Snowbird Checklist: Closing Up Your House for Winter

26 items · Home · Medium difficulty · 1 day

Close up a house you will leave empty all winter: insurance, mail, water, heat, someone to check on it, and the car you leave behind.

• Ask your insurance agent what the policy requires while the house is empty

  Get the answer in writing if the policy requires regular checks or the water shut off.

• Arrange for someone to check the house on a set schedule

  Leave them a key, the alarm code, your winter address and a plumber's number.

• Set up temporary mail forwarding with USPS

  Temporary forwarding has an end date, so delivery switches back on its own when you come home.

• Request a mail ballot sent to your winter address for any election while you are away

  The 2026 general election is on November 3, and each state sets its own deadline for requesting a ballot, so check yours before you leave.

• Refill prescriptions for the months away, or move them to a pharmacy near your winter home
• Move bills to autopay or online payment
• Pause newspaper and regular deliveries
• Tell the alarm company and a neighbor the dates you will be gone
• Arrange snow removal for the driveway and walk

  An unshoveled driveway tells anyone passing that nobody is home, and the house checker needs a clear way in.

• Install a thermostat or freeze alarm that sends a low-temperature alert to your phone

  The alert gives your house checker time to act before a pipe freezes.

• Put leak sensors by the water heater, the washing machine and under the sinks
• Leave the heat on at a low setting

  Keep it high enough that the coldest room stays well above freezing, not just the room with the thermostat.

• Open the cabinet doors under sinks on outside walls

  Warm room air then reaches the pipes behind them.

• Shut off the main water valve

  If the heat fails, a closed main limits a burst to the water already in the pipes.

• Open the highest and lowest taps to drain the lines

  The top tap lets air in and the bottom one lets the water out.

• Set the water heater to vacation mode or turn it off

  Follow the maker's instructions for a gas heater's pilot light.

• If the heat will be off all winter, have a plumber winterize the plumbing

  That means blowing out the lines and putting non-toxic antifreeze in the traps and toilets.

• Empty the fridge and freezer of anything that will spoil

  If you switch the fridge off, prop the doors open so mold does not grow inside.

• Seal pantry food in metal or glass containers or take it with you, and take out all the trash

  Food left in a quiet house for months draws mice.

• Unplug electronics and small appliances
• Put a few lamps on timers
• Bring in outdoor furniture, hoses and anything wind can move
• Store the car you leave behind

  A battery maintainer keeps the battery from dying over the winter. Ask your insurer whether storage coverage would cost less.

• Photograph every room before you lock up

  Dated photos make an insurance claim easier if something happens while you are away.

• Lock every window and door, including the basement and garage
• Pack ID, insurance cards, a medication list and the keys to your winter home

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