Cheap Ways To Keep Warm

Winter is here again. It turns up with monotonous regularity and leaves the memories of summer far behind.

One of the biggest concerns at this time of year is keeping warm and, with the economy still critical for many, doing so without spending too much is paramount.

In years past, when things seemed to be ticking along nicely for most households, turning the thermostat up a degree or two during a cold spell was not too scary; now, with money tight in many cases, this is the least-favoured option.

There are many inexpensive ways to help keep the family warm during the winter months and, if these are implemented before the seriously-cold weather sets in, the hard times will be a little easier to bear.

An important job as the summer fades to autumn is to make sure that the house is free of draughts. There are cheap and simple methods of draught-proofing such as the application of draught-excluding tape – available at very reasonable cost at all DIY stores – to gaps around windows and doors. It is even possible to purchase special strips that can be fixed to letter-boxes in external doors; this allows the postman to deliver the post but stops the cold winter air entering the house. It is surprising how effective such strips are.

For gaps around the bottom of doors, draft-excluding ‘sausages’ are simplicity itself to make. For the non-crafty, filling one leg of a stocking or pair of tights with fibre-fill (used for stuffing soft toys), and knotting both ends, will produce an effective sausage in less than five minutes. If no fibre-fill is to hand, the filling can be made from extra pairs of tights – save old ones for this purpose – or, in a real emergency, a rolled-up bath towel. Those who are handy with a sewing machine, knitting needles, or a crochet hook, will be able to make a more stylish version, especially if they use colours to match the décor of the room in which the sausage will be taking up residence.

Another useful idea is to hang a heavy curtain at the main entrance to the property. This is something which could be taken down during the warmer months, but, when the weather is at its coldest, it will help to keep the heat in and the cold out. In days gone by, people would change their curtains in line with the seasons, having lightweight fabric at the windows in the warm summer months, but hanging heavier drapes for winter; another measure that helps to keep the warm air inside the house.

By spending a little time walking around the house looking for potential cold spots, and taking the necessary cheap and simple measures to eliminate them, it will be possible to keep the heating turned down while ensuring that the house is comfortably warm for the whole family.