This year is flying by fast and winter will be here before you know it! When we bought our first home, we felt a little overwhelmed thinking about keeping it functioning throughout the year. Now, being real estate agents ourselves, our clients come to us with a lot of questions about maintaining their home throughout the year. While every season is different, your home requires a little more TLC during the winter months. With many articles stating tips that we’d deem to be ‘common sense’, we want to give you a few useful facts that could make a big difference when the cold weather hits!
Plan to get your chimney cleaned sooner than later
Don’t wait until it starts to get cold to get your chimney cleaned! Chimney sweeping takes time, so you could end up with a 2-3 month wait when the busy season starts.
Don’t waste your money replacing drafty windows or doors
The average cost for replacement windows is about $11,000! If you notice a draft in your home, replacing a door or window is most likely not going to save you money overall – only about 15%. Instead, buy cheap temporary alternatives that’ll keep the heat in like this window Weather Sealing Tape for under $10 or this Under Door Draft Blocker for $20.
Invest in a space heater instead of turning up the thermostat
If you notice that you spend most of your time in one area of the house, like your family room or home office, buying a space heater can save a lot of energy and money instead of turning up your thermostat and heating unused rooms. Plus, your dogs will love it and stay by your side all day, and who wouldn’t want that?
Clean out your garage while it’s still semi-bearable outside
Because nothing is worse than shoving a grill and several potted plants into your full garage while it’s snowing. Just keeping it real.
We get it, doing the work to keep your home running smoothly always seems like a daunting task, but these 4 ideas will make your life a whole lot better when cold temperatures eventually hit. If you need more advice on winterizing, always feel free to reach out- we’re here to help!