Every season has its share of chores which we need to grudgingly do to prepare us for what is coming. Winter is no exception.
As the temperatures drop and daylight hours dwindle, there are many things we should be doing to prepare ourselves and our homes.
Regardless of what you call home, be it an apartment, single-family home, or off-grid homestead, we all need to make preparing for the change in seasons a priority.
While there are a lot of things that we could do to prepare, I have compiled a list of some of the more critical preparations we should be doing.
Firewood
If you have a wood stove or wood-burning fireplace, you already know that having enough wood is essential, especially during winter.
However, given the current economic climate and the prevalence of severe weather events, it would be prudent to increase your supply of firewood.
Related: How to Store and Stack Firewood The Right Way
Power outages, supply disruptions, natural disasters, extreme cold, or a host of other problems could lead to relying on your wood pile more than in past years.
There is no downside to having more wood than you need, chopping is good exercise, and you will eventually burn it, even if it is not this winter.
Insulation
Cold drafts are not only unpleasant, but they are a sign that your home is hemorrhaging heat.
Before the chill sets in, it is an excellent time to go around your house to ensure that everything is sealed tight and that your insulation is doing its job.
I like to use this time to check that any weather stripping I have installed previously is still in good condition and not in need of replacement.
Backup Power
Winter is the season for power outages, and we need to test our backup power options now before the lights go out.
Generators should be maintained, cleaned, and tested to ensure they run and can still provide the necessary power.
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Battery banks should be topped up, checked, and tested. Now is an excellent time to confirm how long your battery bank will power the required devices without recharging.
Solar panels must be inspected and tested to verify that they are undamaged and produce the necessary voltage. Check the condition of all wires and connectors, confirming that the inverter and charge controller is working correctly.
All other alternative power supplies should be checked and confirmed to operate appropriately. Wind turbines should have their routine maintenance conducted, guy lines and mounting plates inspected and checked, and all cables, wires, and connections inspected for wear and damage.
Water wheels and turbines need to have routine maintenance performed. All cables, wires, and connectors must be inspected like other backup power systems.
Backup power is useless if it fails when we need it most.
Food Supplies
As winter descends upon us and the growing season ends, it is an excellent time to take stock of our food storage and to ensure that we have enough in case of SHTF hits in the dead of winter.
Now is the best time to improve our stockpiles of food and supplies and to rotate out any old stock.
Winter may not bring a full-scale SHTF scenario, but it can cause supply chain disruptions, wide-scale blackouts, or other severe weather events that could cause us to dip into our stored food.
Water
We must ensure that we have enough water and confirm that none of our water supplies are in danger of freezing.
For example, if you keep 55-gallon drums in the garage, check that they are not in a position where they could freeze when the temperature dips below zero.
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I like to monitor the temperature around my various caches of water to confirm that the temperature is not getting too hot or cold.
Pipes
SHTF does not have to be a massive event. A burst pipe will become a personal SHTF situation really fast, if it catches you by surprise.
Go around and ensure that all your pipes are protected from freezing and that you have measures in place to repair or replace sections that leak or burst.
Turn off outside faucets and cover them with an insulated cap to prevent them from freezing. Show every family member where the main water shut off is and how to kill the water to your home in case of a burst pipe.
The Exterior Of The Home
Take a walk around the outside of your home and check that there is no damage that needs repairing. Also, look for anything loose or needs further fastening so that it does not blow away during a winter storm.
Now is also a good time to inspect the roof for loose or missing shingles and any spots where there could be potential leaks.
Landscaping
If any projects require digging, moving them to the front of the line is a good idea before the ground freezes. Of course, some things can wait for spring, but if there is anything that you are planning that is more pressing, now would be a good time to get that project started.
Clothing
It is sometimes tough to remember what articles of winter clothing wore out last year or were totally inadequate.
I like to look through my winter wardrobe in the late summer to see what needs replacing or an upgrade.
Related: How to Make The Coolest Wool Boots Ever, Easily
If you have children, then now is a good time to go through their closets and see what can be handed down or donated and who needs some new winter clothes.
Blackout Kits
Winter will bring winter storms, and those storms can result in blackouts. So, everyone should have a kit specifically for power outages.
Inside would be battery-operated flashlights, lanterns, and headlamps with enough batteries to run them for an extended period of time. Also include candles, warm blankets, a corded phone, a manual can opener, and a battery-operated or hand-crank shortwave radio.
Now is a good time to go through your blackout kit and confirm that everything works, the batteries are still good, and everything is in order.
We all hate doing chores around the house. When those chores directly affect our preparedness, they can not be put off for another day, especially when the past few years have shown us that winter can come earlier and with a bigger punch.
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As a Sandgroper (west Aussie) I feel like saying “Summer is coming!” Hahaha. It’s interesting to contemplate things like pipes freezing and a need for an overnight safety car plan.
