❄️the list I run before the first cold snap

What I actually do every October, learned by skipping half of it one bad winter and paying for it in January.

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Bleed the outdoor hose bibs and shut off their water

(learned this one late) skip this and a pipe cracks in the first hard freeze, ask me how I know

Book the furnace service appointment now

not after the first cold night, when every HVAC company in town is booked two weeks out

Change the furnace filter

definitly the easiest one on this list, still skipped it two years running

Set a recurring reminder to change it again in 90 days

Reverse the ceiling fans to spin clockwise

pulls warm air back down off the ceiling instead of just stirring cold air around

Caulk the gaps around window and door frames

the most boring hour on this whole list and also the one that saves the most money

Add weatherstripping to the front and back doors

Open the south-facing curtains during the day, close them at night

free heat while the sun's up. close them again once it's dark or you lose it right back out the glass

Insulate exposed pipes in the crawlspace or garage

Test every smoke and carbon monoxide detector

do this first, honestly, before anything else here. heating season is when CO calls actually go up

clean the gutters before the first hard freeze

wet leaves plus ice is how you get a dam and a soaked ceiling

get the chimney swept if you use the fireplace at all

restock ice melt and a bag of sand for the walkway

check the attic insulation depth while you're up there for anything else

most codes want 12-15 inches and almost nobody actually has that much

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