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"  If you didn&amp;#039;t prep the exterior of your home for the ravages of winter weather, there&amp;#039;s still time to do it before the next blast of cold air or heavy snowstorm. Trust me, don&amp;#039;t procrastinate. While I know you hate doing chores like cleaning the gutters, not doing them can lead to much bigger problems down the line. Here are our tips and some products that can make these tasks easier. 1. Clean Gutters. The purpose of roof gutters is to move water away from the structure of the house. Without them, rain water and melting snow would drip down the exterior damaging the siding and pooling around the foundation. If your gutters are clogged with leaves, they won&amp;#039;t be able to drain off the water as they&amp;#039;re designed to do. An easy way to keep leaves out of your gutters is to buy gutter covers (products like screens that get installed on top of your existing gutters) or replace your gutters with covered ones. We recommend LeafGuard gutters which have earned the Good Housekeeping Seal. LeafGuard makess one-piece gutters designed so that rainwater can flow along the top and then into the gutters without leaves slipping in and clogging them. 2. Check for Leaks. Make sure there are no drafty spots around your windows and doors. The last thing you want is to have gaps where cold air can seep into the house and heat, that you&amp;#039;ve paid a bundle to create, can escape. If you&amp;#039;re not a big do-it-youself-er, this task can seem intimidating but don&amp;#039;t worry, it&amp;#039;s easy and doesn&amp;#039;t take very long. Wait until it gets dark, then grab a partner and a flashlight. Send your buddy outside and have him point the flashlight around the edges of your doors and windows. If you see light coming through anywhere, you have a leak, if you don&amp;#039;t see light, you&amp;#039;re okay! If you find leaks be sure to caulk them up. Check out GHRI&amp;#039;s story on Caulking 101 to find the best caulk guns and step-by-step instructions. 3. Prep the Yard for Spring. In order to have a beautiful lawn come April, you have to start doing some prep work now. Clean out the flowerbeds and you&amp;#039;ll have a garden you&amp;#039;ll be proud of when the first robins come around. For eight steps to take, see Good Housekeeping&amp;#039;s list of what to do to Winterize Your Yard Check out Good Housekeeping&amp;#039;s other articles about caring for your home at: Easy DIY Home Decorating Ideas, DIY Closet Organizing Systems: The GHRI Test and Conduct a 5-Point DIY Home Inspection from thedailygreen.com. And if you&amp;#039;re going to be in the New York City area, be sure to tour of our labs! On the tour you&amp;#039;ll see where and how we evaluate home and building products as well as beauty, electronics, and other consumer goods. "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.goodhousekeeping.com/institute/a23610/protect-your-home-from-winter-weather/>