A struggling economy and dropping temperatures are chilling reminders to homeowner’s like Chris Houston that heating costs are on their way up.

“Money wise this year we’re in a lot worse shape than we’ve ever been before and the more we save the better,” said Houston.

Last Saturday, over 350 local volunteers joined the 2008 Dubuque Weatherization Challenge. Together they reached out to 106 homes of Dubuque’s elderly and low-income families to help them prepare for winter.

Houston was one of the homeowner’s who benefited from the 2nd annual weatherization challenge.

“It’s great, I wasn’t expecting it,” said Houston.

Volunteer and team leader, Tim Bees says, “This seemed to be a very easy way to get folks involved and it’s a good thing that folks get their homes weatherized and a little tighter for the winter so they don’t spend as much on their heat bills as necessary.

The group offered a few easy tips to weatherize your home:

• Make sure your windows fit tight, if they don’t use caulk to fill gaps or apply weather stripping.

• Adding a door sweep to the bottom of the door can help eliminate drafts.

• Purchase a programmable thermostat and watch your temperature closely. This can save you a lot of money in the

end.

Felicia Carner can be reached at Feleicia.Carner@loras.edu