Friday, September 25, 2009

Warm clothing, warm bodies

Every year I go to the local Goodwill store and get two or three pairs of long underwear.

What a statement to start a blog post with, right? But it's the truth. With warm clothing, I can face the coming winter feeling just a little better about the heating bills.

I know there are places where it hasn't cooled down much yet, but just coming out of a cold spell here, winter time is on my mind for sure. I had to turn the heat up - with temperatures in the 40s and 50s for several days, my old bones just couldn't stand it. Now I know my gas bill will be up slightly over the summer, so it's time to start doing things to keep me warm.

I look for warm sweaters and flannel sheets at the Goodwill too, and I knit warm house shoes which are worn indoors almost all the time.

It's one thing to get the house ready for cold weather and yet another to get ourselves ready. Remember, the thing we're trying to keep warm is ourselves and individuals in our families - not so much the house as the people in the house.

There is a difference

11 comments:

  1. When it gets really cold, in the 30s for a week or more, do you wear a hat indoors? My grandfather did but they heated with a wood stove.

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  2. No, I haven't worn a hat indoors yet, but I've heard of it and may be doing it this winter. I have heated with a wood stove and let me tell you, you can stay warmer with one of those than you can a forced air gas furnace.

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  3. Thanks Pat, another wonderful idea! This is why I love reading your blog, you keep me on my toes. Most frugal sources recycle a lot of the same middle of the road stuff.:)

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  4. Now your talking my language again Pat. We have had our first freezing night, and have had the wood stove going for a couple of weeks. I let it out in the day and then after supper I start it up for the night. When we get really cold here I have a pair of mens large wooly socks that I use only in bed. I find so often that I get my feet nice and warm and the rest of me is warm. My slippers and socks do fine in the day, but the wool socks sure make me sleep better at night. I also have my nice quilt clean and ready for cool nights, I like to get into my night clothes and housecoat aftersupper and watch tv, wrapped up in my quilt, look out at the snow and just "purr" my contentment. A nice warm tea or coco and I'm set, if no good mysteries on the TV , well a nice mystery from the library will sure be welcome. My TV room is the furthest room from the wood stove, and gets cool, but a quilt will do the trick and cost is perfect.

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  5. I live in upper New York State where it gets very cold in the winter. We keep our heat at about 60 degrees. To cope, we have afghans on every chair and several on the sofa. We layer with sweaters, fleece, hoodies, booties, fingerless gloves, and hats. We do keep a space heater in the bathroom because getting out of a warm shower into icy air is just too much for us!

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  6. Ah, you're making me nostalgic! I want a wood stove again...

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  7. Mary, it gets pretty cold here in Northern Colorado, but not as cold as it does in Wyoming where I grew up. I suspect that Wyoming and New York are about the same because of Wyoming's altitude. Afghans are a given and I keep them out year 'round, just waiting for a chance to use one!

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  8. Hello ladies. I don't think we get as cold as you, here in England. My central heating hasn't worked for two years, so inside the house I wear 3 pairs of jog bottoms, 3 teeshirts, 3 sweatshirts, jacket, fingerlsee gloves, scarf, and hat, and three pairs of socks.

    I have recently got a grant from the government to repair my central heating, fit loft insulation, and cavity wall insulation. I still wont turn my heating on though, untill it is freezing outside.

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  9. You must not get as cold there, Meanqueen. I can't imagine having heat when it's below zero outside.
    When I say it's 40 or 50 degrees here, that's daytime temperature, but in this area of the US, there is a great difference in day time and night time temperatures, as much as 50 degrees at times, but more likely around 30. The US is very large so it isn't the same everywhere.

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  10. Absolutely true...it is very good to be able to wear winter clothes and avoid the heat which make the skin and the hair dry and dehydrated.

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