Hello Pittsburgh! It’s been a long time coming, but this past weekend we finally got our first substantial snow of the season. Our energy-efficient homes will keep you warm and toasty through the winter, but what happens when you’re out of the house? We put together this list of six tips and tricks to help you get through the snowy months easily and comfortably.

1. Keep a spray bottle with rubbing alcohol in your car

This has happened to everyone at least once. You wake up, and suddenly it’s a white Christmas and everything you own is under two-and-a-half inches of ice. You then spend the next twenty minutes trying to scrape all that off of your car windshield so you don’t side swipe some Buick that you didn’t see in your ice-covered blind spot. Well, this little trick can solve that problem for you – get an empty spray bottle from a hardware store and fill it with rubbing alcohol. When you wake up, step outside and spray your windshield quickly (brr), then go inside to start your day. By the time you come out to the car, the ice will be a manageable slush. Of course, now you might end up with freezing cold wet hands, unless you…

2. Buy a waterproof scraper mitt

You can pick one of these up for around $6, and we can promise it will be one of the best investments you make.Waterproof material covers the fleece-lined glove with built-in scraper – slush clearing will never be easier. You never have to worry about slushy-ice-hands again! Which wouldn’t be an issue if you knew what was coming because then you could frost proof your windows with…

3. Wash your windows (home and car) with a salt wash to prevent frost

This is pretty straightforward – just like salt melts ice on your walkways and driveways, a salt wash can prevent frost and ice from building up on your windows. For the car, just get a small cloth bag, dampen it, and fill it with salt. Keep that inside a Ziploc baggie in your car and it will always be ready to go! Alternatively, you can do the same thing by preparing a salt wash in a bucket and using a sponge to wipe all your windows. Keep those home windows frost free! Which brings us to another preventative tip…

4. Stay warm in the morning by running your clothes through the dryer to warm them up while you shower

Nothing is better than fresh warm dryer clothes. Even if you’re getting into a suit for the day, the dryer’s a good place to warm up your socks and underwear for when you get out of the shower (conveniently located just a quick dash down the hall, one of the perks of having a second-floor laundry). Throw those clothes in for a quick spin while you’re scrubbing up for the day and you’ll stay warm right until your car finishes warming up. Which is important in case you end up sliding off the road and getting stuck in that pesky ditch at the end of the road, where you’re going to need to…

5. Rock your car back and forth to get out of ditches

If your 4WD or FWD car fails you and a slick carries you off the road, sometimes you just can’t seem to get the car back out and on the way again! Put down the AAA card, there’s a quicker way – and you can do it from the comfort of your driver’s seat, no pushing involved. All you need to do is start building some momentum by rocking the car back and forth until it rocks right out of the ditch. You do this by putting it in drive (or first gear, for you purists out there), then once you reach the furthest it will go, switch to reverse, go back as far as it can, then forward again. Do this a few times and your momentum should carry you out of the ditch! That is unless you have zero traction, in which case you’ll want to…

6. Use your floor mats for extra traction in the snow

This is another quick solution to hold off having to call in that tow truck. Just pull the floor mats for the driver and passenger side floors and place them under the front wheels of the car (or use all four for a 4WD vehicle). These should give you the extra boost of traction you need to get out of the ditch – it might scuff them up a bit, though, so those of you with $1,200 carpet kits might want to just go with the AAA guy. Just make sure you don’t forget them as you roll on to work!

And that’s it. We’ve got you covered from before you wake up til you get to your job, which means all the time spent out of your energy efficient home is covered. See? We’re always looking out for you, first by building the new homes Pittsburgh needs and then by making sure you can get to and from them in warmth and style. Happy holidays!