I’m sharing lots of ways to keep warm without putting the heating on with you all today because I know we’re all starting to feel a little nervous about switching the heating on due to the scary price rises heading our way!
If you’ve been a reader for a while then you’ll probably already know that I’m not the most frugal person deep down and I’d never be that person who can sit in the cold with a hot water bottle and layers of socks, jumpers, and blankets instead of turning the heating on to save a few pounds. I’ve got nothing but admiration for those who do but it’s just not me!
But saving money aside, I do HATE having the heating on and both kids feel the same way so we do try and have it on as little as possible. Our house heats up pretty quickly and it’s that dry stuffy feeling that I hate so if I can avoid having the heating on then I absolutely will.
At the moment, I have it on time to come on for an hour in the morning just before our alarms are due to go off so the house is warm when we get up and then again for a couple of hours in the early evening but more often than not, either one of use will turn the temperature dial right down on a night after an hour or so.
I thought I’d share a few ideas on how you can keep warm without putting the heating on but before you read them, I’ll be honest and tell you that none of them are particularly innovative or new – it’s just a collection of common-sense ideas that you might find helpful.
Common-sense ways to keep warm without putting the heating on!
1) I know this is a really obvious one but genuinely, pop a jumper on and see if that warms you up enough. That more often than not does the trick for me. I also dress in layers at this time of the year because the extra clothes not only keep me warm but the layers trap warmth in between them too.
2) A pair of thick fluffy socks are my second go-to when I need warming up. My Mam used to tell me that if your head and your feet were warm then the rest of you would be too so I have some lovely thick socks to pop on to warm me up – I draw the line at wearing a hat at home though so he heating would def go on if that was needed.
3) Go make yourself a nice cuppa to warm you up from the inside out. I’m not a big tea or coffee drinker usually so I’ll either have a nice mint tea or make myself a cheeky lemon and ginger tea.
4) Snuggle under a blanket to keep warm – the fluffier the blanket, the better!
5) Exercise is a great way to keep yourself warm! I’ll turn my music up and do half an hour on my exercise bike and more often than not I’ll start off wearing a jumper over a t-shirt and take it off after about five minutes as I get that warm. There are loads of exercises you can do but whatever you do, I guarantee you’ll be warm by the time you finish!
6) During the day, keep your curtains open to get in as much heat as you can but as soon as it starts to get dark then close them to keep out the cold as the temperature drops. If you can, make sure you’re curtains are lined (with a good thick fabric) to keep as much of the heat in and the cold out as possible.
7) When it’s cold outside, wander around your house and see if there are any drafts coming in from anywhere – under doors, around windows and even around your loft hatch. Do something about any drafts that you find because where the cold is coming in, the heat is also escaping which means that you’re literally pouring money down the drain. Door stoppers, window sealant and even just some duck tape around the loft hatch can help massively.
8) Have a batch cooking afternoon to keep yourself warm in the kitchen and fill your freezer with lovely homemade goodies at the same time. The warmth from the oven really will heat the kitchen and if you don’t have children or pets then you can even leave it open when you’re done for extra heat.
9) Spend more time upstairs during the Winter because heat rises so in theory, the upstairs should be warmer than downstairs so do with that information what you will. You could move your desk upstairs if you currently work downstairs, have an early night or just chill on the bed with a good book.
10) I really wasn’t going to use this one but I got to nine and couldn’t think of another one so here it is – use a hot water bottle! You can use it to snuggle up to on the settee while you’re watching TV, put your feet on it while you’re working at your desk and they’re even great to use to warm your bed up with it before you get in on a night.
11) So, I wrote the hot water bottle tip and then thought of another one! Go have a nice bath, preferably one with bubbles although that has no bearing on how warm you’ll feel after your bath – I bet you enjoy it more though!
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