There was a GREAT thread on this last year that prompted me to write this...
http://www.freelanceva.com/wordpress...8/winterizing/
Now that I live in a place that actually has a winter I couldn’t pass up reading a thread on mothering.com regarding the things people do to get ready for winter in places with a cold and snowy season that involves staying inside for days at a time. Thank you to all of ‘my mothering moms’ for making me not dread winter. I’ve decided to put together a blog entry about the things that hit home with me. It made me realize I could welcome winter and occupy my time with things in regards to that. This would also help with my fears of being homebound during this freezing season on the east coast.
First let’s list all of the food items that you could prepare in the kitchen - not all of these things appeal to me but who says they can’t make great gifts. There are various dried, canned, freezer, fermented, crockpotted, dehydrated foods that you can prepare for winter. Some are easier than others. You can dry tomatoes (sun-dried), leeks (for soups) or apple slices. Another option would be to can homemade spaghetti sauce, jam, apple or pear sauce, tomatoes, fresh homemade juice, rhubarb sauce, tomato sauce, salsa, peaches, green beans, wax beans, butternut squash puree or creamed spinach. You could freeze soup concentrate, zuchinni bread, homemade bread dough, cookie dough, casseroles, ears of blanched corn, banana nut bread or anadama bread. You could ferment saurkraut, cauliflower, red pepper, onion, garlic, ginger carrots, pickles (use grape leaves to keep them from being mushy, makes for a crisp pickle) or beets. You could crockpot soups, stews, chili or cocoa (have it waiting for you when you come in from playing in the snow). You could make apple sauce fruit roll ups using a dehydrator and stock up on bulk meat for the freezer.
I loved the idea of spending winter days baking bread or cookies as a way to warm the house and create scrumptious baking smells. It also made me laugh to read that someone was planning on eating constantly for a few weeks and then hibernating all winter - if only it were that easy.
I’ve always aspired to be a gardener, why I think I can keep any type of plant alive is beyond me after all these years of accidentally killing house plants . Regardless, here are some things that I wanted to note for when I do try the outside gardening. Apparently bulb planting for flowers such as daffodils, crocuses, tulips, and hyacinths happens in the fall, before the ground freezes. You also plant perennials before the first frost, flowers like daylilies, asters, daisies, and black eyed susans. Garlic is planted during the autumn as well. Other things you can do to prepare your garden for the winter is to sew oats or use other crop covers or spread mulch.
Some chore-like activities that could keep you busy during the autumn season would include obtaining or cutting wood for your stove or fireplace or gas for those of you that have gas stoves that heat the house. You could caulk any spots on the ouside of your house that look like areas where cold air could get in. Swapping the winter clothes in storage for the summer clothes or alternatively purchasing the winter clothes, boots and accessories needed. Other clothes you might think of purchasing include wool sweaters, waterproof gloves and handwarmers. Other items that you might want to dig out of storage or purchase would be snow shovels, throw rugs for wood floors, electric space heaters and a mat for wet boots. You might want to make a spot in the house ready for hanging wet mittens, scarves, hats and snowpants. Cleaning out your heater and changing the filter, getting the gas lines checked and cleaning out your gutters and chimney are also great ideas. It makes sense to close off the rooms that you don’t use very often in order to conserve heat. Another heat conserving trick is to seal your windows on the inside with plastic. A fall clean up to get rid of the clutter will help to make the house not feel so small while you are cooped up inside all winter. You might want to clean out any clutter in your yard so that the kids can play in the snow without worrying about what is under it.
Winterizing your vehicle was a large part of the discussion. Sunglasses help with the glare from the snow. Items for your emergency car kit would include jumper cables, neon signs, flares, coolant, anything you would need to change a flat tire, large wool blanket, more than one blanket, box of crackers, water - a jug for the car and individual bottles for consumption, juice boxes, handi-wipes, paper towels, some cash and quarters, batteries, flashlight, maps, candy bars, energy bars, extra mittens and hats, a coffee can with a candle melted to the bottom, extra candles, matches, shovel, lock de-icer, broom, extra clothes for the kids, first aid kid and maybe some extra diapers and wipes. We don’t like to think the worst but you never know what could happen out there.
A few emergency items for the house that I thought were great ideas included a crank radio, a coleman stove, extra water and extra canned goods. Sand, blankets, salt or grit for the car and driveway, a electric plug for the car are also good items to have on hand. Rags under your tires for a stuck car work better than sand or kitty litter.
Activities, projects and ideas that I found interesting include growing fresh herbs on window sills, knitting and stocking up on craft items so you have something to do on a cold day. Have the whole family work on a jigsaw puzzle throughout the winter season. I really liked the idea of window quilts, I think I would do different shades of blue fleece with white snow flakes and maybe use some batting in between layers of the fleece or maybe snowmen on red fleece, these could definately be fun and would require the kind of sewing I like (all straight lines) - you could also rig it somehow so that you have a way to lift it, like blinds. You could also make door draft stoppers, envision some character with long legs doing the splits at the bottom of my door to keep the cold air out.
Definitley some awesome ideas. The mamas on the mothering site I visit everyday are awe inspiring individuals and I enjoy their online company whenever I get a chance between diaper changes and ten minute long visits to the fridge while my two year old decides that he doesn’t want anything in there.
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