Winter is coming! — and unfortunately, so are those heating bills. The good news? Heating bills and other unexpected and miscellaneous winter-related costs can be greatly reduced by putting in a little time “winterizing” your home. While no, it won’t ever seem as appealing as breaking out those holiday decorations on a Sunday afternoon, your future-self will certainly thank your little bit of elbow grease you put in now.

Don’t know where to start? We’ve rounded up a list of the most commonly recommended winterizing tips for you:

Furnace Check

Before you turn on the furnace (although it’s never too late), it’s best practice to do a professional maintenance check with a professional. The service could cost you $100, but avoiding a major repair or

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As the weather gets colder, homeowners need to make sure their home heating systems are ready for the rigors of another long winter. There are plenty of ways they can do that – some by themselves, others with professionals involved – but getting it done before the truly cold weather settles in is a must for any house.

The first thing to do when attempting to test a home heating system is head down to where the furnace is and check out its air filters, according to Service Champions. Experts recommend that this should be done about once a month, and if they’re looking particularly dirty, they should be swapped out. However, the absolute maximum time between replacing the filters is, in most cases, going to be no longer than three months.

Other DIY

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Usually, by the time you schedule a home inspection, you’re at least halfway in love with a house. You’ve walked through it many times, and you’ve likely made note of any concerns you have regarding the home’s condition. The inspection is the last hurdle separating you from the house of your dreams, so it’s only natural for you to want it to go well.

Ultimately, though, you really don’t want a home that doesn’t pass the most rigorous inspection. Hire an impartial inspector who has no loyalties to anyone involved except you. The most qualified home inspectors do cost more than one you might find by happenstance, but when you compare this cost to the overall investment you’ll be making in this new home, it becomes clear that this is not the moment for

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While we no longer depend on a fireplace for heat and therefore don’t need to do a post-winter deep clean for soot and dust, the idea of spring cleaning is still alive and well. While not needed for fireplace grime, a good spring cleaning and maintenance session are not only good for the soul but one of the smartest thing to do for the longevity of your home.   By spending a little time and effort now, you’ll save huge expenses and potential disasters down the road. A little bonus? You get the best version of your home to enjoy over the summer.   Below is a list of recommended yearly spring maintenance:

Inside the Home  Dryers  While cleaning out the lint filter becomes an easy habit for most, what about that pesky lint…

Last week we posted a list of easy home maintenance tasks you can do yourself to lower your energy costs this Fall and Winter. But many homeowners don’t realize the savings that can be achieved by spending a little money up front to properly maintain your home each year. We’ve consulted some local experts at Roscoe Brown to bring you the best annual maintenance checklist.

HAVE A PROGRAMMABLE THERMOSTAT INSTALLED

If you’re not very handy, call your local HVAC company and have them install a programmable thermostat in your home. This is an easy installation that removes the hassle of changing your thermostat manually during your busy work-week or at night before bed. Set it, forget it, and check for savings on your next bill.

FLUSH YOUR

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With fall just around the corner, it’s the perfect time to give your home an energy efficiency assessment. Are you setting yourself up to save money in the coming chilly months, or will you need to pay through the nose again this year?

If you want to make sure your home won’t take a chunk of your holiday cash, check out our surefire tips to ensure that you and yours are warm, toasty, and energy-savvy this fall and winter.

Adjust the Temperature

Heating your home makes up a large portion of your energy consumption. At night, wear warm pajamas, socks, and layer blankets on your bed to stay warm.

By installing a programmable thermostat and setting it to run 10° – 15° cooler on cold nights and back up to warm up the house in the morning, you

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Smart home technology has been something that we as a population have longed for; science fiction shows and movies have wowed audiences with ideas for home automation that most of us would really like to enjoy in our day-to-day lives.

With the cost of DIY smart technology being lower than ever before, smart homes are now in the realm of possibility for many homeowners. The question is, should you be an early adopter, or wait for safer, even more affordable options? Do you worry that a smart home upgrade would leave you fumbling to turn on your lights or adjust your thermostat, or are you chomping at the bit to get every one of your home’s electronic devices connected to your smart phone?

Whether you’re tech-savvy or a reluctant luddite, there are

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This is a sponsored post brought to you by HMS Home Warranty.

Water is an important resource, however many homes use more of it than they realize. As such, it’s vital to consider the ways homeowners can conserve water as this will ultimately create positive environmental changes and cut costs for them as well.

 

INDOOR WATER SAVINGS

There are many ways the average homeowner wastes water without even being aware. In fact, some methods homeowners may think save on water actually do the very opposite, according to the Charles River Watershed Association. For instance, running a dishwasher only when it’s absolutely full won’t keep dishes from getting clean, but it will save water quickly and easily. And for those who hand-wash their dishes,

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July 15th is Pet Fire Safety Day. At first glance, it seems like another obscure “holiday” that was more or less invented out of nowhere by the news spreading on social media. But by all means, this is no “National Cheeseburger” type of day. In fact, it’s a day to think about the unthinkable and plan ahead for emergencies to keep your furbabies safe.

Not only is it important to have emergency escape plans put in place for your pets, but it’s incredibly important to know how to prevent pets accidentally causing fires.

An estimated 500,000 pets are affected annually by fires each year.

Here are a few tips for keeping your pets safe in the event of an emergency:

 

• Include them in your household emergency plan. This includes having

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As the year shifts further into autumn, temperatures continue their downward trend in most parts of the US. With the approach of winter weather, many people are looking for new ways to save energy (and money).
  Perhaps you need to conserve your energy use due to budget constraints or a desire to build up your savings. You may also be thinking about your carbon footprint and its effect on our planet. Whatever your reason(s) for wanting to save energy this winter, you’ll benefit from putting at least some of the following tips into action:

 
• Layer up – Get into the habit of keeping your heat set a few degrees lower than you have in the past. The general rule of thumb is that you can save 5% on your heating bill for each degree that you lower

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