Part II of II.
In our last post, we talked about greener, funner ways to keep warm. And, wow, didn't we need it last week! Bitter! Hope you stayed cozy.
Here are yet more ways to winter green.
- Build a yurt inside. Soaring ceilings? Cavernous rooms? A yurt would keep you toasty! Real ones are, of course, too much for the living room. So go the kid route and make a tent of blankets and chairs and couch cushions. Fun!
Soak up someone else's heat, or, in more generous words, the more the merrier. Heat doesn't care how many people it warms — one person, 10, 100. It casts its glow, and whoever's around catches the rays. So turn your thermostat way down and go hang out at the library or a coffee shop. Offer to babysit someone's kids at their home. Or visit a pal, preferably one who keeps her heat on high.
Build a thrice-warm fire. The old saying is that a fire warms you three times: once when you cut the tree, once when you're splitting and stacking the wood and last when you burn it. Using your fireplace actually can lower the temperature in your house because it sucks air out the chimney, but if a crackling hearth means warmth to you, check out the heat exchangers that pump heat back into the room. No fireplace? Check out the woodburning stoves and gas-burning fireplaces that are cleaner and greener. Treehugger.com has lots of advice about fire — and greening your heating in general.
Doncha wanna doona? Doona suits will definitely keep you warm. You can make your own with a couple of sleeping bags or buy them here.
Use your ceiling fans. No kidding! Yes, even in winter. If heat rises into a spot in your home where it collects and does no good to the places below, install a ceiling fan there to mix it up and even out the temp. Don't reverse the fans, though. You still want the air to move downward. Just slow it "below the level of a perceived breeze," says Shoot the Breeze.
Make it feel less cold. Two words: flannel sheets. They don't actually warm you, but they feel warmer than those cool, high-count bed sheets.
Linda Lombardini is living green and warm even in record cold. Contact her at Linda@TrilliumRealtors.com.
