WED 1/5 QUESTION: How do you stay warm?

[❤ mollymouser ❤]

When it's cold outside, how do you stay warm inside?
Do you use a fireplace?
Cozy slippers and a steaming mug of tea?
Do you just run your heater, the heck with the cost?
Do you cover or insulate your windows?

What frugal (or not so frugal) things do you do to keep warm?

[BeenThere...DoneThat...]

...we wear layers and keep the house cooler... we use space heaters for area heating occasionally... and frequently have soups/stews/chili in the crockpot...

[texaspn]

layer, use the fireplace, cover with afghans while reading, watching tv

[NancysSummerSip]

Layers during the day, no heat at all at night (extra blankets). In south Florida, it really does not get that cold that often.

There was a story in the local paper that said exercising in the cold is beneficial...it burns more calories. Oh, cool.

[Deleted]

I'm trying to find the sweet spot on the thermostat. 22 C is too cold and 23 C is too hot. 74 & 76 F respectivly. I need a 75 option. I can not get cold. It causes me all kinds of problems.

[telephus44]

I pay good money for the heat, so I'm not afraid to use it. We try and keep it at 67, but if I'm cold, I crank it to 70. Also sweatshirts, down comforter on the bed. etc. I also find when I'm cold I will take a hot shower before bed. Not frugal, but definitely warming!

[dragonfly7]

We only have electric heat. We currently have it on 66 F at night and are bumping it down another degree every few days as we get used to it. I keep it at the same temperature during the day (unemployed and looking) and just put on extra layers, but then my husband comes home in the evening and immediately bumps it up to 72 because "it's freezing in here!" even though he's wearing two layers and thick socks. Perhaps he needs a personal space heater.

[Deleted]

I just installed a high efficiency natural gas boiler, so I use it! I have a programmable thermostat so it is set to 66 when we are home, goes down to 60 when we are at work and 63 at night. So far, I think it is going to save me a bundle from my oil oil burning boiler.

Also, just an FYI a fireplace is usually a net heat loss for a home, so they are not a very frugal way to heat a home.

[bobbysgirl]

ARCHIE: We could never figure out how to set the programable thermostats. So you are a genius!

I am so dang cold all of the time, even with layers on. I'm close to saying heck with it and using my heating oil. (not there yet though)

[rubyslippers]

We keep our gas heat at 69 degrees. Right now is the time of day when I seem to be really cold and I just put on a cardigan to keep warmer. If it's really cold, we will run our Eden-Pure to take the chill off. At night, I have the warmest pajamas and I wrap up in a double blanket when watching TV or reading. In the bedroom I run a fan 12 months of the year. I like it colder in the bedroom and I cannot go to sleep in a quiet bedroom.

[dancinmama]

No heat at night. We run it in the morning and raise the temp by a degree or two (maybe to 64 or 65) to "take the chill off". DH leaves for work and I layer up only turning on the heat if I get cold. When DH comes home, he turns on the gas fireplace (with fan that blows the heat into the room). Sometimes it gets waaay to hot in that room for me and I have to go outside to chill down. Sometimes we'll run if for 10-15 minutes right before we go to bed. But it's not like we live in the Midwest; we're in CA.

[ccfeni]

Menopause......I can melt the snow in our backyard!

[oreo]

The problem we have is our heater will heat some rooms very hot and others are still cold. My son's room gets quite warm but my room stays pretty cold. I have 5 blankets on my bed and have flannel sheets. I run the heater when it gets super cold but I keep it off most of the time. We are in CA so not a HUGE issue. It only gets down to the 40s most nights if that. Before we remodeled we didn't have a heater at all and it would get into the low 50s inside the house. That was pretty cold! Some times now it gets into the high 50s (but we have heat so it isn't so bad!)

[constanz22]

I have a space heater in the living room and one in the bedroom. The one in the living room is almost always on when I'm home. The one in my bedroom is only on at night. It is FREEZING in here tonight. It's high 20's outside. When I went to work this morning, I turned the thermostat down to 62. I rarely put it above 67-68 but this house is so cold and drafty, I have a hard time getting warm. I have layers on, slippers, and am under a fleece blanket on the sofa. I wish I could keep it a little warmer in here. I'd like it around 68 all the time, but, with the price of fuel oil, I just can't afford it.

[GRG a/k/a goldenrulegirl]

We have oil heat. We have 5 programmable thermostats in a 1800 square foot house (not including the basement). We have the one in the kitchen/family room set at 63. All the others are set at 62. I'm a SAHM, so we really can't turn it down lower during the day, so we just keep it at the set temp 24/7. We have a sealed gas fireplace in the living room with a fan that we could use but that we try not to. We wear sweatshirts, fleece, slippers, etc. around the house. There are afghans everywhere for people who are sitting. The oven in my kitchen is in the center island so it throws a lot of heat into the room when it's on. We're trying to pull the cash together within the next 6 months to buy a wood stove for the family room. The kitchen/family room is more of a great room. The family room side has 9 windows and 3 skylights (all new thermopane/insulated within the past 5 years) and a slate floor on top of a cement slab. It's pretty, but also pretty chilly. We'd use the woodstove to take the chill off and as a backup heat source if the power were to go out.

The other thing we do is to constantly remind ourselves that in 5 months or so we'll be complaining about how hot it is (no central AC).

