How to make your home ready for the next freeze — even if you hate winter

If you’re not a winter person, the idea of “prepping” sounds like buying things you don’t want and fussing with projects you’ll resent. You don’t need that. You need a short list that keeps pipes from bursting, rooms from feeling miserable, and you from standing in the dark with a dead phone.

Protect the water first

Wrap exposed hose bibs with covers or even a towel and a plastic bag taped snug if that’s what you have. Disconnect hoses so trapped water doesn’t split the valve. Inside, open the cabinet doors under sinks on exterior walls so warm air can reach the pipes. If temps will drop hard overnight, let faucets drip a slow trickle—moving water freezes later. Know where your main shutoff valve is and make sure it turns; if a pipe ever bursts, seconds matter.

Seal the easy leaks

Roll a towel at the base of drafty exterior doors. Close the fireplace damper if you have one and you’re not actively using the fireplace. Add temporary clear film over the worst window; it’s faster than you think and makes a real difference. Foam gaskets behind exterior-wall outlet covers take five minutes and you’ll feel less of that sneaky cold.

Heat the person, then the room

Before you ask the thermostat to shoulder everything, put warm where your body sits. A heavier throw blanket and slippers beat bumping the heat two degrees. Add a lamp with a warm LED where you read or watch shows. If you do use a space heater, pick one with tip-over protection, keep it three feet from anything combustible, and treat it like a tool—on while you’re there, off when you leave.

Give your system a fighting chance

Swap the furnace filter. Open supply registers and keep return vents clear. Set a gentle schedule: a little cooler while you sleep under a real blanket, a little warmer during active hours. Big swings make the system overshoot and feel drafty. If you have a programmable stat, use gradual steps instead of large jumps.

Plan for power blips without going full prepper

Charge phones and external batteries now. Put a small flashlight or headlamp in the kitchen drawer. Keep a few shelf-stable meals that don’t require cooking—peanut butter, crackers, fruit cups, canned soup with a manual opener. If power drops often where you live, a butane camp stove used outdoors (never inside) is inexpensive peace of mind.

Keep plumbing rooms warmer than you think

Laundry rooms, hall baths over garages, and powder rooms on exterior walls run cold. Close off rooms you don’t need and nudge heat toward the ones with pipes. A simple door draft stopper can be the difference between a fine morning and an insurance claim.

Cars and sidewalks count as “home” too

Top off windshield washer fluid rated for freezing temps, check wipers, and keep a blanket and an ice scraper in the car. On the house side, put a bag of pet-safe ice melt near the door now so you’re not skating the steps with a toddler on your hip.

After the freeze, reset

Turn off any drips, close cabinet doors, and walk the house. Look for slow leaks under sinks and around hose bibs as things thaw. If you used temporary film or towels, store them together for next time. A small “winter bin” with the outlet gaskets, faucet covers, and door snakes saves you from re-inventing this every cold snap.

You don’t have to love winter to be ready for it. Do the few things that protect water, stop the worst drafts, and make the room you actually live in feel comfortable. That’s a calm house and fewer repairs—without a single snowflake pillow in sight.