What can I wear to stay warm around the house this winter?

[Ravin]

flannel-lined jeans, wool socks, wool sweaters, wool slippers. :) If it's really bitter out, add silk long underwear. :D I also use these under skirts with boots instead of tights/stockings, as they are comfier and warmer.

 

Where do you get silk long underwear?

 

Feet and head! It's amazing what a difference having your head covered can make. There's a reason why people habitually wore hats, bonnets, hoods, etc. a century and more ago! Even just a cotton bandana can help, but I have a wool pashmina that I can drape around my shoulders or wear over my head, and DD swears by a pink fleece hat. We also have medieval-style-but-modern-fleece hoods with long tails. The capelet covers your shoulder, the hood covers your head, and the long tail can wrap around like a scarf for extra warmth.

 

I admit most of my cold weather clothing is anachronistic. That's because I'm only exposed to the cold for real 1 week out of the year, at an SCA camping event in February!

[Blessedfamily]

Thanks for all the great advice!

[Erica in PA]

I am always so cold downstairs all winter long. May I please have some suggestions/links to items that keep adults and kids warm around the house w/out sending my heating bill through the roof?

 

Regular socks and sweats aren't doing it for me. And it's only October.

 

Can I put a plug in for turning up the heat? ;) I can't stand being in a cold house, and psychologically I don't think it's good for me, especially being at home at all day with the kids, all winter. If a person can possibly afford it, I think it's worth spending some money to be comfortable at home. I'm all for being frugal, but spending most of my time in a cold house isn't an area where I personally want to scrimp, and I think we moms can tend to deprive ourselves too much when it comes to this kind of thing.. That said, when my home is chilly, I go for nice wool socks, and/or my sheepskin-lined moccasins.

[KatieJ]

I didn't read all the responses, but I read a sewing article in the Sunday paper and there is a pattern available from Kwik Sew to make your own snuggle. It is available in 3 sizes so you could make it for kiddoes as well as adults. The author of the article even suggested flannel for warmer climates. I am thinking you could make it in several layers for added warmth if you want to. I was at a scrapbooking retreat this past weekend and one woman bought a snuggie on sale at Walgreens for 15.00.......it was comfy, but hard to scrapbook in with those huge sleeves. And it didn't want to stay put and her back got cold..so maybe add a snap closure at the back neck.

 

http://www.kwiksew.com/Catalog/cat_detail.cfm?pid=3711&Cat=Crafts&Level=Miscellaneous&QL=Misc

[Harriet Vane]

Can I put a plug in for turning up the heat? ;) I can't stand being in a cold house, and psychologically I don't think it's good for me, especially being at home at all day with the kids, all winter. If a person can possibly afford it, I think it's worth spending some money to be comfortable at home. I'm all for being frugal, but spending most of my time in a cold house isn't an area where I personally want to scrimp, and I think we moms can tend to deprive ourselves too much when it comes to this kind of thing.. That said, when my home is chilly, I go for nice wool socks, and/or my sheepskin-lined moccasins.

 

While I don't know the OP's exact situation, I can tell you I wish turning up the heat would work in my house! But it really won't. Our windows are so drafty!! It costs literally hundreds of dollars to turn up the heat just a few degrees in my house for a month, only to find that we still don't feel warm. On really cold winter days I feel like I live in the Middle Ages, creeping around the house wrapped in a blanket. We just do what we can to block drafts, and accept the reality that we have to wrap up to feel comfortable in the house.

[Tammyla]

Pointelle silk long johns. Worth every penny and easy to wash, drip-dry or toss in the dryer. Best, thinnest, not too tight, least sweaty first layer I've found. Don't forget socks, slippers or lined boots, and then layer up. Silly as a hat and scarf sound inside...they help oodles.

 

http://www.landsend.com/ix/outerwear/Outerwear/Women/Long-Underwear/index.html?seq=1~2~3~4&catNumbers=1028~1029~1037&visible=1~2~1~1&store=le&sort=Recommended&pageSize=12&tab=7&cm_mmc=44577334

 

http://www.llbean.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/CategoryDisplay?page=silk-pointelle-camisole&categoryId=23880&storeId=1&catalogId=1&langId=-1

 

 

PS...both Land's End and LL Bean stand by their products if you aren't uber satsfied. I've had my first set for four years and purchased two more last year. Those babies are always on my wish list.

 

And I own half a dozen zip up fleece jackets, my favorite top layer inside.

