Old Fashioned Ways to Stay Warm(er)

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  • blevinandwomba
    blevinandwomba Posts: 813 ✭✭✭✭

    Well, then it seems the only ethical thing to do is to remodel the house with cat walkways so that they can have access to the proper amount of heat. Something like these should be sufficient. https://www.hauspanther.com/2020/01/04/amazing-cat-superhighway-from-the-catification-couple/ https://www.digsdigs.com/unique-cat-tunnel-in-steampunk-style-right-at-a-home-office/

    @LaurieLovesLearning I looked up the soapstone warmers, and it reminded me of something an elderly gentlemen I know mentioned recently. He was talking about parents showing love, and he said that growing up, his mother would heat up her iron and run it over her children's bed sheets just before they jumped into bed.

  • lewis.mary.e
    lewis.mary.e Posts: 225 ✭✭✭

    Having lived in a small drafty house for 20 years, these are some of the things we did to stay warm.

    - closed off the upstairs and we all slept downstairs one time when it was really cold

    - put a vent attachment on our dryer so it would blow the warm moist air into the house

    - rolled bath towels and put them at the bottom of doors to block drafts from outside

    - boiled water in pans on the stove top

    - invested in smartwool socks

    - dressed in layers

    The thing is without electricity or some form of power or a heat source you cannot survive extreme cold. People in the south did not expect to be experiencing the type of weather they were confronted with.

  • vickeym
    vickeym Posts: 2,134 ✭✭✭✭✭

    Another way we have used when things get extra cold or there is some type of heat loss issue...

    Put some extra blankets ir something over extrerior doors and/or windows to help stop heat loss and keep cold out. If you can try to reduce the space you need to heat by keeping other areas closed off. We "camped" in our living room and kitchen area and hung blankets over hallways to keep more hear in main area. If your bathroom isn't too far down the hall, try to close off past it's door so it stays a little warmer too.

    By making your space smaller it will take less to heat it.

  • Robi
    Robi Posts: 1 ✭✭✭

    Many moons ago, when I was a kid, we would put baked potatoes in our coat pocket. Nobody had gloves and they were easy to hold onto. It helped during the walk to school. I remember one feel out of my pocket during class... teacher wasn't real sure what to think. At least I wasn't chewing gum or something terrible. Hee hee

  • Torey
    Torey Posts: 5,679 admin
    edited February 2021

    Welcome to TGN's forum @Robi!

    When you have time check out Our Front Porch Welcome page at: https://community.thegrownetwork.com/categories/our-front-porch-welcome%21-%28please-read-before-posting%29

    And our Introduction page at: https://community.thegrownetwork.com/categories/introductions There are region specific introductions so you might find some people who are geographically close to you.

  • judsoncarroll4
    judsoncarroll4 Posts: 5,490 admin

    Well, I found an unexpected way yesterday.... I'm "off the mountain:, helping with a family member. It was raining heavily and 34-38 degrees all day yesterday... no big deal, right? Well, it seems that is the ideal condition to cause a heat pump to ice up. I spent the day lugging out five gallons of warm water at a time to defrost the unit... seems lightening struck the water line that goes to the spigots (separate line from the house), so no water from the hose. Today, my back is shot! But, it is warmer in the house with a working furnace.

  • Torey
    Torey Posts: 5,679 admin

    @judsoncarroll4 Ouch! Make sure you take care of yourself. I'm sure you strained more than your back. I highly recommend a soak in a hot spring if there is one close to you.

    Hot springs are a luxurious way to warm up in the winter. Takes the deep chill out of your bones. But the closest one to me is a five hour drive. :(

  • judsoncarroll4
    judsoncarroll4 Posts: 5,490 admin

    Yeah, none around here... there is a town named Barium Springs an hour or two away... but that doesn't sound good. There is also one called Red Springs, but that turns out to be named after just a particularly iron rich artesian well. I think I'm mostly okay... little and ring fingers are a bit numb and my hands are a little shaky - they kept "falling asleep" last night when I would turn on my side. So, inflammation is pinching a nerve again. I think a heating pad and bloody mary's with extra black pepper and hot sauce to wash down turmeric capsules are in order!

  • Yes, conditions in Texas have been horrendous for a lot of the people. My oldest daughter went without electricity from about 3:30 Monday until noon on Thursday. They couldn't get their vehicles out to the street, there was just too much ice. They were fine of course. The daughter who lives with me went out in the stuff to check on them Tues. because she hadn't heard anything from them and took her battery charger loaded to power their phones for emergency.

