Preparations For The Upcoming Winter

 

Fortunately I don’t have a lot to do this year to get ready for the upcoming winter.  I had a short list of things to restock in the pantry, deep freezer and linen closet to keep me going should the weather get icky and I decide I don’t want to drive anywhere.  If feels very good to have a handle on that.

 

Linen closet is well stocked

In the garage I have been working over the summer months to restock my pet food and supplies area with plenty of feed for the chickens, hay and other supplies for the bunny as well as food for the kitties.  I had figured out what to buy and how much, putting a few things away at a time so I didn’t have to spend a whole lot of money each month and blow the budget.

 

As I’ve mentioned before, I like to make sure I have plenty of pet food on hand so I don’t have to go to the feed store in the snow or rain and try to wrangle heavy 50# bags of wet feed into the garage, especially if the driveway may be slippery.  No good comes from that practice and you risk not only falling and hurting yourself, but your feed can get ruined and turn moldy by the exposure to the elements.  I just try to avoid all of that.

 

As the weather turns colder I’ll be checking to see if I need to do any regular maintenance around here to button up the house, but so far all looks well.  The garden hoses will need to be drained, rolled up and stored away for the season here in the coming month or so and I’ll be cleaning out and gathering up all of the flowerpots after the first hard frost.  I may have a small amount of tree pruning to do, but nothing on the scale of last year.

 

As far as the garden beds go, I didn’t plant a garden this year, but I will still do the usual and keep adding compost to them so that if I choose to plant a garden next year I’ll have the added nutrients and amended soil that I will need to make it successful.  Over the winter I will continue to add the bunny’s litter bin to the beds as well, the same for my flowerbeds in order to maintain healthy soil for my perennial plants as well.

 

Old battery - old & a bit crusty 😬

New battery

I couldn't just leave that battery hold down all rusty 😟
I had to rejuvenate it so it lasts longer and make it pretty too 😁

I’ll be topping up both vehicles with fuel, checking the fluids again and making sure they are clean and tidy, inside and out.  The tires are good and I replaced the battery in the Subaru as it was quite old (2018) and I definitely did not want to get stranded somewhere with a dead battery so that was on the list to get done this summer.  I’ll also be picking up an extra set of wiper blades to keep in the garage in case one fails so I can easily replace it.

 

I have plenty of alternate light sources, my solar generators are fully charged and there is plenty of kerosene for the lamps, BBQ supplies and fuel for the camp stove in case of a prolonged power outage.  I have a warming blanket as well to keep me and the kitties nice and toasty.

 

As far as clothing goes I am good to go with winter appropriate shoes, coats, hats, socks and attire.  I will be in the market for a new pair of gloves however, as mine are getting pretty worn out.  With that taken care of we should pretty much be all set regardless of what Mother Nature should send our way.  How about you?  What kind of preparations do you make?