How to Stay Warm in a Cozy Home
You do not have to pay crazy electricity bills each end month.
Here is how.
How to Keep My House Warm Naturally and Without Using Electricity
If your power goes out, you may worry about staying warm without your usual heating methods – particularly in the middle of winter. Here are some options that don’t need electricity to work.
1] Block Up Cracks and Crevices
While you might not notice it when your house is heated, small cracks and crevices around windows and doors can let in more cold air than you think.
Use towels or any other thick material to block drafts and secure them with tape. Granted, this doesn’t look great, but it’s certainly worth doing if you want to stay warm!
2] Wear Plenty of Layers
When the temperature in your house drops, you can keep yourself warm by wearing more clothes. But, don’t just grab your jumper or coat – it’s all about insulating layers to keep you warm.
Layer a vest, short sleeve top, long sleeve top, sweater, and then your coat (or even dressing gown if you want to be extra cozy).
Wearing thick socks or slippers helps keep your feet warm thus making your whole body feel warmer. For an extra cozy feel, slip on a pair of ultra-warm wool stocks. Or keep a pair of slippers or shoes to wear around the house, especially if you tend to have cold floors.
Hats and gloves can also help ward off the cold if temperatures are particularly low. You should also stay indoors and avoid opening your house up and letting cold air get inside.
3] Use the Oven and Stove for Cooking
The oven and stove both generate heat in your kitchen. This is why it’s recommended to make no-cook and no-bake meals during the warmer months.
But in the colder months, the opposite advice applies: Use the stove and oven often to add heat to your home.
4] Leave the Oven Open After Baking
Every time you use your oven during the colder months, leave it open after you’re done baking. This will allow the hot air to escape and add heat to the room.
However, be cautious about doing this if you have children or pets; make sure they can’t reach the hot oven door or inside the oven. And never use the oven as a primary source of heat, especially if your appliance uses natural gas. Burning natural gas for long periods can increase carbon monoxide levels in your home.
5] Cover Floors With Rugs
An area rug does more than keep your feet from touching a chilly floor. It acts as an insulating layer against the cold. If you’re thinking about adding a rug to a room, consider these features:
Depth: In most cases, the thicker the rug, the more protection it offers against the cold.
Density: A rug with a high stitch count leaves little space between loops of yarn, so it’s a good insulator. Avoid loosely woven rugs, which let cold air circulate easily.
Fiber: For insulation, your best bet is wool. It’s also comfy and sturdy. Wool rugs can also be pricey and tricky to clean. More affordable — and scrubbable — options include cotton, acrylic, and nylon. These materials wear out faster, so rugs must be replaced more often.
Size: This one is simple. The bigger the rug, the more protection it offers against a cold floor. There’s no law that says you can have only one rug per room. If a single rug doesn’t cut it, multiple rugs cover a lot of floor space.
6] Use Candles (Safely)
Many people use candles as decorative light rather than heat sources, but they actually give off a lot of warmth. Place several candles together on a table for a neutral heat source.
Always be safe when using candles, and never place them near flammable materials or somewhere they could easily fall over. Make sure all candles are put out before you go to bed.
7] Have Blinds Open During the Day and Shut at Night
Use the blinds and/or curtains you already have to your benefit. When the power is out, ensure windows are uncovered during the day to get as much warmth from daylight as possible. At night, close the blinds to trap warm air inside and stop any drafts from getting in. Use insulated curtains, or add thermal liners to the curtains you already have. When shut, they’ll prevent heat loss.
8] Keep Yourself and Pets Warm with Blankets
As well as wearing layers of clothing, use extra blankets to keep your body temperature up in the evenings and at night. Don’t forget that any four-legged friends will also need to be kept warm without electricity, so offer them an extra blanket or two.
9] Use a Humidifier
Humid air generally feels quite a bit warmer than dry air. And running the heat in the colder months can strip your indoor air of its humidity. To balance this, consider using a humidifier. Look for the models that allow you to choose between warm and cold air; they typically cost more but are well worth it for the heating ability.
10] Grab Your Sleeping Bags
Because sleeping bags are designed for outdoor use, they offer more insulation and warmth than standard blankets. If you have them, consider using them at night during a power outage.
