Protecting Herbs

While the winter solstice does not occur for a few weeks, frost has arrived.  I exchanged seasonal clothing a couple of months ago.  Snowblower needs to be made functional, though we've not had snow justifying its use for a few years.  Frost has arrived.  While my herbs grow better in the backyard beds than in pots outside the front door, there are enough advantages to the portable pots to sacrifice some abundance of leaves.  Indeed, spearmint and peppermint will overwhelm vegetables when placed there.  The mints become dormant in the winter, re-emerging in the spring.  The basil, rosemary, and sage all need to be replanted.  With the frost, I've been taking the four pots inside in the hope they will survive the winter.  None are really flourishing but have enough leaves for garnish use, and rosemary enough for culinary use.  They still do better in the sun, so for the next few months when we have a thaw they go back outside the front door, with a freeze they return to the lower hallway.  I do not know if the abrupt changes in temperature moving between inside and outside will have an ill effect.  I know that leaving them outside will guarantee they will function as annuals.