This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Lennox® for IZEA. All opinions are 100% mine.
We are having quite the Indian Summer around here, but predictions are that we’ll be seeing a snowier than normal winter. I’m trying to enjoy every last 70 degree day while I can before the weather turns cold, but we’ve already started to prep for the changing seasons. For those of you that live in cold weather climates, today I’ve got five quick tips to help you get ready, too.
BACK OF DOOR SCARF & GLOVE STORAGE
Is your coat closet overflowing? Create more space by using the back of the door to store all of your family’s winter hats, scarves, and gloves. Simply hang a shoe bag from the top of the door and fill the pockets. Be sure to read my damage free hanging tip!
GIVE EVERYONE A DRAWER
For bulkier winter gear that doesn’t fit in the shoe bag pockets on the back of the door, give each member of the family their own drawer. Adding drawers to the bottom of you coat closet is a great way to make use of the often under-utilized floor space, and you can find affordable plastic stacking drawers online or at any home good store.
Also, add a label to each drawer so that the family knows whose is whose. Giving each person a dedicated drawer keeps things organized – making it easier to for everyone to find what they need on the way out the door, and to put it away when they get home.
LINE SHOE SHELVES
The floor of our coat closet used to be one big pile of shoes and winter gear. When we finally got the coat closet organized last year, I put all the shoes away in our bedroom closets, but I did add a couple of shelves so that our winter boots would have a dedicated place near the front door.
I don’t ever intend to put boots back in the closet while they are still snowy or wet {we keep boot trays by the front and back doors for that purpose}. Nonetheless, boots are dirty business and I don’t want to muck up the shelves in the coat closet, so I quickly lined the shelves with clear ribbed shelf-liner. This way, if the liner gets dirty I can easily lift it out and clean it.
REVERSE FAN DIRECTION
Don’t forget to switch your ceiling fan direction for the winter. Your fan should turn in a counter-clockwise direction during the summer {to create a cool downward airflow}, and in a clockwise direction during the winter {forcing warm air near the ceiling down into the room}. Most fans have a switch right on the fan, or the fan direction may be controlled by your remote.
PROTECT OUTDOOR FURNITURE
Our backyard patio serves as an outdoor living room during the warm months, but when the seasons change, we cover all of the furniture for the winter months. In the past, we have simply left the cushions and pillows on the furniture and placed the furniture covers over the whole lot. But this is not ideal! Even with good quality covers, when the snow sits for days at a time, it can eventually soak through the covers a bit, getting the pillows and cushions damp. In the past, I’ve never had a place to store the pillows and cushions separately for the winter, but during our recent garage makeover {which I revealed just yesterday} I made it a priority to create storage space for our outdoor decor.
We bought a 120-gallon deck box, which is large enough for all of our cushions, pillows, side table, and other outdoor decor. We placed the box in the garage for now, but because it’s weather proof, it could always be relocated outside if we were to buy a longer car and need the space back in the garage. This deck box storage solution gets the “Five Minute Friday” nod because that’s all the time it takes to assemble. These boxes are made so that they snap together in just a few minutes with no tools required!
PREP YOUR HVAC SYSTEM FOR WINTER
In addition to my five minute tips above, you should be sure that your furnace is ready to handle the winter chill, because there is nothing worse than being left without heat in the middle of a snow storm!
While most newer heating systems require little maintenance, Lennox®, the maker of the Ultimate Comfort System™ {the quietest, most efficient and smartest HVAC systems on the market} recommends that a quick tune-up is a great way to extend the life of your HVAC equipment and ensure that it runs at peak efficiency. Major maintenance should be handled by a licensed technician, but there are some steps you can take on your own that can result in a more comfortable winter, which you can read about on the Lennox® website and on the Lennox® Facebook page.
Little by little we are adding technology to make our home smarter. High on our priority list is adding a thermostat we can control remotely, like the iComfort® S30, which is the smartest Wi-Fi touch screen thermostat on the market.
If your HVAC system needs an upgrade this winter, you’re in luck because the Lennox® fall promotion includes rebates of up to $1,600 on a qualifying home comfort system. Click here to find a dealer to help you prepare for fall/winter and take advantage of the offer.
