Do you have a honey-do list or your own list? Do you let things go or jump right on it? When it comes to the cold season, there are a few things I would highly recommend for winter home maintenance. May you can already cross some off your list or need to add a few. Either way, they are always worth mentioning.

• How are your gutters? Have you cleaned them since the fall leaves have come down? If not, you need to. Even gutter guards can let some things into your gutters. If you let them go your gutters can break or even damage your roof with a heavy rain. You should flush your gutters with a hose after cleaning to make sure the water is property running through and down the drainage gutter.
• Look at your drainage under your gutters. Is everything flowing away from the house? If not, you need it too. You don’t want water in your basement creating havoc. Even worse ruin your foundation.
• Have a sunk pump? Is it working properly?
• If you have window wells, clean them out to keep mold from growing and varmints from nesting.
• Seal windows and doors to avoid drafts and higher electric bills.
• Clean your dryer vents – they can clog and catch fire.
• Weatherproof any pipes susceptible to the cold weather (including outside spigot) to avoid frozen and bursting pipes.
• Get ready for winter by getting some salt or sand to have on your porch, along with a shovel.

Those are a few recommendations for winter home maintenance—all learned the hard way from yours truly. Doing this at prevention will save you a lot of time and money in the long run.