7 top tips to keep your toes toasty

Winter is here and we are feeling the chill… but you don’t need to, and it doesn’t need to cost you those frozen limbs just to keep warm either! With a few small adjustments to your home, you can keep the warmth in and the cold out.

MAXIMISE YOUR INSULATION
When it comes to heat, around 25 per cent is lost through the roof. This can be easily reduced by installing insulation throughout your loft area. Insulating your whole house professionally can seem expensive to some, but DIY roof insulation is a possibility. Rolls of foam insulation are cheap, and 25cm of deep foam is plenty to give most houses an important layer of protection, keeping heat from rising and escaping.

WRAP UP WARM
Make sure that your geysers are properly wrapped or insulated - you can buy a “jacket” for it at any big hardware shop. This will keep the water warmer for longer, and reduce heating costs, especially as we tend to shower or bath for longer and with hotter water in winter.

BLOCK OUT THE BREEZE
Even a simple solution such as a making your own sausage dog draught stopper (a fun project to do with kids!) will help keep the warmth in your home by stopping heat escaping out below the doors. DIY draught-proofing your doors, windows and cracks in the floor will help keep you toasty, and save on heating the area. You can do this yourself for very little cost with self-adhesive rubber seals, which are relatively cheap and easy to install, or with expanding foam in the roof. Watch out for mini-draughts, like through air vents and even keyholes - closing these up will help prevent a chill breezing through the house. If you don’t use your fireplace make sure that the chimney is closed up properly, or it can funnel heat out as fast as you’re creating it! It's amazing how even a small draught can make a room a lot colder, so if you can cut that bit of air out it immediately makes a difference.

USE YOUR CURTAINS
Heat from the sun is free so make the most of it! Open your curtains and let the sunlight in during the day to make use of this free heat. As it gets dark, shut your curtains, which act as another layer of insulation and keep warmth in your rooms. Thicker, quilted, or even thermal curtains will help prevent heat loss in houses with big beautiful windows. If you don’t want to splash out on new curtains, just add a new liner onto your existing ones.

CLOSE THE DOORS
Shut up unused rooms - keeping doors closed will prevent cold air moving into the rest of the house, and contain the heat you've generated in a smaller area.

COVER UP
Cover bare floors. They account for as much as 10% of heat loss if they're not insulated - carpets came into being for a reason! Rugs and blankets can help mitigate this and have the added bonus of keeping your feet warm, and adds to the psychological element of being snug.

GAS vs ELECTRIC HEATERS 
With the hike in Eskom’s rates, many people are turning to gas to heat their rooms - but it’s not necessarily cheaper when you consider the price of gas either. Many studies are now showing that while gas is more effective at heating your home quickly and thoroughly, it is more expensive to keep running, with the added hassle of managing the gas canisters when you need to refill. The bonus is that it can warm you up independent of blackouts! A mixture of gas and electric heaters is probably ideal: warm up with a gas heater, then switch to topping up with electricity for five minutes every hour.

Is is also worth keeping warm blankets in your living room, and making family members - including Fido! - wear an extra jersey instead of blasting the heaters. Top yourself up with tea, wear a hat and warm socks, and you will be amazed at how you can manage your own internal thermostat! Psychologically it is also worth noting that warm lighting and decor colours go a long way to keeping us feeling toasty, so don’t be shy to splash some red in your home this winter!

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