5 budget-friendly ways to warm up your home this winter

Winter brings with it all sorts of added expenses (we’re dreading that electricity bill already).

The good news is that there are a bunch of budget-friendly ways to warm up your home in winter – and they’re really easy, too!

Wrap it up

There’s nothing like a hot shower to warm you up, but the cost of heating it – together with the water it wastes – is a huge problem.

Rather than adjusting the thermostat, give your geyser a blanket of its own so that it keeps in the residual heat, so you can have a quick hot shower in no time. Taking it one step further and insulating your pipes will make sure you spend even less on keeping water hot.

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Insulate

The truth of the matter is that South African homes are poorly insulated, which really does us no favours over the winter months.

Because hot air rises, all the hard work your heaters and fire places are putting in simply escapes through the ceiling (what a waste of money, right?!), but insulating your ceiling is really affordable, and the difference it makes in warming your space is all the justification you need.

Bring in the rugs

If your floors aren’t carpeted, your home is going to be that much colder, with the added bonus of tiles being that they absorb the cold air and release it into your home.

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A few pretty rugs will make a huge difference in warming it up, while giving your home a fabulous facelift!

Open that oven

Kitchens tend to be one of the most freezing spaces in most homes, but a really clever idea to change this is to leave your oven door open after you’ve turned it off when you’re finished cooking.

You’ll be surprised how much hot air radiates out of there, and you won’t use any extra heat (or money). Just be sure to keep an eye on the kids when you do this.

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Seal up the doors

You would be surprised by how much cold air blows in under our doors, but thankfully this is easily fixable. Make a point of placing a rolled-up towel at the bottom of all your doors to close up the gaps and let the coziness sink in.

If you live in an older house, you might have the same problems with gaps between your windows and window frames. Look out for furry adhesive strips that you can use to make sure your windows close properly, and don’t let any warm air out.

Brought to you by All4Women

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