Are You Ready for Winter?

I know it's the middle of summer but what better time to prepare for winter than way before you would need these preps?  I bought a down jacket last winter for $100 and saw last week that the same jacket was on clearance for $30...obviously the best time to buy winter stuff is when people are enjoying their summer and not even thinking about winter yet.  To prepare...

• Shop the clearance section of stores and hit up thrift shops to buy winter clothing, heavy socks, gloves, hats, and shoes/boots.
• Order/buy your winter tires now so you will have lots of lead time to receive them (supply chains are still a hot mess).
• Get your firewood ordered/delivered/split/started drying ASAP.
• Christmas is in six short months...start shopping now to avoid buying everything in one month at top prices.
• Get your home prepped for winter (cleaning gutters is much more enjoyable in sunny weather than in mucky fall weather).
• Stockpile food.  It sounds like there may be food shortages as well as highly inflated food prices this winter so prep now.
• Review your home heating and power plan.  Do you have multiple sources of heat?  Can you buy fuel now at a lower price for delivery in the fall?  Do you need a gasoline or solar generator for backup power?  Do you have chargeable battery banks at the ready?  These are things you don't want to start thinking about when the power suddenly goes out.
  
• Are you stocked up on cold and flu meds and supplies?  Cold and flu season is just around the corner so have medications/tissue/canned soup/etc. stocked and ready to go so you don't have to search for these things when you are under the weather.
• Are you prepped for weather disasters specific to your area?  Hurricanes, winter snow and ice storms, flooding, etc.  These things happen every year is certain areas so preparing ahead of time for these things is just common sense.
• I've seen school supplies already being put out at several stores.  Shop deep discount sales on these items and buy enough to supply your kids for both fall and winter terms.
• Have your chimney cleaned if needed.  Again, taking care of seasonal things out of season can often get you good discounts on the service instead of waiting until the middle of winter when everyone is calling for this service.
• Mark your calendar to remind yourself to restock and reevaluate your bug out bag, change batteries in smoke detectors, recharge your fire extinguishers, etc.
• Prep for planting a fall garden--set up a greenhouse, buy seeds and fertilizer, etc.
• Learn new skills this summer that you can continue into the fall and winter--go camping, try orienteering, take up shooting, sign up for karate classes, etc.