Tips for keeping warm

[Amber]

Re: Winterizing Your Home

*faints*


I LOVE Hello Kitty...but even I wouldn't go that far LMAO

[TaiganPagan]

Re: Winterizing Your Home

One of the best stuff to help conserve heat into homes is given by Nature itself: Snow!!!!!
It's highly heat reflective (very hard to increase or decrease of 1 degree)... so let it pile up a bit on the roof (couple of inches), and also block your cellar windows with it.

[magusphredde]

Re: Winterizing Your Home

Also plugging up the vents around your foundation helps keep cold drafts from cooling your floors and robbing heat if you have central air by cooling the ducts ...

[lorraine02]

Re: Winterizing Your Home

air condition is necessary ,
and atmosphere is also important , such as colour, furniture.

[Lord of the weeds]

Re: Tips for keeping warm

When it gets cold I cram some more logs in the woodstove

[Jembru]

Re: Tips for keeping warm

Oh, it's the time of year to read over this again.. I am quite disturbed by how much it costs to heat our place. We live in a very small two bedroom flat. The master bedroom is large however, so it has 3 radiators. We only use one in there.. the one in the alcove where we set up our futon. We have a radiator in the hall, which seems pointless using, and one in the space between the kitchen and bathroom which we also never use. However, it is starting to cost us almost ￡15 in gas per week to head the FOUR radiators we use and the thermostat was struggling to get above 16 degrees today. I'm starting to wonder if I should be using all the radiators and just have them on low in the areas we don't use. But this will be, what ￡80 a month? To heat a tiny downstairs flat? It is so annoying... We use a timer so the heating isn't on all day.. just two hours in the morning and 4 hours in the evening, except weekends, when JP is up and about through the day. It blows my mind that it can be costing us this much.

[Caelia]

Re: Tips for keeping warm

Are the windows insulated, Jembru? You can do that with a clear plastic sheet. I believe they even sell them for windows, otherwise folks use trash bags.

[AL!CE]

Re: Tips for keeping warm

Footie Pjs.
Snugrug (blanket with sleeves).
Fingerless gloves for whilst using the computer.
Microwabable teddybear (also great for cramps).

[Jembru]

Re: Tips for keeping warm

My windows are double glazed, but it's a very old building, so built before being thought to insulate outside walls. There is a common problem in these kinds of old buildings, where they can tend to get very damp around the outside walls. I heard it is because of double glazing and central heating. Our place isn't too bad, but when we blast the heating, I start to notice it. When Magpie sits on the windowsill, her little paws sometimes get wet!

[volcaniclastic]

Re: Tips for keeping warm

Fur.

I'm probably going to get unhappy folks about this, but most of my warmest clothing is either wool, fur, or down-filled. Animals were meant to be used!

[Jembru]

Re: Tips for keeping warm

Fur.

I'm probably going to get unhappy folks about this, but most of my warmest clothing is either wool, fur, or down-filled. Animals were meant to be used!

Not sure I agree with 'meant to be used', but I can't argue against them being bloody good at keeping warm! Mine just won't stay still long enough to warm my toes..

[nbdy]

Re: Tips for keeping warm

At the shelter we use to joke that getting a big dog who thinks he is a lapdog was the best way to go. Or maybe a couple of smaller dogs... Or like... a dozen ferrets? :P Maybe not that one.

That's why I bake and cook long meals on the stove a lot more often in the winter, keeps me nice and warm! Not just the heat from the oven, but eating all that warm food too.

Absolutely! Summer is for grilling outside to keep the house cool, but winter is for baking in the oven to keep the house warm. Tonight -- meatloaf.

[Almost_lost]

Re: Tips for keeping warm

Im in the process of making a couple of draught excluders for our front door, back door and my bedroom. Because we live in a terraced house, its sooooo draughty!