    Almost nobody was prepared for this, especially our powers that be. Its a good thing a lot of Texans are resilient and still remember the things their parents, grandparents etc. passed along. The number of deaths could have been significant. Most everybody was looking out for their neighbors and many did so at their own peril. I have to say it gave me some new hope for the human race.

    We were very fortunate, no loss of power or water. We cut back on heat and everything we could including water usage. I did leave a very small stream running in both bathrooms to keep pipes from breaking. It will be in the teens again tonight but it's sunny today and finally got above freezing. It will certainly give me a good idea about what plants can survive the cold lol.

  • DurwardPless
    DurwardPless Posts: 162 ✭✭✭

    I miss my old wood stove. There was always a pot of water warming on it, and if needed you could always cook a meal.

  • flowerpower *
    flowerpower * Posts: 258 ✭✭✭

    @Mary Linda Bittle, West Plains, Missouri I have often lived in very cold climates. The older houses were built completely without insulation and people relied on the cheapness and plentifulness of fuels like wood. As the years went by more insulation was added, windows were upgraded to double, then triple glaze and people started sealing up every crack. That caused air quality to suffer!

    The chill off of surfaces makes one feel cold. Try placing a carpet under the area where you are sitting, covering the nearby window so that it doesn't radiate cold at you, things like that. Using plastic film on single pane windows or heavy drapes on windows is standard in older buildings in cold areas. Try heating one room for comfort and keeping the other rooms warm enough to keep the pipes in good condition.

    Old-timers in cold area used a layer of thermal underwear under their clothing. Protecting the fingers and toes and face from frost bite when going outside is also standard.

    Vehicles should also be stocked with some emergency cold survival equipment. My dog's water dish contents froze on the floor of the car in extreme cold. Brrr?

    If you are really in an emergency cold situation, the best situation is to evacuate. If you need to stay, isolate in a small room and hang comforters everywhere over the doors especially. Pick the smallest room! I sheltered in a laundry room with no power, no heat, and blowing snow over the roads one night. I was a bit surprised to wake up!

  • flowerpower *
    flowerpower * Posts: 258 ✭✭✭

    @karenjanicki Special clothes have to be the main thing. Clothing made of wool, like marino wool undergarments, wool socks, heavy boots with felt liners, hats, gloves and mitts in combo, warm heavy coats, even face masks with holes for the eyes and mouth, and full body snowmobile suits.

    Mummy sleeping bags and tents rated for sub-zero camping. Tents can be set-up inside the home to survive.

    What captures my imagination is the long bed caps that Victorians wore to bed. Much heat is lost through the head it is said.

  • SuperC
    SuperC Posts: 952 ✭✭✭✭

    Fill a hot water bottle and place it into your bed under the blankets to warm them. I usually wear a sweatshirt to bed to be warm while sleeping.

  • FOS
    FOS Posts: 2 ✭✭✭

    I live in an RV, no insulation under floors and little in the walls. I put moving blankets on the floor late fall and can wash at a laundromat in the early spring.

  • heidimangel
    heidimangel Posts: 1 ✭✭✭

    I was using a scarf for a kidney wrap, but got frustrated with it coming loose as I moved around. So I dug through my scrap fabric and made myself one out of old jeans and some leftover fleece lining from a moccasin project. Super-simple project: basically piece fabric together to be long enough to wrap around your middle with by plenty of overlap. (I love the double layer of fabric with a soft fabric and a non-stretchy fabric!) Place fronts of fabrics together and sew around three edges like a pillow case. Turn the fabric right side out, put button wholes on one end and position buttons on the other end for the perfect fit. All you need to do as your weight fluxes is move the buttons. I love the custom fit and that it feels like I walking around with a hug that won’t fall off😊🤗

  • LaurieLovesLearning
    LaurieLovesLearning Posts: 7,576 admin

    @heidimangel That's awesome! Do you find yours helps keep you warmer?

    This might be a unique thing to offer at local craft sales. I went to plenty this year and never saw them. I bet I could slip in with a friend of mine (split fees) to offer some & test the waters.

    I'd like to invite you to leave an introduction at the link below for us to get to know you better. 😀

    https://community.thegrownetwork.com/categories/introductions

  • annbeck62
    annbeck62 Posts: 1,028 ✭✭✭✭

    Last year I traveled to a place that was really cold and there was no heat but they provided hot water bottles. I was really surprised how well it worked at keeping me warm.

  • LaurieLovesLearning
    LaurieLovesLearning Posts: 7,576 admin

    @annbeck62 in a pinch, hot water in plastic pop bottles would eork as well, as long as there are no leaks at the cap.

    This, and heated rocks, is a trick people can use in their incubators to maintain temp if the electricity goes out.