[wackyaunt]

During the day, I bake when it gets too chilly. Usually in the mornings. One day a week, I will make the stale bread into croutons for our salads (low and slow oven). One day I make muffins for the freezer for DH's breakfast/lunch bag. One day I make granola bars. Cookies to send to DS at college another day. See you get the idea. Once the kitchen warms up a bit, just hanging in my sweats and socks and bunny slippers is sufficient for me. I try to keep moving around cleaning, mopping, dusting in the afternoons. Up and down the stairs several times to do laundry on Mondays warms me up too. If I do get a chance to actually sit a spell, it is usually with a blanket and book in the ol' la-Z-boy. If I feel really ambitious I will ride the exercise bike for an hour while watching the TV (usually Food Network--LOL!) or doing wii fit. We have a fireplace, but generally don't use it unless it is FREEEEZING...here in the midwest that means 15 F or lower....

[upstatemom]

I live in snow country, we heat with a wood insert, we also have a newer high efficiency furnace but hate the sound of it going on
We also use throw blankets in the family room, and lots of extra blankets on our beds.

The boys hang out playing video games in the unheated basement, they use blankets, wear their slippers and wear warm fleeces. If its too bad, they will have my husband light the propane heater for a short time

[bobbysgirl]

Jan 5, 2011 16:52:52 GMT -5 @ccfeni said:

Menopause......I can melt the snow in our backyard!

LOL!

[bobbysgirl]

Jan 5, 2011 20:19:47 GMT -5 upstatemom said:

I live in snow country, we heat with a wood insert, we also have a newer high efficiency furnace but hate the sound of it going on
We also use throw blankets in the family room, and lots of extra blankets on our beds.

The boys hang out playing video games in the unheated basement, they use blankets, wear their slippers and wear warm fleeces. If its too bad, they will have my husband light the propane heater for a short time

MOM: What state is upstate in. I live in upstate too, on Lake Ontario.

[Deleted]

We had record lows Sunday (-11F). Ick!

At home I have flannel sheets and two to three heavy blankets on when needed. I also wear layers and heavy socks. My roomie and I have a set bill for gas heating all year. They adjust it every so often.

At work, layers, thick socks, a space heater and luckily my job has a lot of running around so it keeps me semi warm.

[TheOtherMe]

Live in the snowy Midwest. Keep temp when I'm home at 67 and 62 at night. Also have a gas fireplace. Generally have a throw on me.

[Becks]

I'm also in the Midwest and I try my best to keep the thermostat somewhat low and just bundle up anyway possible. The thermostat is set to 67 when I get home, 62 at night, and down to 58 while I'm at work.

I also discovered the joy of the heated mattress pad! Warms the bed nicely before I crawl in, and before calling it a night I turn it to the lowest setting, or off if it's not below about 10 degrees outside. I can't stand more than 2 blankets on the bed as I feel I am being smothered, so this is perfect for me!

[Agatha]

Around here we layer up and huddle under throws to keep warm. Luckily I have gas heat and that bill only peaks in Jan and Feb. I still have plans to make the house more energy saving. We will be picking up weather stripping tomorrow and my nephew will put that up. I'd really like to price some more attic insulation while we're getting that. I bought an older home and it isn't very efficient. . .but I love it dearly. It is simply going to take time.

We do have space heaters in the bathrooms and one in the laundry room. It's going to get very, very cold next week and there isn't a vent in the LD. I'd rather face a larger heating bill then busted pipes! Been there, done that, and bought the blinking tee shirt. . .twice!

[upstatemom]

Bobbygirl, upstate NY, near Syracuse! Sounds like we are not too far from each other.

[constanz22]

Jan 6, 2011 7:20:36 GMT -5 upstatemom said:

Bobbygirl, upstate NY, near Syracuse! Sounds like we are not too far from each other.

I was also wondering if you were from upstate NY! I'm not far from you either. Although I live in PA, I'm right on the border. I work in the Binghamton area!

[wackyaunt]

"I also discovered the joy of the heated mattress pad."
The inventor of that particular wonder should recieve a Nobel Prize IMO!

[upstatemom]

Jan 6, 2011 7:32:35 GMT -5 constanz22 said:

I was also wondering if you were from upstate NY! I'm not far from you either. Although I live in PA, I'm right on the border. I work in the Binghamton area!

Yup, not too far from you either. It used to drive me crazy when long island friends refereed to everything north of NYC, as upstate., but I have mellowed as I got older. I figured others from this area would connect the upstate tag to New York State.

[rumples]

We've kept the thermostat set to 65 during the day and 57 at night for the past month or so. We've been fogged in for the past couple of days, though, and the cold just seems to creep in so I've adjusted it to 68 during the day. I have a space heater in my studio since that's where I spend most of my day and one in the family room where we all spend most of our evenings. They get used occasionally. They probably won't get used today, though, since I'm doing laundry and the dryer is in a closet off the family room. The bump up to 68 seems to be holding off the creeping chill as well. Hmmm... perhaps a batch of choco-chip cookies is in order for this evening since i won't be using the oven for dinner. I don't eat them, but it would make the munchkin happy. ;D

[sccdf]

I live in SC so it is not much of a problem. My AC bill in summer is larger than my heating bill in winter.
I do love a fire in the fireplace for effect though. Hot chocolate is fun.
P.S. I love wool sweaters.

[Deleted]

Santa brought me a Snuggie! The other evening I just chucked it on the sofa when I went to bed, and after I got home from work the next day, I grabbed it and wondered what the....? Tucker the Perfectly Good Cat was buried in it ;D