A Complete Guide To Staying Warm At Home This Winter
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You do not need me to point out that energy bills are higher than ever. It's casting a really dark light over the upcoming chilly season as households around the country start to worry. When the temperature drops, we're all going to face a big conundrum. Do we turn on the heat and spend a fortune this winter, or do we freeze?
Most of you will be hoping to reduce your central heating usage this winter, but that means finding alternative ways to stay warm. Thankfully, we are sharing things you can do to keep warm at home without relying on your heating system. Here's a guide to help you out:
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Let your oven do the heating
An oven is a tool that's designed to get super hot and cook your food for you. You're going to cook every day, meaning you're turning on a mini heater. But, some of the heat escapes and fills the room. The same goes for your hob; heat can transfer from it to the room itself.
This is why you can often feel way too hot when cooking in the summer, as it makes your kitchen feel like a sauna. In the winter, this is exactly what you want. Let your oven do the heating by filling the room with nice hot air. Go one step further and open your kitchen door so more heat can escape throughout your home. It isn't as powerful as a central heating system, but it can be shockingly impressive - especially in tiny houses or flats. With the windows closed, the heat has nowhere to go. So, it stays trapped inside and warms up your property.
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Block any draughts
Speaking about heat escaping your home, there can be lots of draughts throughout your house that make it feel extremely cold. Some of these are there by design. For instance, modern windows often come with a little draught system where you can flip open a flap to let air in and out. It helps to keep homes cool in the summer, but it's a nightmare in the winter. Close any draught flaps on your windows to stop this from happening.
Most of the draughts in your home won't be by design, however. As an example, the sealant around your windows can weaken and allow cold air inside. Similarly, gaps in your front door can let air through, cooling your home. It's your job to block these things, ensuring your home retains as much heat as possible.
Re-sealing the windows will be one step, but you can also buy draught excluders to place around doors and window fixtures. Just like that, you've improved your home's insulation and reduced the need for the central heating to be on.
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Keep warm after a shower
This section will be dedicated to everyone's least favorite moment in life — stepping out of a warm shower. There's nothing worse than enjoying a warm shower and turning the water off. Immediately, you step out into a cold room and start shivering. Often, this forces you to put the heating on before you shower so you don't feel as cold after.
You will be content to know there are some simple tips you can do to keep warm after a shower:
Leave the door open slightly
Get a thick bathrobe ready to put on before leaving the shower
Dry as quickly as you can
Turn the water temperature down slightly
Leaving the door open lets steam escape and fill the bathroom so it doesn't feel super cold when the shower stops. Quickly drying off prevents the water from evaporating and making you feel cold. Finally, turning the temperature down from piping hot to warm will mean less adjustment when you step out of your warm shower. Investing in some hotel-quality bathrobes will give you something nice and thick to drape over yourself the moment the shower ends.
Oh, one last thing, wear some fluffy slippers, so your feet don't feel cold after!
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Dress like it's winter
You may enjoy prancing around your house in your underwear or some shorts. Unfortunately, the weather only allows you to do this after turning the heating on for hours. Instead, you have to dress like it's winter. Now, there's one specific area of your clothing that I want to discuss. Sure, putting on hoodies and thick joggers will help, but you must focus on your feet. Your feet will feel cold if you walk around barefoot or in thin socks - so when your feet feel cold, so will the rest of you.
Have you ever realized that taking off your socks in the summer will instantly help you cool down? The same thing happens in reverse in the winter. Put on thick socks or slippers to keep your feet warm, and you will immediately feel a lot warmer.
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Use a hot water bottle
Hot water bottles are excellent when trying to sleep at night but feel cold. They last for a very long time once filled up, giving you instant warmth and comfort. You can also use them around the house to feel warmer. Hold one close when sitting on the sofa watching TV, and wrap yourself up in a blanket while you're at it—a simple trick, but very effective.
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Switch out your bedclothes
Lastly, get winter bedclothes for the cold season. This will include sheets that are designed to retain heat - like microfibre ones. It will also include a thicker duvet that keeps you warmer. So many people have the same duvet and bedclothes throughout the year, which is a massive mistake. You should have thinner and cooler ones for the summer and thicker ones in the winter.
Will these tips stop you from turning your heating on this year? Probably not. You can't avoid turning your heating on when it gets very cold, but the purpose of these tips is to do two things:
Prevent you from turning the heating on too frequently
Allow you to turn the thermostat down, so less energy is used when the heating is on
You can stay warm at home this winter without feeling the pinch of rising energy bills. Let us know your thoughts in the comment section!
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