Does the coming Thanksgiving holiday have you making some changes in your house? It does in ours – and I don’t mean fall decorating! The crisp (not like white paint) air and the crunch of dog’s feet on the fallen leaves means it’s time to switch out the wardrobe, find the flannel sheets, stock up on firewood, and more. Here’s six ways we’re getting ready for winter at The Borrowed Abode.
1. Whip out the winter wardrobe
You can sneak a large wardrobe into a not-so-large closet if you pack away your out of season clothes. A few weeks ago I pawed through my closet and my dresser, packing away all the shorts, sundresses, bikinis, sandals (sigh) and filling their spots with my warm fuzzy sweaters. Even my summer pj’s got switched for my flannel winter ones. My storage bin of choice is a large Rubbermaid tub with a sturdy lid. If I can’t fit all my out-of-season clothes and shoes in there . . . well then I think I have too many. And when it’s time for me to make my winter weekend migration to Miami , no problem – I just pull the tub out to get to my skimpy summer clothes.
2. Break out the cozy bedding
We’ve changed up the sateen sheets on our bed for cozy flannel ones. To avoid clutter in the closets, we only have one set of summer sheets and one set of winter sheets – and the out-of-season set gets stowed in a decorative bin on the closet shelf. I’m also getting all the extra comforters and blankets drycleaned so that I’m sure to have enough clean, warm, and pet-hair-free layers for any and all guest beds.
3. Clean up the coat closet
This is an organizing project I’m dying to do. We need to spruce up the coat closet and make better use of the space so that we’re ready for organized usage of hats and mittens and dog coats. I’d like to move the hanging rod in the coat closet back by a few inches to make better use of the space. This may have to wait until my Christmas break, though, because right now I’m pretty busy.
4. Stock up on firewood
We’re stocking up on firewood so that we can continue to enjoy long nights around the firepit with good friends. It’s amazing how much a simple firepit can warm things up, making even the coldest night cozy and enjoyable.
5. Prep the pantry
Stock the pantry and freezer with cold-weather must-haves, such as soups and stews, mulling spices, and s’mores fixins. You don’t want to go hungry in a snowstorm!
6. Drive safe!
You can never be too safe on the roads. Especially if you’re elderly or have kids, make sure you tires have good treads, and pack and stow a winter emergency kit in the trunk of your car – for use just in case you get stuck in some horrible emergency. I’ve got the tires covered, since I replaced all four of them the day I left for my fall vacation. But I still need to make the emergency car kit. It should include:
- Several bottles of water
- 1/2 dozen hand warmer packs
- Several emergency heat blankets
- Hat and gloves
- A flashlight and extra batteries
- A small shovel and an extra ice scraper
- A towel and a blanket
- A bag of clay cat litter or sand (for traction on ice)
Well that’s it for us, but what about you? Is there anything we’ve left off our list? (And if you’re thinking hot cocoa, don’t worry – we’ve got plenty of that in the pantry!)
5 Comments
I’ve never had to make an emergency car kit before (though FL required mucho hurricane prep!) so thanks for the heads up! Now that I’m in NC this might come in handy!!! <3
PS: stop teasing me with that smores picture 😉 hahaha love it!!
Well, let’s see…I pulled out the closed-toe sandals, put the heavier shorts on the top of the stacks, ate all the hurricane supplies, slipped a heating pad into the dog’s bed, and turned off the air conditioner. Yes Sir, we’re ready for winter here!
I was so ready to get rid of Winter last year, that I packed all of our winter stuff away and now I can’t find it! Haha! I’m sure it will turn up sometime… We did stock up our pantry though!
[…] if you northerners are looking for a good giggle, be sure to check out Sunny’s response to my Winter Prep Steps post from earlier this week. Liked this? Please share it! Posted in Flourish! pets & home, […]
great tips! we have been going through some of these transitions as well. We tend to get lots of power outages where we live, so on our list is making sure our power outage kit is stocked and checklist is checked. LOTS of water (well pump is electric) Charge up all rechargable batteries, gather candles/lighter, batteries/flashlights. Charge up portable jump box, (it has a power source for cell phone chargers) we keep plenty of cook-less food on hand, and use a manual can opener, we make sure we have plenty of de-icer (which stays in my purse when we leave the car on icy days, doesnt do much good in the frozen trunk) and rock salt.
weather proofing is another thing we do, new insulation in the pump house, cap all the outdoor faucets, etc. we still need to put draft dodgers under the doors though.