inspect your chimney for you.

A proper chimney inspection will tell if your chimney is in good working order or if you need to have it cleaned.

Caulk Any Gaps 

One simple and easy tip for winterizing your home is to caulk any gaps on the exterior. Check your window frames and around the trim on your house for gaps.

Often after years, the caulk around windows can wear away or the gaps get bigger. You can save yourself a lot of future damage by filling the gaps.

It will not only help seal any air leaks to keep the cold out but will also prevent rain or snow from getting into the gaps and causing rot or mold. A $2 bottle of caulk can save you a lot of money.

Don't spend all of your money on utility bills this winter. By taking the time to do this winterization checklist you can save yourself some time and money later.