how to keep warm in the winter

Milo · Joined: 09 Apr 2004 Posts: 2086 Location: Philadelphia!

Winter is fast approaching, and my new house is freeeezing. I'm looking for tips to insulate, keep warm, and keep the gas bill down. Whaddya got?

I know I need some kind of insulation for the windows in my bedroom. The windowpanes are really thin and there's a pretty bad draft that comes through. I'd like to get something more substantial than that plastic film insulation. Should I get storm windows? Or that foam stuff that goes around the edges of the window? I rent, so I don't want to invest too much money, but I plan on living there for the foreseeable future, so I don't mind spending a moderate amount of money.

We haven't turned the heat on yet at my house, but when we do, we're getting one of those programmable thermostats so that the heat will only come on for an hour in the morning, and an hour in the late afternoon. I'm thinking I'll buy one of those jackets for the hot water heater too.

Aside from the obvious tip to dress in layers, what else can I do to keep my bedroom warm (and minimize use of a space heater)? Should I get an electric blanket? Microwave some rice bags/hot water bottles and put them under the sheets?

How do ya'll keep warm & keep heating costs down in the winter?
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silverfish2007 · Joined: 10 Apr 2004 Posts: 1898 Location: iowa

definitely find any drafts or places where cold air is getting in and seal them up. you can make a "draft dodger" for under doors.
make sure all the doors to the outside have that foam rubber seal stuff - it just sticks to the door frame and you can buy it at a hardware store.
if you have any rooms you dont or rarely go in, seal them off by closing the vents and shutting the door.

and also, its important to not let your house get too cold! if a pipe freezes it will be way more expensive than running your heat all winter.
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tasted · Joined: 04 Jun 2008 Posts: 208

I lived in a house that was split into 3 apartments, and the thermostat was not in mine. The guy who lived in the apartment with the thermostat must have had a much different idea of 'comfortable' than mine and I was almost always freezing. He told me to "put on a sweater". YEAH, THANKS FOR THE TIP. (note: we did not pay utilities, it was included in our rent)

I got an electric blanket and I LOVE LOVE LOVE IT and would totally recommend it. Although I no longer need it to keep from turning into an icicle, I still use it to pre-heat the bed before I get in it.

cinderelly · Joined: 19 Jan 2005 Posts: 301 Location: seattle area

our house is in three levels, so heating the whole thing is weird...if the middle section is comfy the upstairs is too warm, and downstairs is still icy! we usually keep lots of throw blankets on the sofas and we wrap up while watching tv. although sometimes the place looks like a flophouse in the morning, when no one has folded the throw blankets and they are all over the place!
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Liat · Joined: 15 Apr 2004 Posts: 1752 Location: Calgary, Alberta

We try and keep our house cool-chilly.

We have a duvet on our couch that we wrap up in.

Before we had kids we had an electric blanket which we LOVED. It was so nice to pop under the blankets and be all toasty.

I also knit slippers for everyone each year. It really makes a difference to have warm feet.

Otherwise we just made sure that our house had no leaks, and that there was great insulation in our roof. (not terribly helpful if your renting, I know).

For the windows, I think if you use both the stuff that goes around the edges and the plastic stuff that goes on them it should really make a difference.
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BlueJedi · Joined: 07 Apr 2004 Posts: 6639

I have an electric blanket, and I totally recommend them. I hate using heaters, because the air gets so warm and stale feeling. I'm the weirdo who opens up all the windows when it's freezing cold outside because I love the crisp fresh cold air.

Drinking tons of warm things like tea and hot cider helps. Armwarmers. Basically, I try to keep my core warm because once that gets cold, i'm REALLY REALLY cold.

I put rugs on the floors. Even if you have carpet already, it helps. My floors are cement foundation slab with one layer of padding and carpet.

