Frugal Home Heating Tips

When colder weather approaches everyone should look around their house to see if there are any holes or open spaces that need to sealed. There are many things you can do without spending a lot of time or money. Follow these tips to help keep the heat in your home and stay warm this Winter:

• Seal windows, doors and holes with plastic, foam and insulated foam pieces
• Make or buy a draft protector for doors/windows
• Put a sheet or something separating two rooms (if there is no door) to keep cold air out and warm air in.
• Get new windows if you can afford to or buy one at a time
• Get a heated blanket
• Get a space heater / kerosene heater
• Turn the oven on to help heat that area of the house, let the oven get hot, then open oven door and sit around oven or in kitchen nearby
• Pile on the blankets
• Get a nice pair of wool socks
• Get a nice pair of slippers or house shoes
• Put on a sweater or layers
• Put on a cap, hat or something over your head to keep your head and ears warm, most warmth is lost through your head.
• Get a small portable heater that runs on batteries or runs on a small tank (like you would take camping)
• Cuddle together with family, friends, pets
• Make some hot chocolate or another hot drink like coffee or tea
• Eat some hot soup (warm liquids tend to heat the body up)
• Build a fire in your fire place or outside your home and gather around
• Open up curtains and blinds when it’s warm outside to the let the heat and sunshine in
• Keep the heat set at the same temperature, don’t continue to turn up or down
• Exercise and move around which will make you warmer, put on some music to dance or sing along to.
• Keep your fans going, which can help to spread the heat out through each room.
• Buy a humidifier, which can help make the dry air moister and help it retain heat.
• Make sure your filters are changed frequently.
• Seal windows with plastic and cardboard
• Take lukewarm showers because hot showers will actually make you feel colder in the Winter. The steam from the shower will heat the bathroom up.
• Do not block vents with objects so that they can properly distribute heat and air
• Weatherstrip your windows
• Close the doors to rooms that you do not use often so you are only heating the area you stay in the most