10 Ways to Keep Your Home Warm This Winter

It’s getting cold outside and when it does, we want our homes to be toasty warm. Some of us for sure want to travel to warm destinations, like Thailand, and stay in some lovely house on white sand beach.  But we don’t want to touch the thermostat.  We all know the usual practices of bundling up and lighting a fire, but there are a few tricks you might be missing.

Set ceiling fans to turn clockwise.

You may not know it but your ceiling fan should be changed when cold weather approaches. Most fans have a simple switch by the motor that switches the direction that the blades spin.  By adjusting your fan to spin clockwise in the winter at a low speed, you push the warm air that rises to the ceiling back down into the room.

Close off unused rooms.

Keeping the doors closed to areas that you’re not using will help contain the heat you have in the areas where you want it.  Keep doors to closets, laundry room, and any other seldom used rooms closed.   Close the heat vents in those rooms too, this will redirect the heat to where you need it most.

Keep doors closed.

If you spend most of your time in just one or two rooms of the house, keep those doors closed to hold the heat within the room.

Open curtains.

Keep your curtains open during the day to let the sunlight in and naturally warm your home.  Be sure to close them after dark, they will help to stop any drafts you may have coming in from your windows.

Change your sheets.

Cotton sheets are wonderful in the summer, keeping you nice and cool, but you’ll want something warmer during cold weather season. Switch your cotton sheets to flannel or jersey knit to keep you warm and add a down comforter or a heated blanket to the top of your bed for extra warmth.  

When you’ve finished cooking, leave the oven door open.

Once you’re done using the oven, turn it off and open the door. All that toasty warm air will heat your kitchen in no time. 

Keep cold air from seeping under the door with a draft stopper.

Close the gap between your door and the floor with an insulating draft stopper to prevent cold air from coming in. You can make one yourself by filling socks with dry beans (for weight) and polyester fiberfill from an old pillow (for insulation).  Fill a few socks and sew them together, end-to-end, to make a long draft stopper the length of your door.

Leave the door open when you shower.

Leaving the bathroom door open while you take shower lets all the warm, steamy air out into the rest of your house.

Weather-strip doors.

Unsealed doors let cold air in, and allow the heat to escape. Add weather-stripping around your doors to stop this from happening and cut down on drafts.

Caulk windows.

Your windows can also allow cold drafts in and warm air out, making it harder to keep your house warm. Caulk your windows to make sure any unwanted cold air stays out.

A few simple steps taken now will keep your home cozy and warm all winter while saving energy and keeping your heating costs down.