Winterizing 101s~For the New Homeowner

When you live in the forest at high altitude winterizing home and property is a must! In fact it should be on every homeowners list of chores this time of year! Typically an early snow storm reminds us that we’ve only got a matter of weeks to get all the outside chores completed before it’s too late. In our part of Colorado we embrace the November through Early April wintery climate. The frequent 40 degree days with abundant sunshine more than make up for the length of winter. Oh, the skiing and snowshoeing help too. 

We spend a few weeks in October watching the squirrels scurry up and down trees, the deer linger on our property, and we love finding the occasional bear scat from time to time. This year with the addition of the kitchen garden we spent a day getting our acre at Pine Daisy House ready for winter. Now on the 60 and, rare, 70 degree days we can just enjoy the nice weather while we have it. 

Update: You can read more about our gardening journey, here here, here, and here.

Winterizing for the Homeowner

Chop Firewood

Admittedly, I’m the cheering squad for this one. Mr. PDH and our teenager take care of this project. When we moved in we had a huge stash of logs prepped and ready for us to chop into firewood. So slowly we’ve been chopping wood in preparation for fires each year. 

Clean Out The Garden

While the wood chopping was going on me and my girl worked on cleaning the garden. We weeded, prepped beds, cleaned out containers and said farewell to our annuals. Have you read the newest Magnolia Journal? There is a great article about winterizing the garden.

Now, all of the galvanized containers are cleaned and neatly stacked in the garage. The cement blocks are stowed for next spring too. As soon as I have time to think through my garden reflections I’ll write a post dedicated to the Kitchen Garden. Overall though, I’m pretty proud of our first year!

 

Walk the Perimeter

As silly as this sounds, it’s really important that we walk our property before snow starts falling regularly. Our sweet pup dug a few holes in the back and they needed to be filled so we don’t break an ankle while playing in the snow. Also we always take a look at our fencing to make sure there is no damage that needs to be repaired before winter sets in. Old Farmer is predicting a slightly warmer, wetter, winter and for us that means snow. We average about nine feet a season, and our snowfall count has been down the last few years so we’re due for a whopper of a year.

Winterizing for the Homeowner and a Special Treat

Aside from getting the property ready from winter, we have several chores for the house too (like most people). Storing deck furniture, sweeping all the pine-needles and doing simple repairs. We also spray for spiders. This year we were especially diligent with getting our fireplace, dryer vents, and boiler serviced. It was overdue and we had so much peace of mind once those three service appointments were taken care of. Aside from that we always have the on going list of “honey-dos” to tackle. 

Mr. PDH and I are not bashful DIYers but we aren’t advanced either, ha! So we take to the internet for help whenever we need more info. Our favorite homeowners DIY VLOG  channel on Youtube is The Maintenance Man. He does an amazing job articulating, teaching, and slowly going over simple projects that most homeowners encounter. If we ever have a task that takes us to ‘mid-level DIY land’ you bet your britches we are heading to see if The Maintenance Man covers it. With nearly fifty tutorials chances are he does. New vlogs are being added all the time and he even takes requests!!! Friends, it’s all about the resources right? 

I’m also excited to share that The Maintenance Man and I have teamed up and he has posted a special Winterizing for New Homeowners VLOG just for Pine Daisy House readers! You have to go check it out, and be sure to subscribe then leave him a comment! He covers some awesome material that we’ve definitely added to our list!

 

Time to Slow Down

I find myself anticipating this time of the year more and more the longer we live here. There is something comforting about Pine Daisy House covered in snow that helps me reset on the values of stewarding and caring for these four walls. Now, don’t get me wrong, there is always a chore to do around here but, if you haven’t figured it out yet, I’m not really one who likes to sit idle. Once winter arrives though, it forces a stillness in my spirit that I welcome with open arms. The hustle of summer and fall to get all the chores done ends abruptly with the first big snow storm (usually by early November) and it just happens to be the perfect time to start dreaming with intention again. 

 

So tell me, what’s on your winterizing list this year?

With Hope for You and Your Intentional Home,