The time to get your house ready for winter is before the snow falls. Spending some time and effort in October or November can prevent some major financial upsets when the temperatures drop. Every year, millions of dollars are lost due to burst pipes, frozen rain gutters, and other weather-related problems. Use some of the tips below to get your home ready for a visit from Jack Frost.

Get rid of dead branches and trim the weak ones. If the trees near your home have branches that could snap under the weight of ice or snow, have them removed to prevent damage to your home or car or the possibility of causing an injury to someone walking by. Consult a professional to help you trim the branches without causing damage to the growth of the tree so you can still enjoy the shade it provides when the sun shines again.

Wrap the pipes in winter woolies. Heating tape around your pipes will help prevent your pipes from freezing. Make sure you know where the pipes are located, how to get to them, and how to turn the water off. If your pipes do start to freeze, being able to turn the water off quickly will give you a better chance of stopping the pipes from bursting.

Check your water heater for leaks and maintain a proper temperature setting (the Department of Energy recommends 120 degrees). On older water heaters that don’t have much insulation, you save six percent of your heating energy for every 10 degrees Fahrenheit you lower the temperature.

Insulate. When heat escapes through the top of the house, the snow on your roof melts and can refreeze as ice. Too much ice on the roof can cause enough weight to collapse your home or patio roof. The best way to prevent this is to keep the attic only 5 to 10 degrees warmer than the outside air. How do you do this without freezing everyone inside the home? Insulation. Well-insulated attics prevent ice developing on your roof. Well-insulated basements help prevent your pipes from freezing.

Heat your home. While it’s tempting to turn your thermostat down low to keep your heating bills from skyrocketing, if you’re too thrifty it can cost you rather than save. Your home should never go below 65 degrees. The air inside your walls gets considerably colder than the air in your home, so if you keep your home lower than 65 degrees, the pipes inside your walls will be in danger of freezing.

Proper care of your furnace and any fireplaces in your home will help you prevent fires or smoke damage. Have them serviced at least once a year. Clean permanent furnace filters and replace paper or disposable filters. Check your smoke and fire alarms regularly and install a carbon dioxide detector if possible. This is particularly important in the winter months when your furnace is running much of the time. Clean and vacuum baseboard heating ducts and vents. If you have a wood stove or fireplace, have your chimney swept thoroughly. It should be cleaned before the soot build up reaches one-fourth inch thickness inside the chimney flue.

If you smell natural gas in your home:

• Do not light a flame.
• Do not use light switches, telephones, or other electrically operated devices that may spark and ignite the gas.
• Evacuate the building immediately.
• Do not start a motor or motor vehicle.

If any of the following occur, you should turn off the gas at the main meter. If doing so would jeopardize your safety, vacate the area and call emergency personnel.

• There is structural damage to your home.
• You smell natural gas.
• You hear gas leaking.
• There’s a fire.

Keep your gutters clean. If ice collects and creates a dam in your gutters, water cannot drain and begins to leak into your house instead. This can cause serious damage to your ceilings and walls. One way to help prevent this from happening is to keep your gutters clear of leaves, sticks, and other debris. Gutter screens are available at home stores that help prevent debris from collecting and also help direct water away from the house.

Keep your stairs in good repair. Winter ice and snow on sidewalks can be hazardous to you and to your visitors. Keep your stair railings and steps in good shape and free of ice to prevent injuries. Have your home examined by a professional contractor each fall to check for structural damage like cracks and leaks.

Early repair of problems before they get too bad will save you money in the long run. Good advice about how to make your home more winter ready is a bonus. Christmas vacation. If you’re going to be away from home, have someone check on your home regularly so that if there is a problem, it can be fixed quickly to lessen the damage. If you’re going to be away for an extended period of time, have your water system drained to prevent freezing.

Everyday Winterizing

Interior decorator Sharon Hanby-Robie has some suggestions for easy ways to winterize your home with everyday supplies.

• Changing from cool colors to warm colors in your bedroom during the winter gives your room a warmer feel.
• Use a quilt as a textile hanging on your wall or over a patio door. It will help provide insulation for both.
• Cut insulation foam or egg crate foam slightly bigger than your large windows. Put the pieces in the window at night to keep the cold air out and take them out in the morning to let the sunshine in.
• Install energy-efficient light bulbs in the five most commonly used lights in your home, and you can save as much as $60 in a year. Those lights are the kitchen ceiling light, the living room table and floor lamps, the bathroom vanity, and the outdoor porch or lamppost.

Yard Work Doesn’t End with Summer

While it’s true you don’t have to mow and water and rake once the cold winds start to blow, there are some things you should remember to do to prevent unnecessary expense when things warm up again.

• Store or cover your outdoor furniture, toys, and barbecue grill.
• Caulk any joints and minor cracks on exterior walls or in your siding.
• Look for deteriorating paint and finishes and patch minor problems to preserve the wood. Save the bigger jobs like scraping and repainting for the spring or early summer.
• Drain and shut off your sprinkler system and any other exterior water lines to prevent frozen and broken pipes. Leave the outdoor taps slightly open.
• Inspect your roof for loose, damaged, or missing shingles or tiles.
• Make sure piles of firewood don’t touch siding or exterior wood. It’s an open invitation for termites and carpenter ants to enter your house.

Increase Your Holiday Savings Fund

If you find it hard to save a little cash for gift giving, try these ideas. 1. Treat saving like a bill. Pay it out of every paycheck. 2. Think small. Cut out a fast-food lunch or a restaurant dinner once a week and brown-bag it instead. 3. Turn off the television. Advertisements can be tempting so avoid listening to them as much as you can. 4. Try a different mode of travel. If your town has good public transportation, try getting around without a car. If you can’t do it every day, try a couple of days a week. 5. If you don’t read, don’t buy. Don’t renew subscriptions to magazines and newspapers that you hardly ever read. Your local library has copies of them all so a once-a-week trip to the library can catch you up. 6. Coffee give-me-up. No, you don’t have to stop drinking coffee, just stop buying it from the coffee shop. Brew your own at home. Even if you buy your favorite beans, it will still be cheaper than paying by the cup.