With Winter Finally Upon Us, it is Time to Hang the Blankets

United States
January 4, 2016 5:40pm CST
Earlier this fall I placed plastic up to all but one window in our home. It does help to keep the cold air out. Because we have had an unusually warm start to our winter I was able to open that one window that I didn't treat. It was nice to open it when we were having such nice weather. We hit 70 degrees on Christmas Eve and it was in the 60's on Christmas day. Tonight it will be in the single digits. Our entry doors are quite drafty despite the fact that there is weatherstripping around them. So, to help keep out the cold I hang heavy blankets over the doors. It looks like something out of the pioneer days when people hung blankets and quilts over the windows to keep the cold air out. What efforts do you take to weatherize your home against the cold?
11 people like this
11 responses
@jaboUK (64363)
• United Kingdom
5 Jan 16
All our windows are double glazed, and we have central heating so we're snug.
3 people like this
• United States
5 Jan 16
Our furnace has been running quite a bit to battle the cold. Every time it comes on I cringe.
1 person likes this
• United States
5 Jan 16
@jaboUK So true. But, to have it come on so much means that we are burning a lot of fuel. That puts a deep dent in the pocketbook.
2 people like this
@jaboUK (64363)
• United Kingdom
5 Jan 16
@ElusiveButterfly You cringe? Because of the cost? Surely you'd cringe more if it didn't come on and you were freezing?
1 person likes this
• United States
4 Jan 16
Hi Elusive. That is what I used to do in nearly all the places we lived. Fortunately I live 3 floors up so all the heat comes up here if we need it on. The windows and doors are sealed tight they way any place should be. So no need to weatherize for once. There was always drafts and leaking roofs and mold in our previous places. Hope you stay nice and warm this winter.
2 people like this
• United States
5 Jan 16
I am so glad that you have a decent place to call home. We have lived here for 5 1/2 years and it is getting old fast. I am tired of having to go to such extremes to keep the cold out and the cost of heating down.
1 person likes this
• United States
5 Jan 16
@TiarasOceanView You are so right there OT. Because of my recent health problem and surgery, I was out of work for 6 weeks. It was a burden for us to not have 2 incomes. My landlord was understanding though and for that I am grateful.
1 person likes this
• United States
5 Jan 16
@ElusiveButterfly Yes it is really terrible. I guess your landlord is like all the others I had..not interested in doing anything at all. I hope that one day soon you get another better place. It took me many many years to finally get this place Elusive and yes I feel blessed believe me. It is one less worry. Tho I never take it for granted as tomorrow is never promised.
1 person likes this
@mommaj (23155)
• United States
5 Jan 16
Ooohhh. I remember doing that when I lived up north. I hated cold weather. I put up plastic so the wind couldn't blow through and then I would put up heavy blankets on the doors and even doorways into different rooms. I would shut them off because they would get so cold.
1 person likes this
• United States
5 Jan 16
We have 2 spare rooms that we cover the heating vents and keep the doors closed. It saves quite a bit. But, living in an older trailer it gets quite drafty.
1 person likes this
@mommaj (23155)
• United States
5 Jan 16
@ElusiveButterfly I shiver remembering those days, or it might be the cold air passing through my back door as my folks keep going in and out on my porch.
1 person likes this
• United States
7 Jan 16
@mommaj Brrrrr. I get a chill just thinking about it.
1 person likes this
@GreatMartin (23678)
• Ft. Lauderdale, Florida
5 Jan 16
We are having a 'cold wave' in South Florida now--suppose to go down to the low 60s by morning--what do I do? Nothing--oh I may put on a bathrobe while at the computer but that's about it! (We will be back in the 80s by Thursday!)
2 people like this
• United States
5 Jan 16
I would rather have that kind of cold wave! I am wrapped in a blanket right now!
@Jessicalynnt (50525)
• Centralia, Missouri
5 Jan 16
We um, dont have that as a concern. Although we do keep our windows quite covered, with multiple layers of curtains due to summer heat
1 person likes this
• United States
5 Jan 16
When it is hot in the summer months I close the curtains to keep out the sun. The larger window in the living room will draw a lot of heat into the house making the ac work a little harder to keep it cooler inside.
1 person likes this
• United States
6 Jan 16
@Jessicalynnt you are fortunate. I live in the northeast and you never know what to expect. This winter was nice and warm for a while.
1 person likes this
• Centralia, Missouri
6 Jan 16
@ElusiveButterfly yeah, windows and any openings are bad for summers, winters we honestly dont do much, but our winters in east Texas are NOT that cold.
1 person likes this
@just4him (303377)
• Green Bay, Wisconsin
6 Jan 16
I haven't done anything yet, but will. I'll be getting the window plastic the next time I go to the store.
1 person likes this
• United States
6 Jan 16
I always wait for it to go on clearance and purchase enough to do the windows. Saves me a lot of money.
1 person likes this
• United States
6 Jan 16
@just4him It is here too. Just when I think I've got it all covered, I feel a draft coming from somewhere else.
1 person likes this
@just4him (303377)
• Green Bay, Wisconsin
6 Jan 16
@ElusiveButterfly I really need to get it. The house is so drafty.
1 person likes this
@peavey (16936)
• United States
5 Jan 16
I don't worry too much about it now, but where we lived before this, I hung a blanket in the doorway to the upstairs, which was unheated except for some vents. We heated with wood and later, coal, so we had to use electric heaters in the bathroom to keep the pipes from freezing when it got really cold. Other than that, I poked cloth into the window frames to keep them from leaking cold air and kept curtains closed as much as possible, although I hate a dark house.
1 person likes this
@peavey (16936)
• United States
6 Jan 16
@ElusiveButterfly If it's really cold, there are some windows I will keep covered, like in the bedrooms and other rooms not used much. Every little bit helps.
1 person likes this
• United States
5 Jan 16
I am not a fan of a dark house either. I prefer to let the sunshine in. However, when the temperatures dip way low I keep the cold out at night by closing the curtains. I will open them in the morning before I head to work.
1 person likes this
• United States
6 Jan 16
@peavey It does indeed. I have even hung blankets in the windows when the temperatures dipped into the single digits or below.
1 person likes this
@marlina (154183)
• Canada
7 Jan 16
WE just turn up the heat.
1 person likes this
• United States
7 Jan 16
Wish I could afford to do that! Even with the cost of fuel down this year, it is still costly to heat a home.
@amadeo (111956)
• United States
4 Jan 16
We have been buckle down for sometime.We are ready to take on the element.
1 person likes this
• United States
4 Jan 16
I have to get that lone window covered with plastic, and the living room door needs a blanket.
@Missmwngi (12927)
• Nairobi, Kenya
4 Jan 16
We don't have that extreem cold here so no measures needed
1 person likes this
@RonElFran (1214)
• Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania
5 Jan 16
We don't put plastic up at the windows, but we do in the doorway between the kitchen and a room we don't heat during the winter. Makes a big difference.
1 person likes this
• United States
5 Jan 16
I have done that in the past as well. Keeps the cost of heating down.