For us it’s:
Firebreaks generally were due by the end of Oct. Get onto it before the Shire inspects and fines you.
Snake prep – get that grass low around the houses, and clear lines of sight along paths. Snakes are already well and truly about.
Water – check any stock tanks and dams that run low, plan your water runs.
Run your firefighter for a while and check your water pumps on your tanks, make sure the entire chain of firefighting is working.
Check your gutters. Clear them out, use a first flush on the water tanks if you can.
Get rid of standing water, mosquitoes are breeding. Japanese Encephalitis is on our shores now.
Back up power – plan for the power outages. Check fuel for generators and work out if you can operate your gen set when fire bans are in place.
Do any grinding, welding or in paddock metal work now before it’s a total fire ban and you can’t.
Look at the hottest wall in your home – the west facing one. Can you nail some shade cloth to a 2×4 and toss it in the gutter to hang as a blind and stop the sun hitting that wall? Grow a passion fruit up it?
What can you do to cool your house this summer? What windows and walls are getting hot afternoon sun, and what rooms can you close off.
What are you going to do when the power is out and the aircon is off, and given the price of power in Australia right now, what can you do to turn the aircon off? (Insulate. Close down during the day all blinds and windows etc, then open in the dark cool of night.)
Water. Make sure you have enough drinking water in your car and at home. And spare shoes so you don’t burn your feet if something goes wrong, and a towel in the car to sit on so you don’t burn your butt on the pavement.
Hi Sandgroper, mexican here( south of the boarder ) you know Victorian ha ha ,
your on point mate, you have to be super prepared where you live in W.A. watch carefully in a couple of years that the wombat state forest here in Vic will probably go up in flames about 8 odd months ago a super freak wind event went through it and destroyed a fair chunk of it in random places, you can see the damage on google maps, ive documented and videoed some of the damage done. man some big old trees were blown over with impunity.
this current marxist Andrews Govt. has done nothing to clean up the damage in the forest so its going to be a tinder box waiting for the right conditions and as you know we live in the most fire prone area on the planet, as an ex firey ive been to some bad fires ie; black Saturday and ash Wednesday and that was disaster on an epic scale with major loss of property and life, but as a non fire event that happened in that forest ive never seen anything like it, its pretty confronting when you walk through it. on another note hopefully Andrews will be voted out of office in the next couple of weeks when the state votes.
It’s nice to hear from other folks. We Americans tend to believe that we are the only ones with sense enough to prepare. Good advice Sandgroper
Wow, I love this. Banana bender (from Queensland) living in Kansas, USA (give me some ruby red slippers and call me Dorothy) .. so lovely to hear some common sense from home 🙂 xo … delightful Sandgroper 🙂
Gemma B: Hello, Dorothy! Or do you prefer Dotty? 🙂 niio
I find it hard to believe, chiefly with the sheeple, it’s the same thing every single winter – the run on storm supplies ….
Wait until the first winter storm has hit to hit the hardware store for a bag of melting salt, replace the snow shovel you drove over during the summer, parts for the snowblower that hasn’t run for 10 months, and replace the car windshield scraper/brush that mysteriously escaped the trunk ….
and over at the grocery it’s milk, bread, eggs and snowed in & day off pleasure foods >>>
I always laugh at the run on milk, eggs and bread…does everyone plan on making french toast? Hahaha … don’t forget the cinnamon…
Milk…
Eggs…
Bread…
Cinnamininaminamon…bit too fancy for this country boy
Illini: We’re hoping for snow by early January. Big maybe. But, a lot of folks here don’t like it because it scares little kids who never saw it before. niio
I already put the plow on the ATV a month ago. (changed the oil and trans fluid) Hopefully this spring i’ll work on the GMC and get the 77 3/4 back up and running. She needs a little love.
Here are my helpful hints for winter – just from my own experiences.
1. Have an outside door knob exposed to weather? Buy some tennis balls and cut a hole in one the size of a quarter then cut some slices about 3/4″ long from the hole toward the dome. These slip over the doorknob very easily and keep the lock from freezing up.
2. IF your automobiles have to sit outside in winter buy a set of Bowl Covers from the Dollar Stores. These slip over the mirrors and generally stay on even in windy days and save you scraping the mirrors.
3. Buy a 5 gallon bucket and set it inside the house, front or back, whichever is used the most. Buy common (brown) sand and fill the bucket. Take a pint jar, small coffee can, or other small container that is handy and punch a few hole in the lid. Use this to sprinkle a light coating of sand along the most used walkways. It gives warm boots/shoes traction and actually helps melt the ice – plus, with no salt in the sand it can easily be swept into the grass areas.
