A Mid-Summer Guide to Planning for Winter

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If you click on his post, I'm assuming from the title that you're reading this in the summer.

Right now, your mind is on popsicles, swimsuits, getting all of that sand out of the back of your car from the beach that one time, and trying to stay cool.

Unfortunately, as those of us with children know all too well, time moves indecently fast and before we know it winter will be upon us. Although the last thing we want to contemplate is  all of the homeowner problems that come with winter, it is important to think ahead of time a little bit because there are many winter fixes that are much cheaper in the summer months.

Just like it will cost you an arm and a leg to fix your air conditioning if you wait until the middle of a heat stroke, some of these winter fixes are easier, cheaper, and more convenient to accomplish in the summer months when the demand is low.

Here are some steps you can take this summer to make your winter much more pleasant.

Improve Your Heating System

One of the most simple ways of making your home a much warmer and more welcoming place is by evaluating and upgrading the heating system. 

With HVAC services being able to drastically improve both the economic and general efficiency of your current system, there’s really no reason not to get your pipework checked out. Being able to turn on your heating an have the confidence that whatever money you pay will actually be converted into warmth throughout your home seems like a blessing after a long period of struggling with your faulty or slow system. 

Whether it takes something as small and simple as bleeding your radiators, you could be missing out on a whole load of heat without even knowing just because of the age and quality of your heating system. 

And of course, getting an appointment or even negotiating a good price with whatever repairman you choose to use will be much easier in the middle of July than it would be in the middle of a frosty December cold spell.

Help Kids Wrap Up

It doesn’t matter how much heat you are able to pump out inside your home, there’s little chance of you ever being completely warm enough in shorts and a vest when there is so much freezing ice and snow just bricks away from reaching you. 

In order to ensure that you simply will not have the chance to get cold, encourage your kids to wrap up warm will improve the situation more than a radiator ever could, But we all know that mittens, jackets, and scarves are the last thing on a kid's mind.

If you shop in the middle of summer, you are likely to get amazing deals on the winter necessities your kids are going to need, and therefore you will be more likely to be able to afford things that they will find truly appealing.

Find some big thick blankets to throw over your sofas to help everyone stay cozy when they sit still to watch TV, and invest in some slippers to stop heat from escaping through your feet, especially on cold marble or stone flooring. You do not have to go as far as wearing a hat and scarf inside (because good luck getting your kids to do that), but leaving the heating on a reasonable level whilst instead adding some extra layers of clothing is much more cost-effective for a family on a budget. 

Identify Weak Points

Unfortunately, there's almost guaranteed to be some weak points within your home that are capable of letting in the cold air from outside or providing you with an icy draft that can transform the temperature for the worst. 

By identifying these issues way ahead of time and thinking of innovative and creative ways to solve them, you can help to make sure that your home is sealed tight and can instead keep all of the heat you have accumulated to stay inside. 

Generally it can be underneath doors or through windows that cold air can make its way indoors, so investing in some draft excluders to lay down at the bottom of your doors as well as some better quality sealant to help ensure that no ice is able to get in. If you have a loft, be sure to check it regularly for holes and issues as your roof can encounter more problems than any other areas and can also lead to greater issues if left unidentified. 

Taking a little time to pinpoint these issues now (when it's super warm outside) could save you a great deal of heartache once it gets colder.

Don’t Stress Too Much

Luckily it is not as difficult as you may originally believe to keep your family warm and by doing some preemptive work now, you could save yourself a crazy amount of money.

Take a few simple steps now, do some preemptive thinking, and you'll be shocked how much easier it is once winter actually comes.

 however, if you really can't get past the fact that it's actually summer, you can also learn about how to keep your family cool instead,  so whether your head is at frosties from Wendy's or Frosty the Snowman, we've got you covered.