11] Use Microwaveable Heating Pads
Heating pads are fairly inexpensive, and they can make a huge difference when you’re cold. Use a heating pad on your hands and feet when you’re sitting or lying down to feel considerably warmer overall. You can even make a basic heating pad yourself by sewing dried beans inside a piece of 100 percent cotton fabric, which you then can microwave in 30-second increments until it’s at your desired temperature.
12] Do Something Active
Movement naturally generates body heat. And there are many ways to get your body temperature up by being active. For instance, you could clean the house, tackle a home repair, or play a game. Consider setting a timer as a reminder to get up and move every so often, so your body doesn’t become so cold and stiff that you don’t feel like being active.
Everyone knows that exercise raises your body temperature quickly and efficiently. Just 5 minutes of running on the sport or jumping jacks will have you feeling warmer instantly. If you have children, play energetic games to keep everybody warm.
13] Consume Warm Drinks
Tea, coffee, hot chocolate, and bowls of soup are all delicious ways to keep your body warm. With no power, you’ll have to use a camping stove or candle to heat your drinks. Try to have a hot drink every hour or two to feel the real benefits.
Skip the alcohol: you’ll feel warm at first as blood rushes to the surface of your skin — which is why your cheeks look so rosy after a few sips — but when the alcohol prevents your blood vessels from constricting you’ll quickly begin losing body heat
14] Consume More Carbohydrates
Carb lovers, rejoice! Winter gives you a reason to eat your favorite foods. Since our bodies convert carbs to energy more rapidly than we convert protein, a regular dose of carbs can help you keep warm. Just do your body a favor and choose complex carbs or you’ll get a whole blood sugar crash that often leaves a person feeling cold and shaky… and sends them back to eat more bad carbs in the hope of warming up again.
15] Put Up a Tent Indoors
If you’ve ever been on a camping trip, you’ll know how quickly tents get warm. If you’re really struggling with the cold in your home, consider pitching your tent in the lounge! It’s a quick and easy way to trap body sheep and provides you with a warm, cozy environment.
16] Use Water Bottles
If you can heat water on a gas camping stove or candle, put it in a water bottle for a heat source that will last a few hours. You can do the same with bags of beans. Put one by the fire and then use it to snuggle up with. Hot water bottles can be great for keeping you warm, whether it’s by warming up your bed in the winter, keeping you snug on the sofa while binge-watching a series, or on a camping holiday in the summer.
17] Sit In Your Car
If you’ve tried to keep yourself warm inside the house but are still feeling too chilly, try sitting in your car while idling it in your drive.
It’s extremely important that you don’t do this in your garage, as you could get a build-up of the highly toxic gas carbon monoxide.
18] Fire Up Your Grill or Fire Pit
If you do need to go outdoors, use your grill or fire pit to keep you warm. Never take a grill or fire pit indoors, as this poses a serious fire risk and builds up carbon monoxide.
19] Get Solar Heaters
Be prepared for the power going out by having solar heaters for your home. These useful devices use the sun to heat your house.
While they’re quite expensive to heat a whole house, you could invest in a single panel and use it to heat one room if you live in an area frequently affected by power outages.
20] Get a Backup Generator
Like the above, this probably won’t help you if you’re in the midst of a power outage already. However, it’s worth being prepared if it happens again, and investing in a backup generator will enable you to have some power in your house should the electricity go out.
How To Keep Warm In Bed
When you are going to bed and it is chilly outside, you need to keep warm.
Here are 8 ways to keep warm.
1] Get Your Room Temperature Right
Let’s get the most important tip out the way first! The way to a good night’s sleep starts with the room temperature.
Our body shivers when we are too cold to try and heat us up and sweats to cool us down. So, if you’re going into a bedroom that is too hot or too cold and you’re trying to sleep your body is still going to be working to get you to the right temperature.
The smart thing about our body is that it’s aware when we settle down to go to sleep. So much so that our body temperature naturally decreases to initiate the sleep cycle. So, if you’re going to sleep in a room that is too cold or too warm, you’re more than likely going to be too restless to get some sleep.