[DanieMarie]

Re: Tips for keeping warm

Oh, it's the time of year to read over this again.. I am quite disturbed by how much it costs to heat our place. We live in a very small two bedroom flat. The master bedroom is large however, so it has 3 radiators. We only use one in there.. the one in the alcove where we set up our futon. We have a radiator in the hall, which seems pointless using, and one in the space between the kitchen and bathroom which we also never use. However, it is starting to cost us almost ￡15 in gas per week to head the FOUR radiators we use and the thermostat was struggling to get above 16 degrees today. I'm starting to wonder if I should be using all the radiators and just have them on low in the areas we don't use. But this will be, what ￡80 a month? To heat a tiny downstairs flat? It is so annoying... We use a timer so the heating isn't on all day.. just two hours in the morning and 4 hours in the evening, except weekends, when JP is up and about through the day. It blows my mind that it can be costing us this much.

Yeah heating is expensive on this side of the atlantic. Blame all the people crammed onto this continent and your island! I pay less, but i have a newer flat, and also I am cold a lot. I hate cold, but I wear a lot of layers and hug a hot water bottle when I can.
Also, do you have gas-heated water? If so, you can save a TON of money by washing your hands with cold water (I swear it's fine...everyone does it in Germany...soap cleans), washing your face with cold water, and only rinsing stuff with cold water (save the warm/hot water for thorough washing).

- - - Updated - - -

My windows are double glazed, but it's a very old building, so built before being thought to insulate outside walls. There is a common problem in these kinds of old buildings, where they can tend to get very damp around the outside walls. I heard it is because of double glazing and central heating. Our place isn't too bad, but when we blast the heating, I start to notice it. When Magpie sits on the windowsill, her little paws sometimes get wet!

This is also common in Berlin....to avoid water damage, you have to open your windows for a bit every morning and every night for a few minutes. I warped my floors last year! They went back though when the dampness went away. Berlin is extremely humid, so we always have to do it, even when it's -20 outside (actually, especially when it's -20 outside).

- - - Updated - - -

Fur.

I'm probably going to get unhappy folks about this, but most of my warmest clothing is either wool, fur, or down-filled. Animals were meant to be used!

It's true. If you don't want to contribute to the industry, there are LOADS of vintage coats and accessories that are floating around. I actually think it's more ethical to wear these than to just throw them out or let them rot in an attic. I get evil looks when I wear my fur, but it's all recycled (mostly vintage stuff I fixed up or repurposed somehow).

[Jembru]

Re: Tips for keeping warm

Yeah heating is expensive on this side of the atlantic. Blame all the people crammed onto this continent and your island! I pay less, but i have a newer flat, and also I am cold a lot. I hate cold, but I wear a lot of layers and hug a hot water bottle when I can.
Also, do you have gas-heated water? If so, you can save a TON of money by washing your hands with cold water (I swear it's fine...everyone does it in Germany...soap cleans), washing your face with cold water, and only rinsing stuff with cold water (save the warm/hot water for thorough washing).

- - - Updated - - -



This is also common in Berlin....to avoid water damage, you have to open your windows for a bit every morning and every night for a few minutes. I warped my floors last year! They went back though when the dampness went away. Berlin is extremely humid, so we always have to do it, even when it's -20 outside (actually, especially when it's -20 outside).

Yes, our water is gas heated. I did suggest to JP a while ago that we start using cold water to wash our hands. In fact, I could go further and use a cream cleanser instead of tap water to remove my make-up and wash my face. We're just a bit worried about how cold the water is from the tap. being in Berlin, you probably know yourself how cold the water pipes get in Winter. I guess we could keep the sink filled so the water is room temperature. A little less hygienic, but maybe we could also get into the habit of using antibacterial hand gel. Great tip. Thanks!

Erm.. I know I SHOULD open the windows. Our bathroom window is almost always on the night lock, and in the livingroom, our window is actually a glass door, into the yard, so it is often open while Magpie plays outside. I don't think the bedroom windows have been opened even once since we moved in. I have blinds and black out curtains with me sleeping during the daytime, and these are basically always closed. When it's cold already, I just can't bring myself to open the windows.. :s