Winter is finally here, and if you’re already worried about all those monthly costs that are unavoidable this season – we understand your concern. However, you don’t need to worry at all, as we have some useful tips on how to prepare your home for winter, even if you’re on a budget. Here are four of them, so check them out and save some money in the upcoming period!
Make sure you add insulation
Adding insulation will significantly contribute to keeping your home warm during winter, as it successfully keeps cold air out and warm air in. Some people claim that adding it in your attic is the easiest thing you can do, so be sure you add from 30 to 40cm of insulation there. Of course, if you aren’t really sure how much of it you already have, just look at the unfinished portion of your attic floor. You’ll need to add more if the insulation is sitting below the floor joists. Your water heater should also be insulated, simply because it can make up to 25 percent of the energy used in your home.A fiberglass and plastic insulating blanket will do the trick in this case, so use it to wrap your water heater and lower your energy costs. Besides that, you may also want to insulate your hot-water pipes in your basement. Flexible foam sleeves are exactly what you need, so opt for them and add insulation to that aspect of your home as well.
Check and seal your air leaks
In case you didn’t know, all kinds of leaks around your house can contribute to a 35 percent air loss, which is a quite big number. This means that warm air will find its way out of your home, which is why you should check all the potentially problematic spots and seal them as soon as possible. Some of the most common areas that are likely to feature air leaks are window and door frames, baseboards, outside vents to your dryer, and spaces around window condition units. You can easily check if there are some air leaks in your home by simply lighting a candle – if it flickers, there’s a leak somewhere. If that’s the case with your home, you can always buy an inexpensive tube of caulk and seal up all the problematic spots. Of course, you probably won’t be able to detect and reach all the ducts, as some of them are hidden in your walls, floors, and ceilings, but you will definitely do a great job by sealing up all the visible ones that actually cause major problems.
Declutter your home
Decluttering your home should be another essential step, and it’s so important for many reasons. First of all, it can undoubtedly give you far more space, as clutter can physically obstruct your path and prevent you from moving with ease in your own home. It can even be hazardous, since you can trip over it and actually get harmed. Besides that, physical clutter in your home often means emotional clutter as well, which is even more difficult to cope with. The act of decluttering will basically force you to decide what’s important to you, which will also help you be more careful and thoughtful in other areas in life. Once you get rid of all the unnecessary stuff that has been piling up for God knows how long, you’ll feel an instant relief. Apart from that, the quality of your life will improve as well, so don’t wait any longer and declutter your home right now. A lot of people opt for rubbish removal these days, and you can also use such services if you need your junk to be removed ASAP. Just hire a team that will turn up on time, act professionally, and get rid of your clutter without any problems. That’s surely one of the best ways to prepare your home for winter!
Be sure that your furnace runs smoothly
Servicing your furnace regularly has so many benefits, especially when you’re on a budget and want to save as much money as you can. First of all, it can help you notice a potential problem before it grows into a bigger one and causes an expensive breakdown, which is exactly what you want to avoid. Apart from that, it can prolong your furnace’s life and help it run more smoothly. You should know that older furnaces require annual services, whereas newer ones can be serviced every two years. Bear in mind that this isn’t a DIY job, so find a professional and get everything done properly. Besides that, your furnace filters should be replaced every month, since these can get quite dirty and therefore push up heating bills and shorten the life of a furnace. Here’s a useful tip: take the filter and hold it up to the light. If you can’t see the light through it, you need a new one!
As you can see, each of these four steps is more than essential when it comes to preparing your home for winter – even if you’re on a budget. You’ll save some money once you do everything you possibly can to minimize the monthly costs, so be sure to stick to our tips and you won’t make a mistake!