4. Is your driveway filled with snow? Don’t spend big bucks on a garden tractor with a snow plow or a snow blower, or even a walk-behind snow blower. Buy a really GOOD snow shovel and remove the snow manually. This keeps you busy and keeps your muscles active during Winter rather than hibernating. IF you cannot do it all at once, just do about 1/2 hour, take a rest, then do another 1/2 hour.
5. Help save the birds by feeding them. I buy a large bag of Sunflower seed and several of Wild Bird seed and mix by a ratio of 3:1 of 4:1 of wild bird seed to sunflower seed by container size. I also use a snow shovel to clear an area after a snow and that usually suffices even for several snow storms.
6. Save your seed bags!!!!! HEY it is time to get ready for Spring before you know it. Use the Wild Bird seed bags by slicing the bottom off, and the top if any of that is left. Then make one slit lengthwise and use the inside of the bag showing UP on a bench or table for my Spring seeding which starts 6-8 weeks before the last frost date. Make sure the bags overlap by about 4″ or so and that keeps most of the water off the table top. Of course the water may drain off to the floor, so be prepared.
7. Make sure you have some source of lighting, 12V LED bulbs wired up, LED or GAS camping lanterns in case of electrical shutdowns. I’ve just had one of those and although I had small lanterns I learned that you need something that will be bright enough that you can at leas READ during power outages. AND, have the power companies phone number logged into your smart phone so you can call the outage in to the company.
Jesse: GREAT ideas for the sand and the bird feeders. I hear it’s supposed to be a bad winter this year. I just ordered some bird feeders and seed and some hummingbird feeders and sand for the porch and steps. Hummingbirds around here (Oregon, Willamette Valley area) have been staying year round for many years. I got small feeders so the food won’t get moldy before they eat it all. All feeders are the window kind so me and kitty can watch.
A shovel lol yeah I don’t have 3 days to shovel out
Don’t forget to get your vehicle(s) serviced!
Oil change, check tires, wipers, lights, antifreeze protection, and keep the tank topped up if you expect bad weather.
While you’re thinking about vehicle preparations, don’t forget snow chains if you live in an area that gets enough snow to cause problems. Also a dab of sand over the power axil helps some too. I used to use about 200 pounds in the back of my pickup. Now that I’m old and stove up, I just watch it snow and wait to get out after it melts some. Oh, pray a lot too for little to no snow.
For over 30 years, I drove and delivered mail from my own vehicle in rural areas. I HATED snow, or ice! Snow more, though. I retired at the end of 2021, and no longer have to drive in it…YAY!!! The last few years I had a Jeep wrangler with 4 wheel drive and boy, was that a help! I had several steep roads I had to go over, and was able to just breeze over them. Still, driving for over 5 hours with the window rolled down wasn’t fun. Yesterday, it snowed here, just a bit, but I was able to actually look out and see a beautiful view. Haven’t been able to look at snow with wonder for decades!
But like you, I won’t be driving in it anytime! I’ll stay at home and consume my stored up foods and propane heat!
I imagine the recent rain you’ve had (and we’ve had!) is only adding to the fuel burden, while reducing the already limited burn off days. Perth’s hills are a tinder box waiting to fry.
Nothing like an election to help fuel the winds of change! I suspect that many of our governments will topple and flip flop back and forth in the coming years. WA is safe for a while given the landslide but no one is particularly impressed with the huge multi billion dollar surplus and lack of pay for nurses, teachers, cops and so on, and hte lack of beds in hospitals.
I hear about what ,ya should do and shouldn’t do but what should people do that sont have the experience
Should we kick them aside ,
I’m an old Corp marine. I fought for this country
I leave no one behind , you may have the best preps, and you show up at my door , you’ll be accepted everyone deserves to live until ya proven me wrong
Semper Fi
Poor planning
Semper Fi. God and country. I prepare with the thought what if every earthly support were cut off?
Red wave is dead man…. its a good thing we vote
Milk…(look out window, check cow is still standing)
Eggs…(look out window, shout at bloody chookens in my garden, throw eggs at them)
Bread…(check big barrel of crushed barley for the pigs isn’t too gross)
Cinnamininaminamon…bit too fancy for this country boy
It might now in January, but no one is counting on it. La Nina year, means warmer temps here and little weather. And we need rain this winter to make the tun cactus (prickly pear) bloom well in early summer. But, we’re set till summer. Gotr a ton of lard ready. We like chicharrons, deep fried fat. Press them and you have cracklings. And a lot of lard. Fat was .59c/pound, but now it’s $1.15. Still that’s cheaper than buying lard and chicharrons 🙂 The furnace blower died months ago, so it was a fan and cold showers all summer. Gotta get that fixed one of these days…Niio!
Pro Tip: Don’t stack ANY wood next to a structure or inside your garage – that’s how you bring termites into your home or garage. Keep it off away from a structure, covered with a tarp to keep the rain off.