Winter is always a time where the unexpected happens, and in 2020 all bets are off. The night before you go to bed, it’s a little wet and a little cold, but otherwise, it’s fine. The next morning you wake up and the entire landscape is covered in snow, frost and ice. Yet, there was no weather warning, it just swept through in a matter of hours. Suddenly, the country looks beautiful and everyone is outside making snowmen. However, your home is officially under attack! The pipes are freezing, the heating is becoming less effective and heat retention in the home is being severely tested. And this isn’t even the worst yet. So plan for the worst and expect the best with these following tips for preparing your home for winter.
Source of water
You never ever know when you don’t have running water in winter. It’s common for pipes to freeze up even if you have foam wrapped around them for insulation. This is why you should be keeping a water tank in the garden. It won’t freeze because it will be kept in the shed, garage or perhaps buried into the ground. You can place an insulating tarp over the top and have well over 1,000 liters of fresh water at the ready any time of the year. But won’t the maintenance be too much? No, because if you follow a good guide to keeping your water tank clean, you won’t face the common issues of debris, contamination and grit forming at the bottom. You can easily disinfect the water tank and sterilize the pipes so the water coming into the home is safe to drink and use for showers, cooking etc.
A whole load of wool
Every home should have a bag of woolly items that can be ready to be placed all around the home in case the heating fails. If your radiators are shot and you can’t get a professional to come and fix the boiler, then woolly towels, jumpers, throws and rugs should be all over the home. Place a woolly rug at the entrance to the home. Place some woolly towels on the window sills, and woolly jumpers on the staircase rail, and cover the sofa in all the woolly throws you have. If there is any warmth in your home, the wool will catch and trap it. So the average temperature of your home will rise, even without central heating.
Safe-to-eat meals
You never know if your home is going to be without power for a few days. Winter storms can be bad, and not allow the authorities to get power back on. So you need to have safe-to-eat meals during this period. Stock up on dried foods which can be eaten at any time, such as pasta, rice, flapjacks, beans. You can also store flour and yeast so you can make bread in a pot. Obviously, you’ll need to be able to make a fire in your garden so have some logs ready to burn.
Winters can catch homeowners out and cause them much grief. You should always have preparations to have extra water for bathing and cooking, as well as food that can be stored all year round. It wouldn’t hurt to raise the ambient temperature of your home with a few woolly items.
Love Lilla xx