As temperatures dip, one pricey outdoor investment that should be brought indoors is your backyard grill. Snow and ice can cause significant damage and make your grill unusable in the coming months. The best place to store a grill in the winter months is the garage or basement. Any gas grill should have the tank valve closed and the propane tank removed. And whether you bring your grill indoors or not, be sure to scrub the insides clean. Any residual food waste -- even if it’s charred-on -- can be tempting for wild critters and pests.

ANDREWS MCMEEL SYNDICATION

If you’ll be spending an extended period in a destination far from home, consider becoming a temporary member of the public library in the city where you're staying. Instead of buying new books and bringing them with you, visiting the local library at the start of your trip to check out books and returning them before you leave is both an eco-friendly and free way to catch up on the latest reads and lighten your load when you travel.

ANDREWS MCMEEL SYNDICATION

While it may be the most energy-efficient improvement you can make to your home, replacing old windows with triple-pane ones can be very expensive. If you’re not ready to make that investment, visit your local home improvement store, where you can buy window insulation film to cover drafty windows. The film blocks out cold air, and it’s transparent, too. Since the film can be a little unsightly, opt for windows in less-frequented areas. Just adding this film can improve a window’s efficiency by as much as 70%, which makes it totally worth the investment.

ANDREWS MCMEEL SYNDICATION