It’s snowing in Northeast Ohio!

While the calendar may not say it’s officially winter yet, freezing temperatures and snowy weather are happening right now in November.

More fall-like weather may be returning in a week, but the arctic blast that’s hitting many regions of the U.S. right now will likely be back soon, cutting into the autumn season to make way for Winter 2019.

So, what are you going to do when it’s freezing outside?

If you’re feeling a bit restless while your front porch freezes over this week, here are a few snow day home improvement projects you can start right now.

Renovate the Laundry Room

No sledgehammer needed here! It’s pretty easy to add a bit of style to your laundry room in just a day.

Installing new shelves, a modern hamper and a bit of wallpaper can transform this functional space into a “stylish conduit of linen traffic.”

Snow have you stuck inside?

Start by tidying up a bit! There should be plenty of snow days to come this year, so you can spend today finding out what storage you need as you clean and plan for next time.

Pro tip: Washers and dryers tend to go on sale in November, so this is the perfect time to start planning for a full laundry-room remodel.

Organize Your Storage

Having a hard time finding some hot coco in the pantry? Well, this snow day is your chance to get organized.

If you have a cluttered pantry or linen closet somewhere, take a snow day to get organized and start labeling. Here are seven universal steps to organizing your storage space:

1.     Empty everything into an empty room or hallway

2.     Write down an inventory list of you have right now

3.     Group similar items into small piles

4.     Make category labels for your groups/piles

5.     Shop online for storage containers that will fit each category

6.     Neatly replace your piles with their labels

7.     When your storage arrives, arrange your items and review your inventory list

Drain the Water Heater

You’re going to need hot water this winter, so now is as good a time as any to do some basic cleaning and maintenance on your water heater. Here’s how to drain your hot water tank:

1.     Turn off the utilities to the house

2.     Shut off the cold water to the water heater

3.     Turn on hot water run from the faucet – leave it running!

4.     Place a bucket next to your water heater’s drain valve

5.     Open the drain valve to let all the hot water and built-up sediment

It takes about five to ten minutes for the drain to completely empty. When you’re done, close the hot water valve and turn on any valves you switched off.