My Poor Frozen Hubby

[Nada.Leona]

Ladies I could seriously use some help. My hubby and I are absolutely FREEZING in this little apartment of ours. We live in a tiny bachlor apartment in a building that once was a huge townhouse. The house is over 100 years old. We unfortuneately have electric heat and to make matters worse, our electricity cost is regulated by the town we live in -- they buy it from the power company and then sell it to the townspeople for a horribly marked-up price. At any rate, last year in February, my biggest power bill was more than my month's rent! And we were still freezing!

Last night was the final straw -- after all our energy savings, my poor darling DH came to bed last night with a polar fleece sweater on and cuddled up to me (I was already in bed and fast asleep when he crawled in) shivering his poor little tushy off. I can't let that go on -- I feel awful.

Can anyone suggest ways to me that I can keep my home warmer without turning on that evil furnace? Or, can anyone suggest ways that I can lower my electricity bill if I am forced to turn the furnace on?

Bright Blessings!
Rawiya

[Ellise]

Have you sealed all the windows and doors?
Can you use Kerosene heaters?

We are all electric here as well. Here's some things that have helped us.

I leave the oven door opened just a bit after I am finished baking and turn the stove off. (no scence in letting that warmth get away)
We use a kerosene heater to heat the main part of the house where we spend the most time.
We close off all the rooms that we do not use during the winter, and place draft stoppers at all the doors.
We also cover all the windows in plastic to help prevent any heat from excaping or cold gettin in. (even thought they are new and insulated)
We also wear thermal unerwear or long sleeves / pants (sweats) indoors to help keep us warm, Oh and slippers or thick socks.

HTH

[sunshine]

Window quilts and styrofoam (I cover it with pretty fabric) on the windows-- that way I can take it down to let the sun in during the day, and put up at night to keep the cold out.

Hang quilts on the walls - the ones exposed to the exterior.

Keep the humidty up in the house-- cook soups and stews, boil eggs, something to keep the humidity higher.

Lots of throw rugs on the floors.

Homemade rice warmers-- even just putting rice in a sock, tying the end and heating in the microwave. Then putting it near your feet, hands, whatever is cold.

We use an electric space heater to just heat the space we are in at the moment. Uses some electricity, but much less than trying to heat the entire place.

[paelthom]

Do you have a clothes dryer in the apartment? If so, you may want to consider having it vented indoors and close/cover that outdoor vent well so no air leaks through. One way to get some moisture into the house, which helps the house seem warmer as well, is to leave your bathtub with water in it after your bath or shower. It will slowly evaporate into the air and help a bit. Another thought is are you eating well and getting enough vitamins? If your health is poor your body tends to feel the cold more. A lot of heat escapes through your head, so if you can stand a stocking cap on indoors you might want to give it a try. Another thought is to keep a draft dodger or just a rolled up towel by the bottom of all exterior doors to keep the cold air from leaking in and also use one to block what heat you have from going into rooms you aren't using (like an extra bedroom, etc.).

[MMP]

If need be, do some communal living. Move the bed to the living room and close off the bedroom. And cover that bedroom door up.

[Michele Annette]

These are really great tips! Our apartment is always cold and even though we have forced air oil heat, the apartment is so leaky that it doesn't take very long for it to get cold again. I keep the heat on 60 for most of the winter...so what we do to keep it warmer is:

~ Put shrink plastic on all of our windows.(this helps so much!)
~ If you don't have curtains try to make some insulated ones or use extra blankets to hang over them.
~ Dress in lots of layers. It isn't uncommon for me to wear a fleece to bed with a sleeping bag as a comforter. I undress as I get warmer at night, but I am always freezing when I go to bed. Also when I'm up and doing stuff on the weekend, I wear a scarf if I get cold. It's amazing how much warmer you feel when your neck is covered! Invest in a good pair of slippers!!
~ When we take showers we leave the door open a bit to let the warm steam heat the house.
~ Same for the oven when I bake. Once the oven is off I open the door to let all that heat in the house.
~ Close off any rooms you aren't using and don't heat them unless there are water pipes in those rooms.

I think I just repeated what everyone else just said, but those things are what we do in our apartment.

[forestdale]

I have no suggestions but I hope you find ways to warm up. I really can't imagine how cold you must all be during winter. I am sending you warm and cosy thoughts, Rawiya

[Nada.Leona]

There's some great suggestions in there. Thanks a lot. I felt so bad when I came home today and he was wearing a stocking cap. lol He looked cute, but so cold.

Bright Blessings!
Rawiya

[Lori Biever-Launder]

I would invest in an electric blanket. I don't use them, but they can be a lifesaver in a cold climate! You two can always spend the evening in bed cuddled up in front of the TV or reading.