How To Winterize Your Home From Top To Bottom (And Save Money Doing It)

Winter tends to take a toll on your wallet with both the costs of the holiday season and the added expenses of keeping your home warm and well-maintained through the colder months. You may not want to skimp on the gifts for the kids this year or the delicious holiday cooking you'll whip up, but you can find ways to save on your home's upkeep. Follow these tips before the cold weather hits to keep your bills low and ensure that your house stays in great shape from top to bottom.

Protecting Your Roof

In general, the roof of your home represents about 40% of its visual exterior. You want to make sure that your roof looks just as good at the end of a long winter as the beginning. Start with cleaning your gutters just before winter begins. When gutters are full of leaves and debris, water from rain, snow, and ice can get backed up and spill on the house. This can damage the roofing and siding and has the potential to cause leaks and ice dams. Before snow falls and the roof starts frosting, check it for loose, damaged, or missing shingles. By repairing any damages now, you'll prevent potential leaks and save a significant amount later.

Conserving Heat

A key strategy to saving during winter is to make sure your home is well-insulated before the temperatures start dropping. Check the weather stripping around your doors and see if you can feel cold air coming in. If so, that means your warm air will be going out and driving your energy bills up. Replace the weather stripping and you'll be keeping your warm air inside. By reversing the direction of your ceiling fans, you can push hot air downwards. This keeps the warmer air inside for longer and lessens the heating burden on your furnace or baseboard heater. Make sure to clean those heat sources of any dust and turn them off in unused rooms to save on heating during the winter.

Preparing Your Yard

Save on your mulch in the spring by making your own in the fall. Mulch can be one of two types, either organic or inorganic, and leaves can be a huge help in making the organic variety. As you rake up your yard's leaves, add them to a compost pile that will be filled with nutrients by the time spring comes around. Once the temperatures start getting cooler, make sure to turn off your sprinklers. Some homeowners forget to do this until later in the season because their irrigation system is on an automatic timer. Not only will you save on the water bill, you'll prevent the water from running and freezing overnight.
You may not want to think about the trials of winter while in the midst of a lovely fall, but if you start preparing now you won't have to in the frigid weather. Instead, you'll be able to cozy up next to the fireplace in your well-insulated home free of worries.