Make sure you’re prepared for the cold weather

The first hard freeze of the season is expected tonight in the Pee Dee and along the Grand Strand. For me, it's just a matter of going down the checklist and making sure I actually do the things I know I should.

First and foremost (Michelle Carolla will love me for this), make sure your pets have a nice, warm place to sleep. Personally, I think you should do this every night if you're going to take on the responsibility of a pet, but it's extra important when temperatures get down below freezing like they are expected to tonight. If your pet is too large to come in the house (maybe you have a horse, or perhaps a dog the size of a horse!), remember the most important thing is to keep them out of the wind. Placing a high powered light near where they sleep can provide extra heat--just make sure it isn't near anything flammable. That would be a little warmer than we are going for here. These simple things along with making sure they have plenty of unfrozen water to drink will make sure they are nice and cozy for the night.

Bring in your plants. This is simple, but so many people including myself, forget to do it, and you only get one shot. If you have plants or small trees you can't bring inside, cover them up with a sheet. I've heard plastic is a bad idea because it can bake the plant when the sun comes up due to the greenhouse effect. Make sure any plants you do have to leave outside have plenty of water.

Make sure your car is winterized. Most any car care center can take care of this for 40 or 50 bucks, and it may just be the best investment you make, because a new radiator or cracked engine block is not cheap to fix. I know times may be tight right now, so if you don't have $50 to spare right now, you can buy an antifreeze tester at the local auto parts store for under $10 and test your car's cold resistance yourself. It takes less than 5 minutes to do, and if your car is protected down to 0 degrees, it should be just fine in our part of the country.

You may also be wondering about your water pipes. Temperatures tonight are only going to be in the middle 20s, so water pipes should be just fine. I've always been told that that doesn't really become an issue until temperatures fall below 20 degrees. However, if there are any pipes at your place completely exposed to the elements, I might go ahead and let those drip just to be sure. Also, check the water hoses in your yard to make sure you completely emptied them after the last use. The water inside will expand when it freezes, and you'll be buying a new water hose.

Finally, and perhaps the most important of all, make sure your space heaters or kerosene heaters are not near anything flammable. They should be a minimum of 3 feet away from anything flammable, especially drapes or curtains. This seems like common sense, but we always end up covering at least one fatal house fire each year involving a space heater being left too close to the curtains. My advice is just put the thing in the middle of the room and never, ever leave it on when you're not home or even when you're asleep. Just use extra covering on your bed instead.

Hopefully this will help you as you get ready for the coldest weather we've seen since March.

Oh yeah...one more thing. Don't forget to wear a coat--like I needed to tell you that.

Have a terrific Tuesday!

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