Edited October 19, 2009 by Tammyla

[nevergiveup]

We are working on our house and currently have no furnace. We got down to 48 in here this weekend. What I have found that works has already been said: Cuddleduds under insulated pants (I found some at WalMart--they are jeans with a fleece-like lining), long sleeved shirt, long underwear shirt topped with a wool sweater, hat, woolie socks and slippers. Funny, I always thought our house was cold when we kept it at 60 but we really aren't suffering yet. We do have a heater in the bathroom that we plug in for showers. If you can, block the drafts--we have stuffed plastic bags into cracks around windows before and that shrink wrap window stuff really helps.

[kewb]

Wear a hat. I feel so much warmer when I wear a hat. Sure, sometimes I feel ridiculous wearing a hat inside but it is better then being cold.

Fuzzy slippers for my feet.

And my big fuzzy fleece cardigan or sweater.

 

I think I need to look into wristlets.

[lori in tx]

this has been our situation too.. we turn up the heat and it does no good except for to heat the boys out of their room, they have the only warm room in the house and closing vents does not work

While I don't know the OP's exact situation, I can tell you I wish turning up the heat would work in my house! But it really won't. Our windows are so drafty!! It costs literally hundreds of dollars to turn up the heat just a few degrees in my house for a month, only to find that we still don't feel warm. On really cold winter days I feel like I live in the Middle Ages, creeping around the house wrapped in a blanket. We just do what we can to block drafts, and accept the reality that we have to wrap up to feel comfortable in the house.

[Ravin]

While I don't know the OP's exact situation, I can tell you I wish turning up the heat would work in my house! But it really won't. Our windows are so drafty!! It costs literally hundreds of dollars to turn up the heat just a few degrees in my house for a month, only to find that we still don't feel warm. On really cold winter days I feel like I live in the Middle Ages, creeping around the house wrapped in a blanket. We just do what we can to block drafts, and accept the reality that we have to wrap up to feel comfortable in the house.

 

 

Have you looked into improving your home's weatherproofing? If you can't afford all new windows (and if I owned a home, and it didn't already have them, it'd be high on my list of improvements to save for), there is plastic sheeting that can provide a double layer, plus foam stuff that can expand in tiny cracks to help with drafts. I'd go talk to the people at a home improvement store...or start watching Greenovate and Life with Ed on the Planet Earth channel, which is where I get all my great ideas...that I can't actually use because we rent.

[LauraGB]

this has been our situation too.. we turn up the heat and it does no good except for to heat the boys out of their room, they have the only warm room in the house and closing vents does not work

 

That reminds me of an old house we owned years ago; when we cranked the heat, the bathroom was so hot that to walk in was terrible, but to walk back out into the rest of the house was equally terrible! Sometimes, though, we'd all hang out in there in the morning because the cold/hot transition was too jolting that early.

[Harriet Vane]

Have you looked into improving your home's weatherproofing? If you can't afford all new windows (and if I owned a home, and it didn't already have them, it'd be high on my list of improvements to save for), there is plastic sheeting that can provide a double layer, plus foam stuff that can expand in tiny cracks to help with drafts. I'd go talk to the people at a home improvement store...or start watching Greenovate and Life with Ed on the Planet Earth channel, which is where I get all my great ideas...that I can't actually use because we rent.

 

We bought this house knowing it is a fixer-upper. For many years repairs were based entirely on emergencies and urgency . . . things like replacing the support beam someone had removed, or dealing with the THREE gas leaks, or removing asbestos :eek:

 

It's just not a matter of weatherproofing. I wish it were that simple. Every square inch of this house needs to be repaired or replaced. Every winter we put the plastic on the windows and caulk and lay draft dodgers in the doors and just do our best to get through. As we get the $$ to rehab we try to do things like insulate or replace windows, etc. All the weatherproofing in the world is not going to change the fact that the house is more than 100yo, is leaky, uninsulated, and in need of significant repair/rehab.

[Tutor]

Leggings and heavier, ankle-length skirts with warm socks and slippers. I also layer tops - lighter, long-sleeve pullover shirt with a button-down long-sleeve shirt and a sweater over top.

[Garga]

Hats. Last year I got a nice, stylish hat from Kohls (not a winter hat--sort of a page boy hat that can be worn indoors.)

 

Wearing that hat keeps me pretty warm. I also wear socks and shoes (or enclosed slippers) to keep my feet warm, and layers--like a turtleneck under a button-down shirt, under a fitted jacket.

