When I was a kid, I learned very quickly not to whine to my mother about being bored.  She was very quick to offer a litany of activities to relieve my boredom, none of which ever sounded like fun.  Her lists would include such things as cleaning my room, raking leaves, shoveling snow, mowing the grass, dusting, vacuuming, or any other necessary chores she could think of off the top of her head.

It’s in that spirit that I offer this I’m Bored column.  It’s not filled with fun stuff to do and see, it’s filled with some chores (most are pretty simple) that you should do to save yourself some money… either immediately or in the long-run. As with most of my I’m Bored articles, some of the suggestions cost some money, others are completely free – except for the elbow grease and time involved.

So, if you find yourself bored, here’s a nice list Heat Miser inspired activities you can do to pass the time:

• First of all, we just turned the clocks back a month ago.  Did you change the batteries in all your smoke alarms and/or carbon monoxide detectors?  Instead of waiting for the batteries to die on their own, it’s recommended that you change them twice a year and, because it’s easy to remember, change them whenever you change your clocks.

• When was the last time you changed your furnace filter?  If your furnace filter is dirty, your furnace will have to work harder to get the warm air into the house.  The harder the furnace works, the more expensive it is.

• What about your ductwork?  Is it insulated?  Are the connections tight?

• And speaking of insulation, how much of that stuff do you have in your attic, basement, crawl spaces, etc.?  There are a couple of different kinds… the pink rolls that just about everyone is familiar with, the spray foam stuff, and the blown insulation.  I have both the rolled batting variety and the blown-in variety in my house.  The blown-in was a DIY project and didn’t cost very much (you can rent the machines at places like Boyer’s Rental and buy your cellulose separately or you can buy your cellulose at one of the big box stores and I think they “give” you the machine to use.  I believe the price works out to be about the same either way.  And the insulation doesn’t just help keep the house warmer in the winter… it also helps keep it cooler in the summer.

• Check all your registers to make sure they aren’t blocked by furniture or other obstacles.  If the warm air can’t get out easily, again, the furnace will have to run longer to get the house up to the temperature set on the thermostat.

• Clean debris out of central air conditioning units and protect them with a breathable, waterproof cover.  Remove window a/c units and store them for the winter.  Leaving them in all year is just asking for cold drafts and heat loss.

• When was the last time you had your fireplace professionally cleaned?  If it’s been several years, it’s probably time to do it again.  Also, check your fireplace for any cracks or missing mortar.  You don’t want the fire to be able to get to the studs.

• Shut off the water to your outside faucets.  And if you have any water pipes running through unheated areas of your house (basements, crawl spaces, exterior walls, etc.) you should wrap them with foam to help prevent freezing.

• Do you have an insulating blanket around your water heater?  If not, they’re not that expensive (in the $20 range).

• Do you have any electrical outlets or switches on exterior walls?  If so (and most people do), you should think about getting the insulating foam gaskets to install under the outlet covers.  The ones I’ve seen come in packages or six for about $3.00.

• Is cold air getting in your house through leaky windows and doors?  On a day when there’s a bit of a breeze outside, light a stick of incense and hold the smoking stick near your windows and doors.  Is the smoke streaming straight up or is it being blown off course by a draft?  If you’ve got a draft, you can put plastic sheeting over the windows (my personal preference is the kind you use a blow dryer with to get a nice tight “shrink-wrap” seal – it’s much less noticeable than the heavier and more opaque variety) for a cost of about $4/window or you can get rope caulk to help seal up any leaky areas.  I once lived in an old flat that had such gaps around the windows I stuffer plastic grocery bags in them first and then sealed them with a couple strands of the rope caulk.  For draft under doors, you can install door sweeps or, in the alternative, you can get those bean-filled draft things to put in front of your doors.

• Clean your gutters.  Any excess debris in gutter will add to the weight the gutter have to support over the winter.  Add wet leaves to the weight of snow and ice and you could end up having to replace your gutters in the spring.  It’s much cheaper to just keep them cleaned out.

• And while you’re up there cleaning out your gutters, check for loose, missing, or damaged shingles and flashing.

• Do you have a lawn sprinkler system?  If you do, you’ll want to make sure it’s winterized, including shutting off the water and purging the lines of any remaining water to prevent freezing and bursting pipes.

• Store any patio furniture or, if you don’t have the room to store it inside, cover it up.

• Make things easier on yourself when spring rolls around by raking up all your leaves in the fall.  Snow is heavy enough to shovel without adding the extra weight of wet leaves under it.

• Do you have ceiling fans?  If so, you’ll want to reverse them for winter.  To tell if your fan is “reversed,” turn it on and look up at it.  If it’s going clockwise, it’s moving in the correct direction for winter.  Personally, I’ve never done this with my ceiling fans.  No matter which direction the fan would rotate, the breeze always felt cool to me.  Of course, that could have something to do with the temperature at which I keep my house in the winter.  ;)

Did I miss anything?  If so, feel free to leave your heat-miser tips in the comments.