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    #61
    Re: Tips for keeping warm

    [quote author=pihlaja link=topic=369.msg10194#msg10194 date=1288971768]
    Reading this thread makes me think there's actually some truth in the saying that Nordic people live in one of the coldest parts of the world but build and heat their houses to be the warmest ones. ;D

    I think it's a bit too chilly here.. and it's almost 22 Celcius degrees (about 72 Fahrenheit) in my appartment. And I don't think the heaters are even on... (the temperature is set to 21 or 22, so you can't heat your appartement warmer than that)
    [/quote]

    This can also be said of Canadians...


    Mostly art.

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      #62
      Re: Tips for keeping warm

      [quote author=volcaniclastic link=topic=369.msg10219#msg10219 date=1288974273]
      This can also be said of Canadians...
      [/quote]

      This doesn't surprise me.. Maybe it's all of us living in the north.. (or in extreme south)

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        #63
        Re: Tips for keeping warm

        Here in the states at most hardware stores and wal mart you can buy these insulator kits for windows that is like shrink wrap. you place a double sided sticky tape on the inside frame then you put the plastic shrink wrap across the window sticking the wrap to the sticky tape, then you use a hair dryer and it shrinks the wrap to make a tight seal. There are also kits you can get for the outside of the windows too.
        My parents live in an old 1800's farm house with the orignial windows. My step mom does two layers of this insulator shrink wrap stuff. One layer like described above, then a second layer putting the tape on the edge of the wall around the window and putting the plastic across the whole window space. This leaves a gap between the two layers and seems to help a bit more than just the one layer. They also have tons of blankets and quilts and in the winter they nail up quilts and blankets over the window (nails at the top so they can draw it to the side on sunny days.).
        ~Megan

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          #64
          Winterizing Your Home

          Great post on The Art of Manliness-- http://artofmanliness.com/2010/11/09...ize-your-home/

          A fairly good synopsis would be:

          --Get your furnace checked out, and change the filter regularly.

          --Trim your trees, before an ice storm does it for you.

          --Reverse your ceiling fans: clockwise rotation forces warm air back down. Just be sure to switch them back come spring!

          --Take care of air leaks.

          --Wrap your pipes.

          --Have a 72 hour kit, in case of emergencies.
          Great Grandmother's Kitchen

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            #65
            Re: Winterizing Your Home

            Some additional, extra insulation tips that we had to do on the farm?

            Hair dryer/shrink plastic crap on the inside of windows, adds an extra pocket of air for insulating against the cold. A couple years, up there, we also added another layer of clear plastic, stapled to the outside trim of the windows. Since the home didn't have storm windows to close.

            Another tip that I've seen, pretty often, is instead of trucking the leaf bags down to the compost heap, line them up against the foundation of the home for some inexpensive extra insulation.

            Something else, that we do, is trade out our soft, cloth rugs inside the 'heavy use' door and replace it with rubber/plastic and a boot tray, to help protect the floor against the inevitable winter slush.

            There's also the last of the summer detritus, laying about the yard, that has to be stored; hoses, decorations, tools or whatever.

            For a Minnesota winter? It's a start.




            "Reason is not automatic. Those who deny it cannot be conquered by it." - Ayn Rand

            "Everything we hear is an opinion, not a fact. Everything we see is a perspective, not the truth." - Marcus Aurelius

            "The very ink with which history is written is merely fluid prejudice." - Mark Twain

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              #66
              Re: Tips for keeping warm

              Did something for my kids a couple of nights ago, and thought I'd share, because it's working really well.

              I made them cute little hotpacks, shaped like gingerbread men, last year for Christmas. They were really cute, but I didn't use stretchy enough fabric, so by this year, they were pretty much shot.

              So I took a pair of L's tube socks, put about 3 cups of rice in each, mixed in a sprinkle of cinnamon, so they smelled nice when heated, and tied a knot in the top. About 30 minutes before they go to bed, I turn on the space heater in the kid's room (not safe to leave it on all night, plus expensive), and heat these guys up for about four minutes in the microwave. I put them under their covers to warm up their beds, and by the time they get it bed, the "rice guys" aren't too hot anymore.

              Allie has dubbed hers "Rapunzel Sock" because of the long chunk of tub above the knot. Requests have been made for eyes and a mouth.
              Great Grandmother's Kitchen

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                #67
                Re: Tips for keeping warm

                That's a good idea!

                I have a question for everyone though...I have troubles with grain moths and carpet beetles here, and it's a problem in pretty much all apartments in Berlin so eventually you'll get them (mine arrived this year). So I have to keep all my grains sealed. If I made something like this, how do I keep the meal worms and carpet beetles out (the adult carpet beetles aren't so gross, but I don't want to attract them because their larvae have a diet of silk and wool...don't want to ruin my nicer clothing!)
                I guess if I can't find a solution I can store the bag in a ziploc when I'm not using it but I was wondering if anyone had a solution to keep them out of the bag?

                Another tip (but maybe not so cheap for everyone like it is here) but I made some Gluhwein (mulled wine) last night (well, "made" is a loose term. I bought a pre-made bottle and heat it up). It's not super alcoholic because most of the booze evaporates when you heat it up, but somehow it makes you super-warm. Maybe that's why it's so popular here in winter. I was not only warm but I was burning up for hours!

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                  #68
                  Re: Tips for keeping warm

                  Hmm...You could make another layer to go around the sock, so that it doesn't leave any little bits of rice flour in your bed. Something washable, made from a tighter weave then the sock. Like a pillow-case for it. Heat it up, leave it in your bed while you get ready for bed, then pop it back in a ziplock when you're ready to climb in?
                  Great Grandmother's Kitchen

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                    #69
                    Re: Tips for keeping warm

                    Here in Missouri its starting to get pretty cold. I'm gonna make some of those rice things this weekend!!

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                      #70
                      Re: Tips for keeping warm

                      Be sure and check the toes, if they're old socks, Amber!

                      I had to pull out the sewing machine, and sew another seam about a 1/2 inch above the toe, because the socks I used were rather worn.
                      Great Grandmother's Kitchen

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                        #71
                        Re: Tips for keeping warm

                        Good Idea!

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                          #72
                          Re: Tips for keeping warm

                          I've been sleeping in a sleeping bag.

                          A 30 below rated mummy bag to be specific.

                          The kids on the other hand, have fleece footie sleepers and about a foot high pile of blankets.
                          Wonderful Life: The Burgess Shale and the Nature of HistoryPagan Devotionals, because the wind and the rain is our Bible
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                            #73
                            Re: Tips for keeping warm

                            hot tea, wool socks and a duvet. perfect.

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                              #74
                              Re: Tips for keeping warm

                              After DR's advice, I made a heating neck thing out of some extra fabric and whole wheat grains (cheaper than rice here....2.5 kilo for 4 Euro!) Next to come, an eye mask, a back thing that I can strap to my back (for cramps), a bag to put in my bed at night and hand warmers for on the go!

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                                #75
                                Re: Tips for keeping warm

                                Hehehe....I take it that it worked?
                                Great Grandmother's Kitchen

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