Minnesotans are taking advantage of an unseasonably warm Sunday to prepare for winter

MINNEAPOLIS— At Nokomis Hardware in Minneapolis, Sundays aren’t just for football.

“Sunday is the day you complete your project or catch up on a project,” says Carolyn Faacks, owner/operator of Nokomis Hardware.

This time of year that project is preparing for what is to come.

“I’ve been raking in the backyard all day, so I needed more bags,” said customer Steve Gareri.

Gareri was one of many to take advantage of the November sun.

“It’s just the rhythm of autumn,” Gareri said. “I don’t look at it as preparation, it’s just going into the season.”

It’s a good idea in Faacks’ book.

“Today is a really excellent day to go out and look around the entire perimeter of your house,” she said.

In addition to raking to prevent snow mold, Faacks suggests looking for areas where mice can enter and filling them in before temperatures drop.

“It’s so much easier to keep mice from entering your home than it is to get them out of your home,” says Faacks.

It’s the same reason she says now is a good time to get on a ladder and replace the safety lights, clean the gutters and prepare your roof.

“You don’t freeze there, you don’t stand 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.”

The snow hasn’t fallen yet, but it will. Experts say you should act as you already do by starting and maintaining your snow blower and replacing your furnace filter. To ensure your snow blower lasts longer, use gas without ethanol. Faacks says it won’t pollute the engine.

“That’s one of the biggest things — if your furnace isn’t working,” Faacks said. “They never change the furnace filter and you get to the middle of winter and your furnace stops working.”