Getting ready for the cold

Taking a look inside my 2013 Farmer's Almanac at their prediction of the coming winter as well as observing the heavier than normal for this time of the month leaf fall out my windows my thoughts have turned to getting ready for what may be a cold and snowy winter season.
Last year my adult son who lives at home made a few changes that helped our heat bill, he installed a new interior door on the side of our house then using a tension rod hung a plain shower curtain across the top of the basement steps. Both these steps helped to cut the amount of cold air hitting our furnace and I am convinced helped to keep costs under control. He also installed a digital programmable thermostat that allowed us to better control the temperature inside our room, allowing us to reduce the air temperature at night when we are all in bed sleeping and also when we were at work/school during the day. Having 4 pets we kept the temperature at one that was comfortable for them but just slightly too cold for those who don't naturally wear fur. Taking into account an above normal temperature for last year I still beleive these measures were big money savers for us.
The weatherman is prediction lows in the mid 30s for my area tonight. Last year I was able to wait until mid November to turn on our furnace but all the signs point towards not being that lucky this year.
Before getting that furnace running I like to clean it out, taking a shop vac I suck out all the dust and dirt that I can. I wipe down all the exterior surfaces and then install a new filter. Today I purchased new filters ($17) and my son took on the clean up job. We are all set. Our thermostat is still set from last year so it just meant flipping on the heat switch.
Living in an 84 year old house means lots of drafts in spite of storm doors and windows. I have an extra window film kit from last year and will purchase  a second kit this year. The front living room windows (the only ones without storms) will get their covering this week and the remaining windows in the dining room and kids bedrooms as well as the bathroom window will get theirs as the month goes on.
We have two sets of draft dodgers for along the bottom of the front door and the dining room french doors. The new side door is air tight and we didn't discover any drafts that need attention in that area.
Since our house is fairly small my own bedroom has been for the last 20 years in the full walkup attic. This area is unheated with minimal insullation. The entrance to the staircase is inside the closet area of my daughter's room and during the daytime a draft dodger along the bottom of the door keeps the cold air out of her bedroom.
 I am not comfortable running a space heater up there but I do cover the windows with film and have a mattress pad heater as well as several thick comforters and a heavy duty polar fleece blanket. Once in bed I am often too warm during the night. And I do have to say that I don't know if its the primitive conditions or not but I do not often get colds and haven't had the flu in years. I like to think I've built up my constitution and kept down my doctor bills this way.
The final thing we will do is burn a creosote cleaning log in our wood burning living room fireplace and stock up on store bought fake logs. I like these for a number of reasons, while more expensive than real logs I know exactly how long they will burn, they don't spark, and they don't create the creosote buildup inside the chimney that real logs do meaning you can go way longer between having the chimney swept. For me this means I am willing to invest the extra money in them for the few times we actually have a fire.
Along with numerous throw blankets, snuggies (gag gifts that turned out to be pretty practical), and hot warming drinks we are all set for winter's cold.