Preparing for the cold (St. Paul, East Grand Forks: apartment complexes, house, inspections)

[gamama]

My family and I moved to MN in June. We came from south GA, where there is basically no winter. I was looking for any useful information on preparing for the winter here in Minnesota.

What should I do to prepare my home? my vehicles?

This southern girl would appreciate any information you can give me.

Thanks!!

[iNviNciBL3]

Make room in closet for jackets and boots.

Insulate windows with plastic.
Buy winter wiper blades for car.
And most importantly stock up on hot chocolate.

[Mr. In-Between]

What kind of car? How old? What kind of shape is it in?

One of the first things you should do is get it to a service station and have them do a thorough check of the cooling system, the battery and all battery cables and connections, the wiper blades, the tires, and all belts and hoses. If you're new to the Cities, there's one I used for years on Grand Avenue in St. Paul, and I highly recommend them. Very honest and thorough people. Feel free to PM me and I'll be glad to tell you who they are.

Once the car itself is winter-safe, you're going to want to carry an emergency kit in the car. I carried a spare jacket, warm gloves, a hat, flashlight, spare quart of oil, spare wiper blades, a gallon of antifreeze, a gallon of windshield washer fluid, emergency flares, a small shovel, a can of starter fluid, a can of Heet, and a sleeping bag. Spare wiper blades are very important, because the cheap plastic fasteners on wiper blades nowadays can come flying right off your car in a snowstorm. I've had it happen, and if you don't have a spare, you're not going anywhere, because you can't see a thing.

If you don't carry a cell phone, it's a good idea to get a cheap "disposable" cell phone at Target and keep it in the glove compartment. Make sure it's always charged! It's also a good idea to never let your tank get low in the winter - if you slide off the road and get stuck in a blizzard, you may be there until daylight. You'll be glad you made sure the tank was half full.

It's also a good idea to do frequent safety inspections of your vehicle - tire pressure, oil level, coolant level, make sure the lights all work... I did it at least once a week. Takes only a minute, but can save you a lot of heartache.

Have you ever driven in snow and ice before? Are you familiar with winter driving itself at all?

[Ghengis]

Many of us will dig our graves in the fall in case we die during the winter as the ground is too hard to dig into until April at the earliest.

[Mr. In-Between]

He just made that up to sound dramatic. Every native Minnesotan knows that you don't need graves in the winter. We just stack the bodies of our family members outside the back door, and they stay frozen until spring.

You'll want to pour tabasco sauce on them to keep the coyotes away, though.

[Kamsack]

I grew up in western Kentucky....and moved around in my work as a weather forecaster over the years and have resided in the Grand Forks ND-East Grand Forks MN area since 1998. Most dont do too much preparation really.... unless you have an older drafty house with poor windows or an older car. In the case of an older house with bad windows...it definitely cuts down your heat bill to put some plastic over the windows using one those window kits you get in most hardware/big box stores. For the car, the biggest issue is good tires and a good battery, esp if parked outside a lot. Other than that my Odyssey van has done well over the past 7 winters and parked outside at work at nights when it was much colder than it gets down in the cities. Many folks up here do have a remote starter, and some have it so they start their cars every so often if parked and it is well below zero outside. It isnt uncommon up here to leave your car running while pumping gas or making a quick trip into the grocery store, just to keep the inside warm. Also, I dont know about down there....but up here most apartment complexes that dont have garages or underground parking have electric outlet posts in the parking lots and provide cords for use to plug in the car.

One of the best decisions I made was to get AAA Auto coverage....just a bit under 100/yr and is great and have used many a times for times when I realize the next morning I forgot to turn off the headlights or didnt turn the ignition off completely (just had to listen to that last song).

[txmg]

For your home, just move nearly everything outside, inside or cover it up. I went around disconnecting all the hoses this weekend. Tidying up the lawn furniture... that sort of thing.

You will want to invest in a good shovel or maybe a snow blower if you have a driveway. A mixture of half salt and half sand is also good to have on hand for the driveway. For inside the car, get a snow brush and ice scraper. Also windshield wiper fluid. In the south, we used water, but that will freeze here.

The trickiest thing for a southerner will be the driving. Find an empty parking lot to practice in at some point if you can. The main thing to remember if you are in slippery conditions, go slow and try not to brake hard ever. Also don't turn the wheel if you can help it. Turning and braking are what cause all the slipping. And yeah, I know those are key to driving... just go slow.

A heavy jacket (I like down), scarf, heavy gloves and boots are good to have too. And leave yourself extra time in the winter to 'suit' up. Every spring/summer I am excited by the prospect of just leaving without having to put on all the paraphernalia.

As a native Texan, who has been here for many years, I can say it is a transition. I've learned to really enjoy the spring and summers outside and then save all my indoor projects for winter. Any crafting, deep cleaning or sewing projects wait for winter. I have come to look forward to the seasons that way. There is also something changing and to look forward to.

[Ghengis]

Your biggest danger in winter driving will be from the natives who think their long-time residency in the state somehow makes them immune from the laws of physics, especially during the 1st snowfall.

Your biggest danger if you do drive into a ditch is hitting an SUV or 4WD pick-up that already went in before you (see above).

[r_shackleford]

Everybody else took the good ones. I'll share a few less essential ideas and then reiterate everybody else's advice. I keep more food on hand so that I don't have to go to the grocery store when it's cold or icky. Bake lots of cookies. The butter stays nice and firm and you don't have to worry about the oven heating up the house. I also like to save some indoor project or hobby for the coldest weeks of January when it's dangerously cold outside.

Always leave the heat on in your house even if you leave for a few days. You can turn it down, but don't turn it off. You don't want the pipes to freeze. I set my thermostat to about 50 when I'm gone.

In general, pay more attention to the weather forecast. For work, it's nice to know to before going to bed if you'll need extra time in the morning. For extended travel, it's nice to know before you set out.

It's obvious, but make sure you have a shovel- or shovels so the whole family can help- to clear the driveway.

Make sure you have a brush and scraper in your car to remove ice and snow. That's actually most important in the transitional season- as in right now- when temperature start above freezing and then drop below. You don't want to be that person waiting for the defroster to melt everything enough that your hands and windshield wipers can finish the job.

Disconnect the hose from your house. You don't want any water freezing in there with the hose attached.

The emergency kit in your car has already been covered quite thoroughly. Plastic insulation is very helpful on large windows, poorly insulated windows, or any windows on the north side of the house. While I'm sure they save money, the real benefit to me is that the insulation keeps the house more comfortable. Without insulation, the areas by windows are cold, but the furnace keeps blasting to replace the lost heat, so any area by the vents gets too hot. With the insulation, it feels the same by the heat vent and window.

And Genghis is right. Watch out for natives who think they are immune to the laws of physics. As txmg suggested, go practice in an empty parking lot. That's how most of us practiced when we were first learning to drive.

[iNviNciBL3]

Also you should take your vehicle to an empty parking lot during the next big snowfall and start do some drifting to get a feel of how your car handles in the snow.... and its fun.