Bundle up for Winter: Keep the Cold Out & the Heat in Your Home

I live in a 1950’s home in Augusta. Darn near new compared some of the old homes in the northeast.

I have new windows but my insulation is not where I would like it.  Even with oil prices being around $2 a gallon I don’t want to waste my resources.

SO, how to button up an older home?  I have been busy on Pinterest for ideas.  Here is what I found.

Lets start with a few things I had not used in the past but look fun:

Rope caulk. For older windows it helps fill in gaps and cut down on drafts.   Check out this post from Apartment Therapy.

Fuzzy felt stuff.  This also for windows and gaps.  This fuzzy stuff helps fill those spaces and it a little less sticky looking than rope caulk.  Thrifty Décor Chick has more on that.

Now for stuff I have some experience with….I am a DIY wanna-be. However I am not saying I am good at it or us all those professional terms and stuff.

First of all, lock your windows. It keeps them tight together and is the easiest and cheapest step one.

There is always window film and regular old caulking; you know…the kind in tube.  I have used both of these.  I am ok using caulking, BUT it takes a little get practice to make it look good and not make a big mess.   The window film kits are a great idea.  I never had much luck with these.  They never stick for me and where they do stick when you take it down it has pulled down paint and did damage.

One easy one is the little foam things that go behind the light switches and outlets. Any hardware store has those all precut and ready to go.  Super easy.

Spray foam insulation. Works great…but…it can be messy…it hard to fill in some places.  I tried to use it to fill a hole in my basement ceiling into the upstairs bath.  It kept traveling out.  Gravity will do that.  So I have a lot of it on the basement floor and it can be hard to clean up. But in the right places…AMAZING!

Ceiling fans…make sure they are forcing that warm air down into the room.  After all that is where you are.

Window treatments that add a little insulation never hurt. Like sweaters for you windows.  I would say on nice days maybe open the curtains up and check what is going on.  In my experience they can collect condensation and I like to wipe that up at least few times.

Clean out the gutters.  It is easy for snow and ice to build up anyway, if your gutters are plugged that water will need to find a place to go…like into your living room.

Turn off the outside faucets.  Don’t those freezing and bursting.  Ain’t nobody got time for that.

Checking our heat sources:  Furnace? Get it cleaned.  Woodstove or fireplace?  Is the chimney ready?  These are jobs I do not attempt as a DIY project.

A big area I have not addressed but really should: insulation. It seems so over whelming to me.  Attic, basement, WALLS?

Now you have shovels and your snow blower ready to use?  How about a shovel in your car?

Really, just thinking about a this stuff and spending an afternoon taking care of it will make the winter a little easier and maybe a little less costly.