Six Practical Items to Keep You Warm During the Coldest Days of the Year

In the chilly days of winter, it can be difficult to stay warm without maxing out your heating bill – which is something most retirees and others on a fixed income try to avoid! There are a variety of ways to both prepare your home for winter and lower your heating bills. But if you find yourself caught in a cold spell without having taken these precautions, we have you covered. Here are six practical items to help keep you warm when the weather outside is frightful.

1. A space heater provides warmth in a small space, making them practical and economical. There are several types of space heaters available to meet your needs. It’s important to follow proper safety precautions, such as turning the heater off when you aren’t in the room.
2. Using an electric blanket at night can keep you warm in bed, allowing you to keep the thermostat down. For safety reasons, keep them spread out and not bunched when they are on, examine the blanket for signs of overheating, and utilize the automatic shut-off feature that comes standard on most electric blankets. Similarly, an electric heating pad can be placed on your shoulders to keep you warm before you hit the hay.
3. Our hands and feet are the farthest body parts from our hearts, which means blood has to travel farther to them to heat them. Keep your hands and feet warm by wearing gloves – or better yet, mittens – and warm socks to trap the heat. If you need to use your hands often, you might find that fingerless gloves keep your hands warm enough while enabling you to type, sew, or otherwise use your fingers.
4. Warm yourself from the inside out with a cup of hot tea, coffee, or a mug of soup. Hot beverages raise your body temperature, helping you to fight off the chill of winter.
5. While it may be a myth that 40 percent of our body’s heat is lost through our heads, a warm hat that covers your ears can serve to keep you warm the same way that warming your hands and feet with socks and mittens can. A cold head can cause blood vessels to constrict in other parts of your body, reducing blood flow and making you feel colder.
6. A warm bath is not only relaxing, but the water’s heat can get your blood moving to keep you warm long after you drain the tub.

Should you reside in one of our communities and require assistance with weatherizing your home, contact your community manager. He or she can provide you the names of contractors who can help you to weatherize your home. For more on this topic, check out this article.

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At Harmony Communities, we feel strongly that each resident has a sense of home. That they come home from work and feel pride in their environment and in their place in the greater community. That families are comfortable raising children in our neighborhoods, and that couples and singles know that they belong to something bigger than their four walls. In other words, we seek to create harmony within each community, making our communities not just passable, but peaceful, safe, functional, and beautiful.