Winter means different things to different people. Some people look forward to the coldest season. Not me. To me, Winter means short, cold days, hikes in winter heating bills, and smoke from the fireplace. I have a few peeves about winter, a lot of them at home, so this winter, I am going to be doing a few things differently to try to make home more comfortable.
First, buy incense and waft the smoke around windows and doors to find out the cracks through which heat escapes. Then caulk them – something that can be a DIY project for very little money and minimal time. This is a very easy preventative step that can go a long way toward keeping heating bills in check when things cool down.
Next, get or make insulated curtains and actually close the curtains at night – this reduces the heat loss drastically. If you have ever sat in front of a window during the the winter months, you may have experienced first hand how much cold air drops off of that thin pane of glass.
Make or buy quilts, and pile them on the bed instead of upping the temperature. If you ever lose power to your home and the heat goes out, you will be very glad to have the extra insurance against the cold.
Buy lots of hot cocoa mixes, or tea bags, or just ginger, cinnamon and pepper to add to stuff – they keep you warm and taste good.
Cover your head and feet- even at home and you’ll feel much warmer quickly.
If you have a fireplace, that’s great, but clean out air vents, make sure the chimney dampers are tightly closed and look up fireplace inserts if yours does not already have one. And make sure your wood’s not wet or dank – that just smells. Then – and I read about this in a story- try and make tea or a stew over the fireplace while you sit around it and read. That’s multitasking.
That’s what winter in my home this year is like. What are you doing?
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