Blankets, Throws, and Sweaters, Oh My!

8 Eco-friendly Ways to Stay Warm this Winter

Well, we’re in full winter swing here in Knoxville, with lows in the 20’s and 30’s commonplace at night. Here’s an easy-to-implement list of ways to keep warm this winter while helping the environment and saving you money on heating costs.

(1) Use or invest in a programmable thermostat. You can program your thermostat to your schedule and forget about remembering to adjust your thermostat. This will ensure that you’re heating your home as efficiently as possible, by only warming your house when you’re actually in your home.

(2) Use thick curtains or double up your curtains and be sure to close them when the sun goes down. This will help insulate your home from the cold and increase your heating efficiency. In the same vein, lock your windows. This ensures your windows have the strongest seal to prevent cold air from seeping in. 

(3) You can also let the sunshine in during the day to get some natural heat to decrease your overall heating needs. 

(4) Place rugs on tile or wood floors to create an extra layer between your feet and these often cold surfaces. Having warm feet helps regulate your body temperature, keeping you warmer. 

(5) On some models of ceiling fans, you can actually change their rotation to turn clockwise, which will push down the warm rising air. The heat that would normally sit on your ceiling will be pushed down to your living space again keeping you warmer and reducing your heating needs. 

(6) Prepare a hot meal and a hot drink (but skip the alcohol). Warm foods and drinks not only warm you up from the inside out but while you're cooking you’ll also warm your kitchen - warming you and reducing your heating needs. If you’re going for a hot drink, choose something like tea or hot apple cider, but skip the alcohol, as that will actually lower your body temperature. 

(7) Blankets, throws, and sweaters, oh my! And layers and slipper socks too. Try to warm yourself up, instead of your house, by using blankets when relaxing on the couch at night, and by wearing sweaters and layering up to keep you warm when a blanket isn’t practical. These will keep you warm by using your own body heat. 

(8) You can also go a little old fashioned and use a hot water bottle to snuggle up with. This will also feel great on any achy backs!