Minnesotans take advantage of unseasonably warm Sunday to prepare for winter
MINNEAPOLIS — At Nokomis Hardware in Minneapolis, Sundays aren't just for football.
"Sunday is either the day you finish your project or catch up on a project," Nokomis Hardware Owner/Operator Carolyn Faacks said.
This time of year, that project is getting ready for what's to come.
"I've been in the backyard raking all day, so I needed more bags," customer Steve Gareri said.
Gareri was one of many taking advantage of the Nov. sun.
"It's just the rhythm of the fall," Gareri said. "I don't think of it as prep, it's just going into the season."
It's a good idea in Faacks' book.
"Today is really an excellent day to get out and look around the whole perimeter of your house," she said.
Beyond raking to avoid snow mold, Faacks suggests looking for spots mice can get in and filling them before temperatures plummet.
"It's so much easier making sure mice don't get into your house as opposed to getting them out of your house," Faacks said.
It's the same reason she says now is a good time to get on a ladder and replace security bulbs, clear gutters and prep your roof.
"You're not freezing out there, you're not up on a ladder when you have an ice dam and it's super dangerous," she said. "Or you have to pay hundreds of dollars to get a professional out there."
While the snow hasn't come yet, it will. Experts say to act like it already has by starting and servicing the snowblower and changing your furnace filter. To keep your snow blower lasting longer, use gas without ethanol. Faacks says it won't gum up the engine.
"That's one of the biggest things — when your furnace doesn't work," Faacks said. "They never change the furnace filter and you get in the middle of winter and your furnace quits."