My bathroom floor is the same thing but with tile, so it gets even more cold. I moved my bathroom floor rug so that it covered the area by the door, and then layered two rag rugs over each other and it. I use those sand snakes to keep the cold air from blowing in, and I cover up our cat door at night with a towel.
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highlow kitty · Joined: 24 Jan 2007 Posts: 1103 Location: playa larga

our new place has 18 foot ceilings and a busted hvac system (see, not as glamorous as it sounded) so i heat up the place quickly by shutting as many doors as possible to make the space smaller then putting on a pot of water to heat. if it starts boiling, i lower the heat so that it's barely on, yet makes a huge difference, then when it gets too hot, i start opening doors to disapate the heat. works so fast! and is pretty easily adjustable

the only thing is check on the water to make sure you don't burn your pot, because it will happen the one time you use that one.
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cinderelly · Joined: 19 Jan 2005 Posts: 301 Location: seattle area

yeah, those high ceilings, while nice, do make it tough to heat in the winter...we have one too! i forgot about the pot on the stove thing...except i cook a pot of beans or soup. or make something in the oven that takes some time to bake. then you are warm, and have something good to eat too!
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tinyrock · Joined: 07 Oct 2009 Posts: 495

I get chillblains, so I'm very conscious of staying warm, including my extremities.

Yes to hot water bottles! I have a rubber one that I keep in my lap when reading and sleep with. I also wrap up in my duvet when on the couch.

Hats and scarves indoors. Wool is also a key part of my strategy - wool sweaters are so much warmer than cotton. Wool socks were life-changing. Wool is also warm when damp and doesn't stink like synthetics.

Drinking lots of tea / soup / hot water helps. I also use my beverage as a socially-acceptable handwarmer at work.

If you're cold, take a hot shower to get thoroughly warm, then layer on lots of clothes.

The shrink-wrap window plastic is surprisingly good. If you have blinds, you can cut little holes for the cords so you can still adjust them.

Gigi · Joined: 02 Jan 2006 Posts: 2474

Move to my apartment. Google says it's 43 degrees, and I have the air on because it's so stuffy in here. Gah!

super_nuova · Joined: 07 Apr 2004 Posts: 613 Location: Arizona

astrea · Joined: 08 Apr 2004 Posts: 268 Location: San Francisco, CA

First of all, let me say that I've developed an acute hatred of anyone who makes me cold. There's this guy at work who always turns the thermostat down even though everyone else is freezing. I am always cold to begin with, so I have learned to always dress in layers. With as much wool as possible included in those layers despite the fact that wool often makes me itch. I recently bought a Smartwool undershirt, which is pretty awesome. Amazingly, it's not scratchy at all.

Last winter our apartment's heater didn't work very well, and the landlord's attempt to fix it failed. We realized that we were saving a lot of money on our heating bills, though, so we just suffered through it and used a little dish space heater and lots of blankets. An electric blanket is awesome if your place gets really cold, but it's a total waste of energy. A couple of layers of blankets, including one of down or alternative down, insulates really well.

Oh, and often when I'm typing at home my hands get really cold, so I knitted little wool hand/wristwarmers that help a lot!
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littlespacebug · Joined: 07 Nov 2004 Posts: 358 Location: astoria, ny

If I turn the radiators in my apartment on, it is ridiculously hot so I go back and forth between turning them on and being hot and keeping them off and just wearing lots of layers and getting under the covers. In my office I have a space heater.

But what I really wanted to say was that astrea just reminded me of something I put on my to buy list earlier this year when I was in physical therapy for my wrist....a heated mouse. It sounds ridiculous but my hands turn into ice in the winter and no matter how warm I'm dressed my hands are still freezing when I'm working, and in addition to that it was recommended to me for my tendinitis.

I wish I had it right now.

astrea · Joined: 08 Apr 2004 Posts: 268 Location: San Francisco, CA

rhizome · Joined: 21 Mar 2007 Posts: 1705

i just posted a link in 'happy home' about using bubble wrap to insulate windows in the winter.

other than that? get a big dog :) or two smaller dogs. or about forty hamsters.

kidding.

except for the dogs and cats.
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