Help to keep out the cold

**Patty A** · 11-22-2008, 09:55 AM

I have been reading up on the use of cardboard shutters for the inside of your windows to help insulate against the cold weather. They say to cut the cardboard to a tight fit and cover it with tin foil. I was wondering if anyone had tried this, and if it does help?
On my windows that only have curtains and no blinds I can feel the cold radiating from them at night. I can't afford insulated curtains, but want something that will help stop the cold coming in the. I do have double pane windows, they were new only two years ago, so they aren't drafty, but I can feel a totally different temp around them, like the cool coming right off the glass.

Just wondered if anyone had tried the cardboard?
Thanks

**nvmommyx6** · 11-22-2008, 10:00 AM

We've used cardboard the first few years we were here and it worked well....I prefer the plastic wrap you get that tapes on with the double sided tape and then you use a hair dryer on it to shrink it tight because of the light from the windows you dont get when you use the cardboard.
That plastic shrink wrap stuff can be fairly cheap to get at walmart also. And, our electric bill went up because of having to use the lights all the time with the cardboard in the winter!
Good luck
Mommy

**nuisance26** · 11-22-2008, 10:46 AM

~Before I started making window quilts, I hung up our extra fleece and wool blankets in the windows. I tried the plastic on the windows but it makes me too nervous now that we have small children(suffocation hazard). Plus I was having to go around the house re-taping the plastic because they'd tamper with them. You can get children's blankets very cheaply at thrift stores. They're just the right size for standard windows. My Goodwill sells them for $1-3 each. Or you can cut up a larger blanket. I just bought a quilted king sized quilted bedspread for $3 and cut it up to 3 window quilts. I hemmed them and added a casing at the top to insert a tension rod(about $4 each at Walmart). But you don't have to bother really. You can just cut pieces to fit your windows and safety pin them to your regular curtains. Depends how pretty you need them to look.~

**shortstack** · 11-22-2008, 11:25 AM

I have heard of people using shower curtians on a tension rod under their curtians for insulation. Wonder if that would help you?

Andrea

**pinetree** · 11-22-2008, 11:31 AM

Last year I used some thumb tacks and hung a towel over a window, it worked great until I could get a window quilt made.

**Patty A** · 11-22-2008, 11:44 AM

Thanks so much for the ideas, I am going to try the second hand shops and look for old quilts. I was wondering if the cardboard being heavier would hold out more cold, it does insulate well. Maybe I will try doing both, and make it so I can just remove the cardboard so the light can come in during the day. Hum, now I am really thinking about this!

**HandyMom** · 11-22-2008, 01:27 PM

If you have plastic bubble wrap, that is supposed to work very well, too.

**rainbowgc** · 11-23-2008, 10:41 AM

I am in Florida with the reverse problem - keeping in the cool. I lined all my curtains with fleece or made pocket curtains to go on tension rods to hang in the window behind the decorative curtain.

**UUMomof3** · 11-24-2008, 10:55 AM

If you don't have safety concerns with the shrink film, I've found that to be fairly effective and not terribly costly. I did our full picture window in the living room (one whole wall basically) and a kids room window with one kit. I can't imagine using something that would stop the light coming through all day long. That being said I do want insulated curtains for at night on some of the larger windows.

**Patty A** · 11-30-2008, 07:33 AM

Thought I would update this....
I went to the thrift store yesterday and got lucky....

I found a few blankets, comforters, and a couple baby quilts. Needless to say I spent most of the day hanging them to the windows and all I can say is WOW!
What a huge difference it has made, I can't even being to tell you the temp differences I feel. My room is at the back of the house and it is always cold no matter what you do. Within 30 minutes of hanging two comforters to the two windows in there I swear it made at least 15 degrees warmer! My windows are good sized, and even new. I couldn't believe what a difference the blankets over them made, so much so that I need to take some blankets off the bed as I slept way to warm last night!
Thanks so much for the window blanket idea......it made the world of difference. Two more bedrooms, one bathroom, and the kitchen and I will have blankets on all my windows! Thank you, thank you, the idea works great!