Truth be told, I don't really mind Winter. I'm just not a fan of driving in the snow.
I love to snuggle inside a warm house and enjoy the slower pace that Winter brings.
Key words: warm house.
We bought a seriously old home - like over eighty years old. When we first purchased it, we had no idea what a change our gas bill would be from our little, well insulated apartment. Oh my. Our first month was a cold March and our bill was over $400. When we started renovating we found out why. There was no insulation at all in our home. Well, that's not exactly true. There were crumpled up newspapers in the wall around the windows. I'm sure that helped quite a bit.
We replaced all the windows, added insulation, changed out the doors, sealed up our drafty chimney, converted to gas logs and all the "big" projects that needed to be done to make our home livable.
Even with all that, here are a few things - mostly free things - that we do to stay warm in the Winter and keep our gas bill reasonable..
1. Use fabric draft dodgers at the exterior doors.
2. Keep the furnace filters clean and changed through out the season.
3. Shrink wrap any leaky windows.
We didn't replace our kitchen & dining room, those old windows have character.
4. Keep the laundry room door open when washing & drying clothes.
5. Bake! A warm oven helps to heat things up.
6. Wear clothes. Seriously, this doesn't seem like something that needs said. Yet
it really does. Don't come out shirtless and try to turn up the thermostat. No.
7. Wear warm socks or slippers.
8. We keep our thermostat low and heat the rooms we are in with our Eden Pure
heater. We use this mostly in the boys room and the school room.
9. Fleece or flannel sheets and thick comforters for the beds.
10. Warm throws for the couch.
This are most of the things that we do to help out with heating in the winter.
What good ideas do you have to keep warm?
3 comments:
Drink Coffee....like ALL the time!! (a good hand warmer!) Also, what you wear (I like how you say to wear clothes! It's true! No t-shirts/shorts!!) but if you are lounging, then LOUNGE...no jeans (those seem to feel colder), sweat pants with fleece and sweat shirts. I am curious about the portable heater...we have little ones in our half bath (as it's not heated) and my son's attic room, but it would be nice to keep one in the living room where we all sit. Our house is old and drafty as well. :(
We shelled out some dough about six years ago on an Edenpure heater. It's fantastic. We used to use them in the bedrooms at night, but now we use one in the boys room and one in the school room, only when we're in there. That way we can keep the heat low (like 64-65) and still be warm. I'm slowly easing us to low temps. I've got the thermostat set on 67 and will be taking it to 66 next week.
Portable heaters are great for indoors, but I use heaters outside, too. They are great for when you have parties in the fall. You can heat your patio and entertain outside which keeps the house tidy.
I also got a woodburning stove for my living room. It is fantastic for the chilliest months. I break out my favorite fleece blanket, a warm cup of hot chocolate, and sit by the stove. It's the best way to spend a lazy cozy Sunday.
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