Sources on the internet say the perfect bedroom temperature is between 15 and 19 degrees Celsius.
2] Get Cosy in Extra Layers
Have you got the right room temperature, but you’re still too chilly? Maybe your duvet isn’t thick enough.
You could always look into getting a new duvet with a higher tog rating. Considering looking into a Tog value of 10.5 – this value is perfect for Spring and Autumn weather. If you want to look into a winter duvet then 13.5 or 15 is a good recommendation.
However, if you are not looking to be splashing your cash unnecessarily, try going for a Spring duvet and if you’re still too cold then take some extra layers up to bed with you. That way you can take them off at night if you get too hot. A much better alternative to having a duvet that is much too warm for you.
3] Warm PJs
Maybe you’re the silk type of person or you like to wear your cotton, it’s important to feel comfortable at night. The fabric of your pajamas’ is an important factor!
For pajamas’ where you won’t overheat at the night, silk is the best choice. This special material allows you to stay warm or cool in the winter and summer and make for a comfortable night’s sleep. Cotton is also a good choice as it’s soft to the touch and great breathable material, but as it’s a thin material you may need to take an extra layer to be with you.
A great suggestion is trying and steering away from fabrics such as wool or fleece. Yes, they will keep you warm, but this type of material tends to keep the warmth in and have you waking up with the sweats at stupid o’clock.
4] Take A Bath
Did you know that taking a bath can help you get to sleep faster?
You may be thinking this has nothing to do with keeping warm in bed. Well… bathing actually helps regulate our body temperature which is important for getting a good night’s rest. There’s a hormone called melatonin – the sleep hormone – that gets woken up which actually helps you sleep.
It’s best to bathe about 90 minutes before bed for the best benefits. That way when you get into bed, your body temperature will be just right and you will be sleepy!
5] Enjoy The Luxury of an Adjustable Bed
Did you know that your body’s position at night could be a reason why you may not be able to stay warm?
Adjustable beds are typically used to suit a specific need of the user. There are various benefits to an adjustable bed, such as temporarily relieving pain in the joints and ligaments, alleviating back pain, helping reduce swelling, and many more.
The electronically controlled bed allows you to find a position that best suits you for the night. Putting yourself in a comfortable position with great support improves blood circulation which also helps to regulate your body temperature. Thus, in turn, your body will stay at a neutral temperature throughout the night – no underheating or overheating!
6] Wear Bed socks
Ever been told, that if your feet are warm your body will be warm too?
Our feet are the temperature sensors of the human body, so if our feet are warm then yes, our body will start warming up too. Warm feet help to regulate your core temperature, so, if you are struggling to stay warm in bed then wearing socks could be the solution for you.
Sometimes the type of sock you wear may make your body overheat at night, so choosing the right pair is important. As nice as thick warm socks are, we suggest for bed you wear a pair of lightweight socks to prevent overheating. That way you can get a good night’s sleep.
7] Dig Out Your Hot water bottle
Temporary yet amazing! Taking a hot water bottle to bed is a brilliant way of making sure you can stay nice and toasty at night.
You can either put it near your stomach, back, or feet to feel the effects. The heat coming from it will keep you warm and make you sleepy too. It’s important to not put it directly on the skin though as this can result in burns, so try and keep it a few inches away from you or wear a thick layer.
If you’re worried about falling asleep with a hot water bottle next to you, there is nothing to worry about as it does actually cool down throughout the night. So, by the time you wake up, it will be cool.
8] Enjoy A Hot Drink
Yes, hot drinks before bed will not keep you warm for the night. Science says that it actually has the opposite effect and cools your body temperature down slightly! Who’s to say the placebo effect isn’t good enough though?
Okay, time for the good news. Hot drinks do temporarily create a warm feeling for us, it just doesn’t keep us warm. This in itself can actually make us feel sleepy which is perfect timing just before bed.
There are many different hot drinks that can help us get to sleep too. If you’re into your teas then you will be happy to hear that herbal teas such as, Green Tea, Chamomile, Valerian, Lavender, and many more all have natural ingredients that help us relax and get to sleep better.