Prepare Your Home and Family for Fall and WinterGone are the balmy summer days full of swimming, grilling in the backyard, baseball, and mowing the lawn. With the shorter days and cooler temperatures of the fall and winter months, we inevitably spend more time indoors: watching football, carving pumpkins for Halloween, reading a good book on the couch in front of the fireplace.

Now is the time to prepare your home and family for the darker, chilly days to come. Make sure your home is safe and comfortable with these five tips:

Install a programmable thermostat. If you already have one, check the settings and adjust them if necessary. To help save money, turn down the heat at bedtime and during the day when no one is home.

To save even more, wear your warm winter clothes at home to keep from turning on your heater or furnace. Not only will this save energy, but it’s also a great excuse to shop for cozy sweaters, thermals, and wool socks.

With the shorter days, you may be getting home from work when it’s dark, so be sure to illuminate your garage door and entry ways. By installing energy-efficient solar lighting with motion detectors, you’ll feel safer when you come home, especially after a ghostly night of trick-or-treating.

If you have a fireplace, be sure to get the chimney professionally cleaned. You never know what might have accumulated in there over the course of a year: bird’s nests, debris, or even soot from last year’s fires can pose a dangerous fire hazard. It’s well worth the money to prevent any fire risks and keep your home and family safe.
If you have a sprinkler system, adjust the timer for the shorter days, time change and cooler temperatures. And don’t forget to do the same for other timed systems you have, such as indoor or outdoor lights.

BDST: 1727 HRS, JAN 21, 2015