Thrifty Winterizing

I know some of you are still bearing with 100 degree summer temperatures, but we got snow this morning where we live. So it’s time for us to start thinking about winterizing. This is very important to saving money on your energy bills.

1. Check all your windows to make sure they are shut, locked and there is no draft. This is a huge place for lost hot air. Go through your house, make sure you don’t feel a draft from your locked windows. If you do, try rolling up towels to lay there or buy some of the shrink wrap that you can put on windows.

2. Turn the attic fan off. A lot of homes have attic fans that run to help cool the house. We don’t want that heat escaping, so make sure it’s off.

3. Check for drafts around your door. This is another place our bought heat likes to escape from. Go check for drafts and if you have any, weather stripping works great, or even a rolled up towel at the bottom of the door works. HERE is an awesome tutorial about sewing your very own draft stopper as well.

4. Get a programmable thermostat. These are great because you don’t need to heat your house while you aren’t home, but you don’t want to come home to a cold house and just sit there waiting for the heater to warm it up. With a programmable thermostat, you can set it for one temperature while you are gone and then have it warm up before you come home. Don’t waste your heat when you aren’t home!

5. Replace your filters! Dirty filters can’t let heat properly get out and you just waste it. It doesn’t cost a lot to replace them and you’ll be happy you did.

What are you doing to get ready for winter?