Get Your Home Ready For The Cold

When the weather’s nice, my wife and I sit outside on the back porch and torment each other with conversations like this:

Dad relaxing in our backyard (he turned 89 on Halloween)

• (Her) “Beautiful day!”
• (Me) “Yeah, but it won’t be long before the leaves fall, the grass goes brown, and I’m shoveling a foot of snow.”

We have that talk every year about now.  With a warm October behind us now (in Oklahoma, at least), the snow, ice and just plain cold weather will be here before you know it (maybe not in Las Vegas, where we used to live) .   How much you save on energy bills this winter will depend a lot on what you do now.

PSO Oklahoma has a check list to help make your home more energy efficient when the cold comes.  It includes:

• One fairly easy thing is to caulk or weather strip your doors and windows.
• Check the insulation in your attic, and replace or add as needed.
• Have your heating system checked, and don’t forget to replace your furnace filter on a regular basis throughout the heating season.
• Have the chimney and fireplace checked and cleaned by a professional.

Same view from back porch Winter 2009 (minus dad)

Ol’ Man Winter will be here before you know it.  Then, my wife and I will have one of our other annual chats while bundled up on the back porch:

• (Her) “(shivering) I’m so cold.  Will it ever end?  I hate it.”
• (Me) “Yeah, but in just a few more months, the leaves will be back, the grass green, and we’ll be complaining how hot it is in Oklahoma.”

Go here for a complete list of PSO’s energy-saving tips.