I woke up this morning to a frightful chill in the house that tells me that I need to prepare for the cold temperatures that are coming. I usually have four areas where I put plastic over windows because they are just single paned and the main one is in the kitchen which is big and you can feel the cold air coming in. Bring out the blankets and electric heater for TV watching in the living room so I can keep the thermostat down. The electric heater is a new addition to the living room because it is also big and difficult to keep at a steady temp. I put up heavier drapes too. I read somewhere that heat is drawn toward cold areas and even though there are storm windows they still get cold so I figure why not? Getting these tasks done is routine for me every fall.
Yeah, we're in the part of the season where it could snow anytime. We've had our first snow, although it wasn't much and it didn't last long. It's still often warm enough that I don't wear a jacket during the day, but then I have shoveled my driveway wearing short pants, a tee-shirt, and flip flops.
When I'm at the flea market I often pick up items that I feel would help make our home energy efficient. I found some pipe insulation and have been watching YouTube videos on how they are used. Most of them show pipes and water heaters that are near the outside wall. Well, our water heater is in the center of the basement well away from the outside walls. So what to do with the insulation now? Any suggestions?
That is something that I really like about being down here in Alabama ! When I lived in Idaho, getting ready for winter was a big production, and down here it is not all that much. We bring in the plants that can't take the cold weather, and the house looks like a conservatory all winter with all of the plants everywhere. Some of them are in containers, but we have some larger ones that we have to dig up and put into containers for the winter, and then re-plant them out. Side in the spring. Heavier curtains is a very practical idea, but then it stops the sunshine from coming in, so we just keep the lightweight ones year around. If we had drapes that opened and closed, that would be fine; but we don't. We also have a heater in the front room where we sit in the evenings, and keep the thermostat down lower because the rest of the house can stay cool . When I lived in Idaho and we had snow, then we put plastic over all of the windows each fall, and when the snow came, I had to go out and shovel it against the sides of the house, which helped to insulate underneath of the house. Each time we got a heavy snow, we piled more up until there was a good berm along side of the house all of the way around. I do not miss snow at all ! !
I am so looking forward to hopefully seeing some snow this year, getting all excited about wearing cute winter clothes...leggings with Uggs and long warm tops. Even though we do cool off in the winter in Fresno, it's really not the same...by afternoon you feel too warm to being wearing those things. Gloves!!! I need to buy gloves.
We are expecting our first real snow within the week. We did have snow once but it didn't stay on the ground long. Today, it's raining but if the temperatures were to drop ten degrees, it would be snowing.
Lucky! Just looked at my son's weather and they're in the 60's today and tomorrow it will be 76, so I'm not exactly sure I'll see snow...they get very little...always a big ice storm in January and it can get pretty bad. He was married on January 24th and that night there was a huge ice storm and flights were cancelled and out of towners like myself and my siblings got to stay another night...was a blast. We were all stranded at the same hotel And had lots of food and drinks and laughs. Best after the wedding I've ever had.
Got to watch what people wish for (snow)! When we lived in Parker, CO (south of Denver) in 2006, people were hoping/wishing for a "white Christmas". Well, during the beginning of Christmas week, a snowstorm-turned-blizzard hit. It was the "wrap-around" kind that hit the Rockies, went into the Colorado Plains and then came back to the Rockies and started all over again. To say the least, it was definitely a blizzard! When I left for work on Monday morning, it was "white-out" conditions. Came to a stop light, down the street from our house, could barely see the stop light, called my wife and told her I was headed back home. She didn't go to work either. The picture below was in front of our garage door! Other places it was deeper and lots of drifts. It was called The Holiday Blizzard and my Supervisor/Director at work told me "Watch what you wish for".
I can appreciate the beauty of snow now because I don't have to shovel it or drive in it..been there done that for many many years. I will go out and build a snowman with the little ones.....I doubt I'll do a snow angel though...but ya never know.
And, just think, we are planning on moving back to The Front Range. But, this time living north of Denver. Still have our winter parkas and vehicle snow/ice removal tools.
My niece and her husband live in Denver....about 20 mins from the airport. Is the move a done deal @Cody Fousnaugh? Also, how's your foot?
Check your bathroom and kitchen pipes, @Von Jones . Often, houses have the kitchen sink right next to an outside wall and a window above the sink so we can see outside when standing there doing dishes, or whatever. These pipes can be insulated, and when we have very cold nights, we leave open the lower cabinet doors that access under the sink. Our kitchen sink faces north, which is even colder. Once the pipes are in your basement, they should not freeze, but if they go from the sink to the basement and are next to an outside wall, then the insulation will help. The same situation might exist with the bathroom. Ours has an outside water faucet right outside of the bathroom, but the bathroom plumbing is far enough away from the outside wall not to be a problem. However, some places where we have lived, we did put insulation on those pipes. When I had the trailer in Idaho, I also used the heat tape, which is a flat tape that plugs in to an electrical cord, and actually keeps the pipes warm. Down here it is never cold enough for that; but in the north where it easily gets way below zero in the winter, that kind of protection was necessary.