20 Easy Ways To Heat Up Your Home This Winter

Hot or not? Teeth chattering chills can make it hard to stay warm in winter, but one thing you can keep nice and toasty is your home!

We’ve pulled together our top 20 tips to keep you and your home warm as the cold weather draws in!

Get the Most from Your Heating

…and save money too!

Radiator reflective foil (or failing that kitchen foil) can be placed behind any radiators on external walls so that heat is reflected back into your home.
Make sure your radiators aren’t blocked by furniture like sofas or beds. Furniture will absorb the heat and waste the heat and your money.
Save money by only heating rooms you need to. Turn off radiators in unoccupied rooms and keep the doors to these rooms closed.
Make the most of the heat generated by your cooker. Leave the door open after cooking and the residual heat will help you warm up your kitchen.
Get an electric heater to top up the temperature . These are great if you’re at home at an unusual time and don’t want to change the timer on your heating system or for boosting rooms that lose lots of heat, like conservatories.

For a cosy night’s sleep!

If you heat your bedroom whilst you’re sleeping you’ll probably only end up getting too hot and kicking off your covers. Stay warm at night with extra blankets, rather than keeping the heating on high.
Nothing beats the feeling of getting into a nice warm bed! An electric blanket can help you heat your sheets and get a good night’s sleep! If you don’t have one of these, a hot water bottle or heat pad is a handy low cost alternative.
No electric blanket or hot water bottle? Blasting a hairdryer will warm up the sheets, just keep it out from under the covers or it could overheat.

From the inside out!

If you’ve come in from the cold you might be tempted to crank the heating higher than necessary to compensate. Try wrapping up warm with layers and acclimatising to the temperature first.
A calming hot chocolate, soothing cuppa or revitalising green tea will warm you up from within.
Get your blood pumping with some active chores like vacuuming or cooking over a hot stove and do the washing up in hot water to help you feel warmer. Your home will look spick and span afterwards too – win win!

It’s amazing how cold a little blast of draughty air can make you!

Draughts under doors can be eliminated with draught excluders. You can buy stylish ones from homeware shops, or even make your own.
If you’ve got a house with wooden floor boards they can also let cold air in. Fill in the cracks with floor filler for a permanent solution.
Cat flaps (or doggy doors) can flap in the wind letting heat escape. You can stop this by insulating the flap or fitting an electric version that only opens when your pet is close by.
Letter boxes can really make a difference to how chilly your hallway feels. Combat draughts with letter box brushes.

Curtains play a surprisingly big part in warming your home.

As soon as the sun goes down close your curtains so they help to keep the heat in.
When it’s sunny outside though, heat will enter through your windows and warm your house naturally. So don’t leave your curtains closed all day, get some daylight in while you still can!
Thick curtains or curtains with thermal lining provide especially effective insulation.

Damp can make your house feel colder and even worse can lead to mould. Ugh!

Avoid damp by keeping your house heated and ventilating kitchens and bathrooms using extractor fans or open windows where possible.
If your home is especially prone to damp it might be worth getting a dehumidifier which will monitor the moisture levels of your rooms and remove moisture as required.

For more ways to keep warm this winter, check out these 5 warming and delicious soup recipes.