5 tips: Your winter survival checklist

Your Winter Survival Checklist

16/11/2016

Love it or hate it, winter is coming and you need to be prepared. Here's how.....

For some people, winter is a uniquely beautiful time of the year, where everything’s more quiet and subdued, and the world goes to sleep for at least a little while. For others, it’s just one big downer, and they can’t wait for the snow to melt and spring to come around again. Whether you love it or you hate it, winter is coming, and it’s not going to be pleasant if you let it catch you unawares. Here’s a brief survival checklist for having a more comfortable winter.

Stockpile supplies during winter as a precaution.

(Pixabay)

Stockpile Supplies – If you live in a particularly cold area, then you’ve probably got some heavy snow on the way. While these areas usually have pretty good grit services and other precautions, it can still be a real hassle to go anywhere when the snow gets bad enough! I’m sure you don’t want to be stuck at home when you need some kind of bare necessity, so start building up a stockpile of these things.

Your winter survival checklist: cook well in advance

(Flickr)

Cook Well in Advance – Related to stockpiling essentials, cooking a few nutritious meals and then freezing them can really help you out through the peak of winter. There are inevitably going to be more bugs going around through winter, and if you get so sick you have to stay indoors, you’re not going to want to resort to ordering an unhealthy takeaway!

Your winter survival checklist: get your home ready

(Wikimedia)

Get Your Home Ready – I don’t like dealing with the stress of home improvements and repairs any more than you do. However, winter can really drive up your energy bills, and in some cases, require some pretty expensive repairs. Some simple, preventative measures can reduce the need for any costly heating solutions and other expenses. One big thing you really don’t want to forget is shutting off any outside taps. When the cold weather really hits us, it can freeze or even burst your pipes. Shut off all your outdoor taps and give them time to drain. If you absolutely need to use them, then look around for a frost-free sillcock.

(Pixabay)

Take Inventory of Your Winter Wardrobe

I’m sure you don’t want to get frostbite or hypothermia while you’re out enjoying the beauty of winter. Even if you couldn’t care less about how nice the snow looks, you can’t spend the whole season hibernating! Dig out all your hats, coats, scarves, boots and so on, and check if you need to get anything new. You probably know that kids have a tendency of not telling us when their clothes get torn! Start looking around for replacement winter clothes now, and you’ll have lots of time to source a new wardrobe.

Protect Your Outdoor Furniture

If you leave your lovely patio furniture outdoors for the whole of winter, the elements are inevitably going to do some damage. If you can’t wait to get the colder months over and done with, then make sure you can get right out there as soon as spring comes around! Bring all your patio furniture in, or cover them up with some thick, reliable tarp. Don’t forget the barbecue and your plant pots! This will save you a lot of cleaning-up time when you see the sun again!