ad // If January and the colder months of the year aren’t miserable enough, we also have the dropping temperature to contend with too. Nothing that makes me more miserable than being too cold – especially on those days where it’s SO cold that you just can’t warm up for the life of you! If that sounds like you, then you might be interested in this post on how to keep your house warm this Winter!
Heating homes can cost a lot of money and cause a lot of energy. So ensuring that we can heat our homes as efficiently as possible, as well as saving a few pennies here and there and reducing our energy consumption is the ideal scenario.
But the last thing we want to do is put our health at risk; particularly if you have young, old or vulnerable people in your household where heat and temperature can play a part in their well-being.
So in this post we’re going to look at a bunch of different ways to keep your house warm this Winter. Some are easy adjustments, others are slightly bigger commitments. But they all play their part in keeping you warm this Winter!
Re-arrange the furniture
A super easy reason why a room might not be heating up to it’s full potential is simply because the furniture is re-arranged in such a way that it’s blocking heat. Fine in the Summer but if you’re finding a room is particularly chilly in the Winter months, try re-arranging the furniture and moving things like sofas out of the way of radiators to prevent them from blocking the heat.
Ensure your boiler is working efficiently
There are a ton of reasons why your boiler might not be working efficiently and that’s obviously a main cause of why your home might be too cold in the Winter months. If your boiler is over 10 years old, it might be time for a new boiler installation. Or at the very least, a maintenance check from a professional. It’s important to keep on top of your boiler throughout the year.
Use rugs
Not only do rugs look great and there are so many amazing choices of stylish rugs to metaphorically warm up a room, they can also help physically warm up a room, especially those with hard floors. They can help insulate the room and keep your feet toastier during those cold mornings where you don’t want to walk on the cold floor.
Utilize timers on your central heating
When and how you heat your house can play quite a significant part in how warm your home is AND how much it costs. It’s actually more efficient to time your heating to come on at a LOWER temperature, 30 minutes before you get up in the morning, than whacking it on high whenever you need to.
Invest in a fireplace plug
Fireplace plugs are an effective but inexpensive way to help block out what could be one of the biggest drafts in your home. Also called flute blockers or chimney pillows, they prevent air escaping (or entering) through the chimney which prevents energy and heat loss. You can find an affordable fireplace plug here.
Open the blinds and curtains on sunny days
There’s that giant ball of fire floating in the sky that gives us free heat and energy every single day. It’s definitely worth utilizing that – even in the Winter! On beautiful, bright, sunny Winter days, open all the blinds and curtains in your house and allow the sun to work it’s magic and give you home that little bit of extra heat!
Shut windows and doors
And following on from that, when the sun starts to set, that’s a good time to shut your windows in your house. It sounds obvious but so much heat escapes through open windows – even those that are just open a crack. Shutting doors throughout your house to keep heat in specific rooms is a good idea too.
Use draft excluders
Similarly to the fireplace plugs, additional draft excluders can be a great way to ensure heat stays in a room – and no outside draft is getting in in the depths of Winter. You can get draft excluders for windows and doors and in a whole range of shapes, styles and designs. You can even get super cute ones, like this dog draft excluder!
Use shower steam
A bit of a nuanced tip here but one that can be effective – depending on the layout of your house – and that’s to leave the bathroom door open when you shower. Shower steam can then travel through the house or at least through into the room your bathroom is connected too and can quite efficiently heat it up.
Stock up on blankets and throws
And finally, something that will appeal to the interior lovers here as well, a super easy way to stay warmer and cozier in the Winter months is to stock up on those beautiful blankets and throws. Scatter them around your home; in the bedrooms and the living room and leave them around so people can use them as they please.
How do you keep your home warm in the Winter? Do you have any tips to add to this post? Let me know!
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Fantastic advice Jenny! One thing I found strange but helpful was closing curtains in the evenings, especially if you’re in a room where you have an open fire going. It’s odd but our living room is colder, even with the fire lit, when our curtains are open. So we pull them across as soon as the fire goes on to keep the heat in.
Lovely tips in keeping your house warm during the winter, I love lots of pillows and staying under the blanket to keep wam
Can’t go wrong with a ton of blankets!
Some really great out of the box ideas here Jenny. I didn’t realise there was such a thing as a fireplace plug! People laugh at me when I say I still get cold here in Dubai haha. I have a blanket on my couch that I use all the time to keep cosy and warm 🙂
Oh no I can definitely imagine so!
It can get really cold in our place in winter. The temperature can drop to -10 grrr. And its been a struggle to keep our home warm. Thank you for these tips
Crikey! That’s VERY cold!
Some amazing tips for keeping your house warm during the Winter months, draft excluders are so good at keeping the warm in the room you’re in x
Lucy | http://www.lucymary.co.uk
They really are and you can get such cute ones!
We are having a very cold winter…this is a great post to read! I do so love to have lots of cozy throws to keep warm with. Also, a great pair of slippers is a nice touch! 🙂
Can’t beat a nice pair of slippers!
Defiantly needed this post as it is SO cold at the moment. The cold goes right through to my bones, I hate it! I need to get myself a draft excluder for sure. Thank you so much for sharing this with us lovely, it’s really helpful Xo
Elle – ellegracedeveson.com
Hate it when you feel so cold it’s like your bones hurt! Get yourself some draft excluders for sure! Xx
These are all great tips Jenny! Checking areas around doors and windows that may need to have additional weather stripping in order to keep out drafts is another one! Thanks for sharing.
Yes great point!
I think it’s good to arrange the furniture based on the season. its great idea. Thank you for sharing these awesome ideas!
Can be really helpful in the Winter for sure x
I never thought about the shower tip. I guess also you can help add some moisture to the air as well that way instead of having the fan draw it all outside.
Oh for sure! It definitely helps with the dry winter air x
I enjoy cuddling up with some blankets for sure and fluffy socks
Can’t beat a nice pair of fluffy socks!
My uncle likes to keep the house at 63 degrees in winter 🙃. He doesn’t use the heater unless the house drops below 63. But I sleep with 2 blankets every night and where long sleeve everything so it’s okay! Whenever I finally move out to my own place, I’ll utilize these tips for sure.
Eeek! Long sleeves ALL the time I think haha!
It’s always nice to read about self-care tips during winter even tho Malaysia doesn’t have this season. Thank you for sharing.
Oh of course! I couldn’t imagine a whole year without winter x
this is so true.
I’ll also add to check the rubber seal around windows and doors. Especially in older houses they can get worn, and don’t seal the window/door tight.
I had a kitchen door that was so drafty, but a bit of new rubber seal and the kitchen was suddenly much easier to heat.
Great tip, thanks for sharing!
The furniture tip is such an obvious one yet I don’t think about it! It actually makes a ton of difference. Great tips, Jenny!
Haha I know right!
Great tips! Our house is a new build home but it gets quite cold, you can really feel it around the windows. Our radiators in some of the rooms aren’t that big and they don’t heat it enough.
Corinne x
That’s a shame, hope you can utilise some of these to help🤞🏻
Great tips! It has been a mild winter in the east of England. I miss being cozy after coming in from snow.
Yeah I’m in London and it’s certainly not been that cold but there have been the odd days! Id love a bit of snow!