Oh man, growing up in rural MN has prepared me for this thread.
• If your car is fishtailing and the tire tread isn’t the problem, buy a couple giant bags of kitty litter or sand and store them in the trunk. The added weight will help give you traction, and as an added bonus if you do get all slippy-slidey stuck you can put some down under your tires. This will help give you traction to get out of the stuck spot.
• Prepare a winter survival kit: my dad always recommended an empty coffee tin the size of your head, but any small receptacle will do. Put a small candle, wooden matches, a water bottle or two, a can of soup you can handle eating cold if you have to, a granola bar, one of them super bright flashlights and extra batteries, a pair of wool socks, and an orange piece of cloth (stick it in your window to use as a flag). Wrap the tin in a fleece blanket, tie with paracord. This way, if you get stuck in a blizzard, you aren’t totally fucked, only mostly until help arrives. If you have an extra battery pack for your phone, charge that up and put that in there too just to be safe.
• Always have an extra pair of winter boots and socks in your vehicle, in case yours get wet on the inside. Wet feet will freeze fast.
• If you’re wearing two pairs of socks, tuck your pants into the second pair. It’ll help hold in heat.
• If you’re doubling up on gloves, wear a pair of finger gloves under fingerless mittens.
• Dickies are your friend. They’re like the neck of a turtle neck shirt, so you don’t have to look like a dork in a damn turtle neck to still have the extra warmth of one.
• If your windshield is super duper frozen, you can mix two parts 70% IPA, one part water, and a couple drops of dish soap. Spray or pour on the windshield, wait a minute, then scrape off. Works great, also works for frozen up windows.
• If you need to turn your car on to warm up before getting in, turn on your A/C with the heat full blast. It’ll get hot faster.
• Check your tire tread before the first snowfall. You can do the penny test (put a penny with Lincoln’s head down into the tread; if you can see all of his head, the tread is low). Change your tires if needed. Change your brakes as well.
I’m sure I can think of more if asked, but these are the best ones I can think of off the top of my head. Hope this is helpful!
Buy a coat for warmth, not fashion.
If you have a garden path, and you are concerned about it getting snowy and having to dig it out, try this:
Get an off cut of cheap carpet, and lay it on the path. Go to bed. When you want to use the path in the morning, after the snow, just go out, find the edge of the carpet, and either roll it up, snow and all, or tip the snow on it off to the side. If you rolled it, roll it off to the side, out of the way, and go about your day. If you tipped it off, re-lay it. You have to be fairly physically able to make this one work, but if you are, it will save you some time and effort.
Sleeping with a hot water bottle is always lovely
Sit by the fireplace, read a book you like, and drink a cup of hot coffee or tea.