By Rita R. Robison, Consumer Specialist, Blogging at The Survive and Thrive Boomer Guide

Today it was 32 degrees, but I was out in my driveway raking up the downed branches and pinecones.

Why?

I’d read about a woman who slipped on a pinecone on her driveway and broke her hip.

Even though winter is upon us in much of the country and the snowstorms have begun, we need to keep thinking about winter safety.

If you haven’t prepared your home for winter yet, here are steps to consider:

• Make sure everyone in the family has a warm coat, boots, gloves, and mittens.

• Think through what you’ll need in case of an emergency – first aid supplies, medications, a battery-operated radio, warm clothes, blankets, several flashlights, canned food, and water.

• Have your furnace check to make sure it’s in good working order.

• Remove dead plants from the garden and flowerbeds. Rake up any leaves that may be harboring pests. Prune diseased perennial shrubs. Prune branches that may be too close to the house.

• Make sure all your cars have emergency supplies, including warm clothes, blankets, chains, and a shovel. Keep up with car maintenance and check the pressure in your tires.

• Avoid using cruise control in winter driving conditions.

• Keep a copy of “What Should You Do If a Water Pipe Freezes?” handy.

• Put away garden tools.

• Clean up your patio. See “Speed Cleaning: Pack Up Your Patio” for details.

• Clean gutters to make sure leaves aren’t blocking them.

• Drain water hoses and put them in the garage or shed.

• Get snow shovels, snow blowers, and salt ready.

Good luck this winter. Instead of rain, here in the Pacific Northwest we’re having freezing weather. We’ve had it for a week. Right now it’s 22 degrees.

I’m looking forward to rain this weekend so I can finish up several things on the list. I kept waiting for a warm day to rake up a few of the remaining leaves, but it kept getting colder and colder.

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