Everyone knows to keep your thermostat set low, as low as you can
stand it. But how do you keep warm enough to not complain?
1- you must dress for the weather. Layering your clothes is a
great way to go. And make sure they are loose layers. I'm usually
ok in slacks, long sleeved shirt and slippers at home. If it gets
colder I add fuzzy socks and a sweater. If it gets to freezing
temps I can add sweat pants and sweat shirt over regular pants
and shirt and a sweater on top of that.
2- decide what rooms you really use and only heat those.
Close off the vents and close the doors to unused rooms. I have
a bath and 2 bedrooms that are rarely used and they are off their
own hallway. All vents and doors are closed and I put up a curtain
at the end of the hallway that enters my living room. That also
saves on cooling those rooms in the summer. Just a simple
curtain will do, make it match your window curtains if you want.
A great Victorian idea we need to bring back!
3- if you have ceiling fans you can set them to reverse at a
slow speed to push the warm air back down to the area you are
sitting in. This means it will spin clockwise in winter. A good
way to remember is clockwise while we are on regular time and
counter-clockwise while we are on daylight savings time.
4- you can utilize space heaters to only heat the room you
are in. I have a small electric oscillating heater I bought at
Dollar General for less than $20. I only use it in the room I am
currently in and it keeps me pretty toasty without using a lot of
electricity. Please be cautious as to what kind of space heater
you use and make sure to use it properly with any required
ventilation. If you need to crack a window for ventilation then
choose a south facing one to avoid the colder winds coming
from the north.
5- use a quilt on your bed! Grandma wasn't just saving
money by making her own quilt and re-using those fabric scraps,
they are much warmer than blankets. You need it to be loose
over you and not pulled tight, your body heat will fill the space
between bed and quilt with warmth and you will be toasty all
night. I believe it has a lot to do with the insulation quality of
the quilt which is made of fabric, batting and fabric. Heavier
is not always warmer. If you have no quilt but you do have a
sleeping bag, use it! And flannel sheets are much warmer feeling
than cotton.
6- but maybe this should have been first, add insulation.
Check for drafts and insulate and caulk where you can and add
weatherstripping if needed to doors and windows. If you have
no restrictions in your neighborhood then spritz your windows
with water and cover them with cut to size bubble wrap for
insulation. You can often get bubble wrap for free from sites
like craigslist or freecycle. Alternatively you can pull down
your shades at night to keep out drafts and raise them during
the day to let in the sun's warmth. Grandma used to swap out
her light and lacy summer curtains for heavy and lined winter
drapes for good reason and we can do the same.
7- if you are going to be home, make it a day of cooking
and baking. That extra heat will be welcome on a cold day,
especially if it came from a pot of homemade stew and home
baked bread or cookies. When you are done baking leave the
oven door open to utilize that heat as well. I used to live in an
apartment that had no heat source in the kitchen so I just
turned on the gas burners. No worries about ventilation, the
place was 80 years old and very drafty, but do take care if you
need to do this and never leave the room unoccupied with burners
on, especially if you have children. If you have an electric stove
you could turn on the oven and leave the door open but I'm not
sure how frugal that would be. Also you can boil water in a pot
to add humidity which makes you feel warmer.
8- if you have a pet like a dog or cat and they like to
snuggle, indulge them. A dog or cat's body temperature is much
higher than a human's (100-102.5 degrees Fahrenheit) and they
are portable heaters that cost very little. I used to have one
cat that would sleep under the covers with me so I stayed nicely
warm all night and so did he.
9- try a heating pad to warm up your bed 30 minutes before
you crawl in, just like a bed warming pan of hot coals like your
great grandma used to use. A hot water bottle at your feet
works well too. If you do use a heating pad, only use it for a short
period of time, it is not meant to be slept with, would save you no
money and could cause a fire.
10- don't be afraid of looking silly wearing clothes to bed. A
sweatshirt and sweat pants are much warmer than a cotton gown.
Also wear your fuzzy socks to bed. A knit cap on your head in
frigid weather works nicely too, we lose a lot of heat out the top
of our heads and it's a good old idea we have lost sight of.
Remember the line from 'Twas the Night Before Christmas' about
"Mother in her kerchief and I in my cap had just settled down for
a long winter's nap."
11- some other ideas I have read about. If you have
radiators you can add a metal panel behind it to bounce that
heat back into the room rather than letting the wall soak it up.
For fun put up a tent in the middle of the room and only heat
that. Think your house is cold? go outside for a bit and it will
feel heavenly when you come back in.
So there's 11 ways to stay warm while trying to save some
money on heating, at least for those of us without a wood
burning stove or fireplace.
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