 

And long johns under my pants.

[Erica in PA]

While I don't know the OP's exact situation, I can tell you I wish turning up the heat would work in my house! But it really won't. Our windows are so drafty!! It costs literally hundreds of dollars to turn up the heat just a few degrees in my house for a month, only to find that we still don't feel warm. On really cold winter days I feel like I live in the Middle Ages, creeping around the house wrapped in a blanket. We just do what we can to block drafts, and accept the reality that we have to wrap up to feel comfortable in the house.

 

Sheesh, that's too bad!! I would have a really hard time dealing with that. There are situations like yours where you need to have home improvements done that aren't within your reach financially, then there's really no choice. But I have known of families who are able to heat their homes to a reasonable level, and who could afford to pay to do so, but don't do so simply to be frugal. I think I just wanted to put out there the idea that I don't think anyone needs to feel guilty for paying for heat, if you can afford it. I personally think that would be a very difficult way to live, and would make the mid-winter doldrums even worse. I wouldn't do it if I had any other choice, I guess that's what I'm saying.

[Harriet Vane]

I think I just wanted to put out there the idea that I don't think anyone needs to feel guilty for paying for heat, if you can afford it. I personally think that would be a very difficult way to live, and would make the mid-winter doldrums even worse. I wouldn't do it if I had any other choice, I guess that's what I'm saying.

 

:iagree: I believe in living comfortably whenever possible. I dream often of a warm, draft-free cottage on an acreage . . . something I have some prayer of keeping clean (unlike my current house), that stays warm, where nothing drips or whistles or creaks . . . .

[Erica in PA]

:iagree: I believe in living comfortably whenever possible. I dream often of a warm, draft-free cottage on an acreage . . . something I have some prayer of keeping clean (unlike my current house), that stays warm, where nothing drips or whistles or creaks . . . .

 

That does sound nice!! Maybe I'll borrow your dream ;).. we're in apartment, as toasty warm all winter long as we want to be, for a reasonable price, but still, it's an *apartment.* We all have to make the best of what we have, I guess. :)

[jeri]

but wool socks (that has turned into a cool hobby of mine!), slippers, fleece sweatshirts, and wool pullovers. Must be wool or fleece! Nothing else does as well!

 

jeri

[MeAndTheBoys]

Layers, layers, layers. I'm always cold; I have found that if I wear a ribbed tank under a long sleeved t- under a sweatshirt, I usually stay warm. And socks under slippers.

 

One thick top or just thick socks don't do as well as multiple thinner layers.

 

Betsy

 

I am always so cold downstairs all winter long. May I please have some suggestions/links to items that keep adults and kids warm around the house w/out sending my heating bill through the roof?

 

Regular socks and sweats aren't doing it for me. And it's only October.

[Blessedfamily]

Sheesh, that's too bad!! I would have a really hard time dealing with that. There are situations like yours where you need to have home improvements done that aren't within your reach financially, then there's really no choice. But I have known of families who are able to heat their homes to a reasonable level, and who could afford to pay to do so, but don't do so simply to be frugal. I think I just wanted to put out there the idea that I don't think anyone needs to feel guilty for paying for heat, if you can afford it. I personally think that would be a very difficult way to live, and would make the mid-winter doldrums even worse. I wouldn't do it if I had any other choice, I guess that's what I'm saying.

 

Just to clarify......

 

I'm the OP. We aren't freezing because we're pinching pennies, and the house doesn't need improvements, like new windows. It's only a few years old and has double-paned windows. It's cold downstairs because we have very high ceilings. Even if the heater is on all day, it's just a lot of open space.

 

We run the heat freely, and already pay dearly for it to keep our children comfortable. The kids and DH are comfortable, but not me. As I posted in post #19, I stand on the vents to warm up and when the heat goes off, I turn it right back on again. I am colder than the rest of the family because I (unlike DH) am from a much warmer region of the state and not used to the much colder temperatures here.

 

Just making sure I didn't give the impression that we're broke or cheap.

 

Thanks everyone for the tips. I appreciate them very much.

Edited October 19, 2009 by Blessedfamily

[T Baer]

It is a blanket with sleeves. It just strikes me funny whenever I think of it. I don't know why. Maybe it is the whole "as seen on TV" thing. :D

I could unsnap it and just use it on my bed as a comforter or snap it up all the way like a sleeping bag or unsnap a few and walk around in the house. My bedroom was in the basement and it was cold!