It’s no secret that I’ve done my fair share of complaining about the house this year. I don’t mean it of course. I’m loving all the change. But there have been a few difficulties along the way with one of them being the cold. In fairness, it’s no-one near as bad as it once was. When we bought the house there was no heating whatsoever, and our first task was installing central heating. But lately, building in the winter months has meant that we have at times been freezing in our own home – so much so that I’d come in straight from work, bypass the entire of downstairs and just crawl into the only place I know that I’d get some guaranteed warmth – under the duvet.
However, we’ve made certain changes to try and make the most out of it, and I think a lot of these will apply even to those who haven’t gone completely mad and knocked a hole in your house at the coldest point of the year!
Shut the doors
It sounds obvious, but we normally keep doors open as a habit of being social, so we can still chatter away to each other and catch-up on our day, even if we’re keeping busy in separate rooms. Because our doors are the originals from when the house was built, they’re super-duper at keeping in the warmth. Need to get into a better habit of shutting them.
Turn off the radiators
Again obvious, but it’s easy to forget about some of them – particularly in rooms you don’t use as much. Don’t waste your money on empty rooms when you can save money by just heating where you need. This goes hand in hand with closing the doors. I found out that Joe had turned the radiators on full in our third bedroom (currently used solely for storage) and in the kitchen – the room that had a gaping hole in it!!! We were heating the street. I could have killed him…
Wrap up
Yes, most people will tell you to pop a jumper on when you’re cold but how about keeping some fleeces or a throw in your lounge? We have the standard Ikea fleece blankets in every colour going. They’re about £2 each so a bargain if I ever did see one and they’re super warm so you could save on that heating bill after all. Failing that, there is always a onesie. I’m loving my dinosaur one at the moment. Just when you thought I couldn’t get any cooler…
Curtains
Not all that long ago we were living in a fishbowl. Both ends of our lounge are made up of large windows, only one of which is double glazed (if you’ve seen my latest construction update, you’ll notice one has gone completely!). Not only was it awkward knowing people could see in from the street, but it was bloody freezing. After installing blinds at the front and curtains at the back, not only did it look heaps better, but it also became the warmest room in the house.
Double Glazing
We are yet to introduce double glazing to the entire house sadly, but it’s on the to-do list. We’ve had enquiries and read up on what difference it can make to your home but I never really felt the difference quite so much until this past month. We’ve had new external doors installed to the kitchen, and had our bathroom window double glazed at the same time. Bear in mind that this time last month I was wearing a coat to enter the kitchen and our tiled bathroom floor was frozen, the new addition has made the world of difference.
This post was in collaboration with UK Trade Supplies. You can read my full disclaimer here.
