Winter is officially here. That means it's time to save up some extra dollars to pay those sky-high heating bills in the coming months, and to bundle up in layers upon layers of warm clothing.
It really makes you wonder how folks used to keep warm and cozy before things like central heating were invented. I love winter, but only because I know I can come home and snuggle up in a warm bed, covered in tons and tons of blankets. I'm not sure how I would fare if it weren't for modern warming technologies.
Yet, people made it through winters for years upon years before there was central heat. Our own grandparents even had to find savvy ways to keep warm without running the radiator at full blast or making their way through the entire stash of wood in just a few weeks.
These 10 ways that Grandma used to keep the family warm on chilly days are all still applicable today, and I think that we can all learn a little something from our elders.
Please SHARE with your family and friends on Facebook!
Thumbnail sources: Flickr 1, 2
1. Doing Some Extra Baking
We all know that using the oven will add a little bit of extra heat to the home. After baking up a meal or some goodies, Grandma would have left the oven door open to let the residual heat warm up the room on a cold day.
2. Insulating The Outside Of The House
Insulation isn't just for the inside of the house. Grandma and Grandpa would use bags of leaves, bales of hay, or even snow to line the foundation of the house from the outside to keep the cold from getting in. This is one that folks seem to have completely forgotten about today.
3. Covering Up The Walls
Hanging quilts or blankets over the walls of your home that border the exterior will help keep what heat you already have inside of the home. The look of fabric on the wall also makes the room feel cozier, too.
4. Blanketing The Windows
Windows are one of the places where heat escapes the fastest from the house. If Grandma covered them with heavy blankets or quilts, then that would keep a little more of the cold out. Plus, if the walls were covered in blankets too, then the house would basically be a glorified blanket fort, which sounds pretty darn cozy.
5. Harvesting The Sun
If it's a bright and sunny day, pull those curtains to the side of the window and let the sunshine pour into the house. The heat from the sun can do wonders to a chilly winter room, just take it from the cat basking in that patch of sunshine.
6. Sealing Off Unused Rooms
The bigger a home is, the more it takes to heat. Grandma would block off the doors to unused rooms like spare bedrooms or utility rooms so that the heat stayed in the main rooms of the house.
7. Stuffing Hosiery Underneath Doors
Anything that could stop the drafts from moving under the doors, like hosiery stuffed with newspapers, scraps of fabric, or rags would be placed underneath to keep the warm air in and the cold air out. Today you can buy expensive versions of these online, but Grandma made them first.
8. Keeping A Pot Of Potpourri On The Stove
Keeping the house humidified helps keep you warm while also getting rid of that dry, skin-cracking air. Before commercial humidifiers came around, grandma would put a cast iron pot on the stove with some potpourri or citrus peels.
9. Throwing Dozens Of Carpets Down
Rooms that don't need carpets in the summertime, like the kitchen, could benefit from a carpet or two in the winter. Loads of heat is lost through floors, and if Grandma was savvy, she'd lay down an extra few carpets around the house.
10. Making Use Of The Canopy Bed
Canopy beds aren't just for show, they actually serve a purpose. Humans produce a lot of heat when they sleep and the canopy keeps it in. That kind of creepy canopy bed at Grandma's house isn't just to make it look like you're in a room from a Victorian novel, but to keep whoever sleeps in it nice and toasty.
Did you know any of these ways to keep warm from your own grandma? Please SHARE with family and friends just in time for the height of winter!
