13 December 2007 189 views One Comment Print This Post  Email This Post

It’s turned cold here and I’ve been trying to keep warm. But I’m reluctant to turn up the heat, at least as far as I think is comfortable. So I’ve been trying to think of ways to beat the cold without paying a big bill for running the furnace.

1. Put on a sweater. Dear lord, I think I’m turning into my mother. Every time I get just a little cold, I put on a sweater or socks or an entire blanket. My mother tried to teach me this habit when I still lived in her house, but it took paying my own bills to make it stick.
2. Bake cookies or do laundry. Running either of your big heat-producing appliances can help heat your place, and it’s not an added expense if you were planning on washing some clothes of making dinner.
3. Use a space heater. If you’re only going to be in one room, it’ll be much cheaper to heat just that room, rather than heating your whole house, all day, every day. This is not a full time solution, though — space heaters can work out to be more expensive than running the furnace. You’ll have to work out the math for your own home.
4. Block drafts. A rolled up towel shoved in a windowsill can do wonders for a poorly fitting window. While it’s preferable to improve those windows, it’s often not an option.
5. Stay active. This is a great time to finish that massive cleaning project you had in mind. If you’re up and cleaning, you aren’t sitting still and getting cold. There are plenty of other ways to keep moving, as well.
6. Go somewhere else. There are plenty of places to hang out where it’s free to loiter and someone else is paying the heating bill. The library is a great option, as is your parents’ place.
7. Build a fire. I strongly recommend against this option if you do not have a fireplace, but otherwise it can be a great heating option. Costs can vary — growing up, we’d cut down a tree on my grandfather’s land and let it dry, but now I either have to wait for someone to give away wood worth burning or shell out some cash.
8. Take a nap. When you’re under a pile of covers, fast asleep, you don’t notice the cold nearly as much. Some people even prefer to be a little chilled to get to sleep, though, personally, I prefer to make a comforter and a couple of afghans into a cocoon.

Thumbnail image by Jaxxon