Search Results for: blog tips for winterizing your backyard

How NOT To Heat Your Home

Our local Dairy Queen was closed today. Not because it ran out of soft-serve. Rather, the electronic sign outside the establishment scrolled: “CLOSED due to EXTREME COLD!” Not something you see everyday. Then again, our below zero temperatures (way below—windchills here have been around 45 below zero) are not something you experience every day either. Less than two weeks ago my daughter and I were in Hawaii baking in 84 degree tropical weather. This morning we woke up in Wisconsin where the temperature was –10. (A difference of nearly 95 degrees… but who’s counting). The Dairy Queen, the YWCA, the … Continue reading →

More Tips For Winterizing Your Home—Pipes and Gutters

So you’ve completed the winterization process on your home’s windows and doors, now it’s time to concentrate on the plumbing and roof. I don’t know where you live, but here in the Upper Midwest meteorologists are warning of an Artic blast that’s making its way down from Canada. They say by the end of the week our daytime highs won’t get out of the mid 20’s. For residents around here now’s the time to wrap the outside hose bibs. Resist the newspaper-and-duct-tape method (once water seeps through the newspaper your covering will be rendered useless, and that’s not saying anything … Continue reading →

More Tips For Winterizing Your Home—Windows and Doors

In a previous blog I provided some tips on how to ensure your home is ready for Old Man Winter. In our home we are prepping for an Artic blast, which is currently making its way down from Canada. I am never ready for bone chilling temperatures, but that doesn’t mean my house isn’t. Believe me, if you’ve got air leaks around your windows, the first cold day of winter will reveal them to you. Did you know one of the oldest methods for detecting an air leak is to use a lit candle? Simply move it around the window’s … Continue reading →

Winterizing Your Home: 10 Ways To Lower Your Gas Bill

Two years ago I nearly had a heart attack when I opened our heating bill. The winter was brutal and so was the payment amount printed on the bills for the months of January, February, and March. But, back then I had just given birth and was more concerned about keeping my precious baby warm than trying to make the most of our energy dollar. I’ve wised up since then. The following are simple guidelines we now follow to ensure that I don’t experience cardiac arrest when the gas bills come in. Hopefully they can help you enjoy lower heating … Continue reading →

Tips For Winterizing Your Backyard

Don’t let the title of this blog depress you. I don’t know where you live, but I reside in the Upper Midwest and for the last two days it has been storming and in the 50’s. So much for Indian summer. (Actually, it is supposed to be back in the 70’s by the end of the week.) Needless to say, today’s weather has me thinking about switching the house from summer to winter mode. Well, at least the backyard. I can’t help but cringe at the sight of the grill, lawn furniture, and plastic pool and think that in a … Continue reading →

Going Green—Part 1: What is A Green Home?

When my friend asked me if I would like to tour a “green house” with her I gave her a puzzled look. After all, she knew I was in the midst of winterizing my yard. Then I thought perhaps she wanted to spruce up her home with some potted plants so I agreed. When she told me tickets to tour this “green house” would run about $10 I knew there was something I was missing. Turns out this “green house” is actually a “green home.” A building made of ecologically correct material. I took the bait and we toured the … Continue reading →

Home and Garden Week in Review: Sep. 11-17

Here’s a list of the latest from Marjorie, Michele, and Sherry. To read or re-read any of these titles you can click here for the Home Blog archives, and then click on the titles. We hope you are enjoying these articles. As always, don’t hesitate to comment. September 11 1) Tips For Winterizing Your Backyard 2) Setting The Stage For Company: A One-Act Play 3) Guests and Fireplaces: A Warm Combination 4) September 11: In Honor of the Fallen and Those Who Defend Us 5) Murphy’s Law 6) The Parlor In The Home: Wherever Did It Go? 7) Spruce Up … Continue reading →