• Upgrade attic insulation. If your home was built before 1980, chances are it needs more insulation to meet today’s Department of Energy recommended levels for residential insulation. Insulate yourself with fiber glass insulation such as CertainTeed’s. Consult with your building material retailer for the amount of insulation you’ll need for your attic based on the geographic area in which you live. Or call a local insulation contractor.

• Make sure even the small areas you might not think about are insulated. Use Handi-Fill™, a multi-purpose mini-roll for chinking around windows and doors, packing around window air conditioners and electric outlets. You can also wrap pipes and HVAC ducts for thermal efficiency and sound proof with it around plumbing fixtures.

• Clean and store outdoor furniture. It will last longer and be more quickly available in the spring if it is cleaned and thoughtfully stored now.

• Clean gutters and downspouts to prevent serious damage to your home resulting from poor drainage. To clean them, choose a dry day since you’ll need to stand on a ladder. Stand below the level of each gutter and using a towel, scoop out debris into a bag or onto the ground for sweeping up later.

• Maintain garage doors. Garage doors should slide smoothly when going up and down. Lubricate the rollers (the small wheels attached to the sides of the door) with a few drops of household oil or spray a small amount of Silicone lubrication onto their spindles. Also check that the hinges are fastened securely to the door panels and tighten the screws if they are loose.

• Organize the garage. The goal of a well functioning garage is to get everything you can off the floor. Walls, for instance, offer a wealth of storage opportunities. Hooks and pegboards are perfect for storing things like garden tools. Plastic bins or storage racks are good ideas as well. • Maintain storm windows and doors. Before the cold weather arrives, make minor repairs on storm doors and windows to prevent major annoyances later on. Rub frames and sashes with fine steel wool to rid them of corrosion. Then wipe with paste for further protection. Also, spray windows with silicone lubricant to keep sashes sliding smoothly.

• Prepare your heating system to begin working again. For safety reasons and because of the complexity of most home heating equipment, it is suggested that you call a qualified professional heating technician for inspection and service. These experts are available through your oil or gas supplier. Also, consider a professional chimney sweep to check fireplaces and wood stoves.

• Drain pipes to prevent freezing. When water freezes and expands inside pipes, it can cause major damage requiring expensive repairs. The surest way to prevent pipes from freezing is to drain them before the colder weather arrives. To drain pipes supplying water to outside faucets, first close off the shutoff valves on the pipes supplying them. Next, open the faucets letting any water in the pipes run out and leave them open until the water supply is turned on again in the spring. That way any water remaining in the pipes can expand if it freezes without creating damaging pressure. For additional information on energy saving home improvement projects, ask the experts at Malone Lumber & Ready-Mix, Inc.