How to Winterize Your Home

There are a lot of things you can do in the early and late fall to winterize your home for energy efficiency. The first thing people consider is adding insulation to the attic. Think about a green solution that will keep the house warm while being kinder to the environment. While you’re thinking about insulation, check hot water pipes and make sure they have pipe insulation to prevent heat loss.

Here are also some small things you can do around the house:

• Replace door weatherstripping to keep drafts down to a minimum.
• Save energy at home by installing a programmable thermostat that regulates the temperature based on set times rather than by-the-minute needs.
• Think about using blackout curtains on windows to help trap heat in and add winter style to a room.
• Clean out your gutters if needed.
• Avoid pipes freezing by insulating if necessary. During drastic drops in temperature, keep a small stream of water running in a faucet or two to prevent pipes from freezing and bursting.
• Caulk cracks around windows to create a better seal and barrier.
• For longer-term planning, think about planting a windbreak of evergreens to reduce the wind chill that hits your home. While this may take some time to develop, it will be well worth the effort when the windbreak is in place.

You’ll be spending a lot of time indoors, so you want to reduce exposure to dust and germs as much as possible — especially in this time of COVID-19. It’s easy to check your fireplace for carbon monoxide with a $30 detector you can buy at the hardware store. Get the chimney swept to clear out gunk and grime and have a better path for fire smoke to leave the house.

Change out furnace filters. This will not only help reduce your energy bills by making the furnace more efficient, it will reduce the amount of dust and germs being cycled through your breathing air to keep everyone healthier.

While most people do spring cleaning, consider minimizing junk in the house and discard or donate things you don’t need. This makes decorating easier, helping you enjoy the winter holidays even more. It’s also safer to decorate with lights and candles when there is less clutter.

We asked mom Elizabeth Santos why winter cleaning makes sense. “My kids get into a giving spirit by going through old toys," she told Mom.com. "It clears space in the house and gets them excited for new things they will be receiving. They go with me to donate the gently used toys, which is a great learning experience for them.”

Some things are easier to do on your own as a DIYer, whereas other things you may want to get help for. Of course, doing it yourself will save you money on labor. But while installing insulation in the attic may be a simple task, you might not be comfortable climbing up in the attic to do it. If you do it yourself, expect to pay around $145 to $200 depending on how large your attic is, but if you hire someone, this will go up another $150 to $300 in labor depending on where you live.

A programmable thermostat might cost $20 to $130, but tack on another $100 or so in labor to install it if you can’t do it yourself. Adding weatherstripping can cost as little as $5 a door if you are willing to install them yourself. As you can see, prices will vary depending on what you are doing and whether or not you hire someone to install it.

Note: If you are hiring anyone to work inside your home during COVID-19, make sure that they are wearing adequate face masks, keeping their distance, and are following all safety protocols as outlined by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

However you choose to winterize your home, make sure you take the time to enjoy the winter season, whether that is indoors or outdoors. Drink some eggnog, watch your favorite Netflix binge, and cuddle up on the sofa. Or, get outside and have a good old-fashioned snowball fight with the kids (of course showing them how it's done).