Winterizing your Cabin - Keeping your Summer Home Safe Through the Winter

It’s that time of the year…winter has arrived and you may be flying south for the winter.  Whether you go someplace warm for the winter months or you have a cabin which you need to closer up for the year, here are some steps to consider before taking off.

1. If this is your summer residence, make it look like someone is there throughout the winter.  Have the driveway plowed, put lights on different timer settings, forward your mail, and ask a neighbor to collect fliers.
   
2. Secure your doors and windows.  If you have a security system, make sure it is active and set.  Make sure you don’t have valuables in plain sight or lock them way if a break in does take place.
   
3. If you don’t plan on heating the house all winter, make sure you winterize your pipes.  This can be shutting off the water supply and draining all the pipes by opening all faucets and valves.  You can even hook up an air compressor to the highest location and blow out all the lines to verify they are dry.  Leave all lines and valves open for the winter months.
   
4. Make sure all appliances are shut off (gas) or that items that require electricity have a backup power source if power is lost.
   
5. Remove foods that might attract our friendly neighborhood mice or other pests.  It is best to remove all food from the refrigerator and/or cupboards upon leaving for the year since most of these items won’t be usable when returning in the spring/summer.
   
6. Finally, tell a nearby neighbor that you will be gone for an extended amount of time so that they can notify you if they see something out of the ordinary.  You can even set up a home monitoring system to provide you with real-time video and operations on your house while you are away.

Although this might not be all items to consider if you are leaving for the winter, it does give you a starting point to make sure that you come back to your place just how you left it!