Winter is coming…and water does freeze!

by Lynn Richardson

Every fall I hate to admit that winter is coming. I keep paddling and pedaling and putting on more layers, but eventually the calendar hits me in the face with the realization that winter will certainly come along shortly, and that it is finally time to get ready for it. I put together this annual list of “do this before winter hits with a vengeance” stuff for homeowners and renters, and of course to remind myself to get off the pot and get er done as well.Frozen water can break pipes:

If that doesn’t get your attention, it should. One time I walked into a house in the spring which had the heat off all winter and the water on. There was so much water coming down from the second floor you could take a shower standing in the middle of the first floor. Not good. The prevention is simple: Keep your heat no lower than 50 or 55 degrees, and if you are gone for a long period of time, turn the water off.

Once it snows, you will not be able to find the stuff in your yard:

When that first foot of snow comes down it will bury everything in your yard, which means that anything that is less than a foot tall will be pretty impossible to find until spring. Get those rakes, shovels and assorted other yard stuff under cover. And that goes for kayaks and other boats that can not only get buried, but crushed by heavy snow.

The house will be cold:

Turn on and have the heater inspected. Get firewood and stack it where you can get to it.

Be ready for getting snowed in or a power outage:

Have candles and batteries for the flashlights. If there is a storm coming, charge those phones and computers. Have emergency supplies of food in the house, and a blanket and shovel inside your car.

Don’t get stuck in the snow:

Get your snow tires on. While I’ve always avoided having to put chains on, the secret is to have an all wheel drive car with good snow tires. One winter, after a few not very snowy winters, I decided to save a buck by leaving my all season tires on the Subaru, instead of getting aggressive snow tires. I paid the price one day when I got hopelessly stuck.

Find the winter fun and essential stuff:

Locate those skis, boots, poles, winter jackets and pants and snow shovels.

Better to find them now then when you look out the window and there is a foot of snow and the only shoes you can find are flip flops.