Four Steps to Prepare Your Apartment for Winter
Switch to Winter Bedding
Those weighty blankets might be too warm for most of the year, but as the winter rolls in it's time to rekindle your love with the fleecy comforter.
According to Mulberry's Garment Care, cotton, leather, wool, fur, and fleece are the best fabrics to contain heat in the cold, snowy season. For your sheets in particular, The Spruce recommends duck down, the most-popular choice for lightweight, warm comforters. If duck down is not your thing, the man-made fibres of polar fleece, or hypoallergenic silk will do you right. Not sure what to purchase? Bustle.com has you covered there.
Keep the Warmth In
Starting with the obvious, lock those patio doors and keep those windows tightly closed. Apartment Therapy recommends insulating your windows even further. The list features the likes of weather seal tape, window insulation film, and blackout curtains. The thicker the better.
Outside of preventing those drafts, according to the National Energy Foundation UK, floors can account for 10 per cent of heat loss if they're not insulated. If you've got laminate or hardwood flooring to work with, rugs can contain and keep the heat in. SFGate can give you expert advice for choosing the best for optimal insulation.
Turn the Thermostat Up
Not just to keep you cozy and warm, but also to stop those pipes from freezing. We've heard those frozen-pipe-horror-stories, so keeping the heating on during the winter can prevent what comes next.
According to Husky Heating & Air Conditioning, your thermostat should be set to at least 17 – 19 degrees Celsius in the winter months. While a "comfortable" daytime temperature is between 20 – 22 degrees Celsius. Husky go on further to mention keeping your vents clear from furniture will help circulate the warmth, thus saving you on your heating bill in the long run.
Maple Money can help with reducing those costs associated with heating bills through the winter.
Prepare for Winter Storms
Google Trends shows 'polar vortex' as a breakout search topic earlier in the year, along with 'winter storms' being searched the most in North America. We had it tough, we know. Time to get prepared just in case we're in for another tough go.
Ready.gov lists the likes of staying indoors, staying off the roads, and watching out for signs of frostbite during a winter storm, but what can you do to prepare? Pay attention to reports, keep your pipes from freezing, insulate your home, and stock up.
A storm may come rolling in quite quickly. Stockpiling for those emergency situations may provide useful. According to Real Simple, you should eat high-energy, high-protein foods during an emergency as you'll generally expend more energy than usual. Peanut butter, whole-wheat crackers, nuts and trail mixes, cereal, granola bars, dried fruit, and canned tuna all make the cut of non-perishables to stockpile for the winter.