Winter Archives

Simple Solutions Series – Winter Warmers

3 Mins Read

Winter is right around the corner, meaning cold weather and a requirement for you to make your home as warm and energy-efficient as you can.

Warming your home over winter can be something of a chore, but a necessary one. If you have a family to look after, they will turn to you for protection during the colder months, something you will have to provide with one eye on rising costs. Energy and heat do not come cheap and with many US states entering some form of restrictions, it is likely you and your family will be at home more. That means rising energy usage and rising costs.

How can you get ahead of the game and protect your home without breaking the bank? We have got some simple hacks that will help you look after your family and your bank balance at the same time.

Soft Furnishings

Traditionally, soft furnishings might not have been an element of home design that the man of the house concerned himself with, but when it comes to winter, they are essential. With darker nights the need for drapes is pressing, and the thicker they are, the better. Windows and doors can let in cool air, which ultimately costs you money and can pose a health risk for your family. Thick drapes help insulate your home, and rugs on hard floors stop the cold coming up from below as well. Think of it as putting a coat on your home, stopping the cold getting into the heart of your family.

Insulation

This one might cost you a few bucks, but the savings in the long term could be significant. Insulation is a huge part of protecting your family home, and you would be wise to check yours is adequate going into the cold months. If you do not have insulation in your loft space, HomeServe believes you could be losing up to a quarter of the heat from your home, so the best place is to start is the roof. Remember, not only is the money going straight out of your pocket and through your roof space, your house will be colder and less pleasant for your family if it is not insulated adequately.

Service Your HVAC

Many homes will be heated by a warm air system, rather than the older radiator and boiler system, so make sure yours is winter-ready and efficient as it can be. This could have health benefits for your family too, as we explored in our article Is Your HVAC Unit Making Your Home Dirtier? Even if you are on the older boiler system, it is still important to give it a service, just to make sure you are being as efficient, and thus cost-effective, as possible.

Reverse Your Ceiling Fan

Ceiling fans are great for the summer as they suck warm air upwards and away from your family. In the winter, you might think they are redundant, but that is not the case. If you reverse them to go clockwise, it will push the warm air back down, into the room. Good Housekeeping suggests that you could save up to 10% on your bills using this method, and it helps keep your home comfortable and warm for your family. Home Depot should have fans that you can reverse if yours does not have the function.

In Home and DIY Projects

Why You Should Upgrade Your Patio This Winter

3 Mins Read

While the pandemic has caused a lot of changes for most of us this year, one of the things that it has meant for almost everyone is more time spent at home. A lot of people are now working from home or studying at home rather than attending colleges and schools. As well as this, there is much less general social activity, and many people are beginning to think about how they can make better use of the space in their houses to help everybody in the family stay sane!

If you have a garden, patio, deck or other outdoor space, then naturally, when the weather is good, this can offer an extra place where you can relax, work or play without leaving your home. However, as we head into the colder months, it can feel like even that option isn’t really available any longer. This is why now can be a great time to consider making some home improvements geared towards letting you and your family enjoy the outdoor spaces around your home all year round. This can be with things like patio awnings and other styles of patio shelter, outdoor lighting and heating.

Get More from the Space You Have

There aren’t many ways to make your house bigger and feel less cramped during the pandemic, but making the most of all of the space you have can make a huge difference. Outdoor spaces tend to get overlooked as they are seen as seasonal, but that really doesn’t have to be the case. You can consider looking into the awnings for sale from great awnings UK company Nationwide, who offer a huge range of patio solutions like patio roofs, verandas and retractable awnings. An electric awning can offer you the ability to put your awning out when the weather isn’t ideal or when you want shade in summer, and still enjoy the open air when it’s sunny, or you can consider more permanent patio roof structures that give you a covered space you can always use. Nationwide offer patio awnings and garden awnings of all different styles, so you can definitely find something to suit your home and needs.

Feel Like You’re Getting Outside More

Staying at home is important during the pandemic, but it can certainly feel like you don’t get enough sunlight and fresh air. Being able to spend more time outside even in winter because you’ve prepared your patio for this can really make you feel less like you’ve been shut inside for weeks, and make even lockdowns a little more comfortable.

Long Term Benefits

Of course, we all hope that the pandemic won’t last forever and we will be back to normal before too long, but even once that happens, the changes you can make to your patio now will continue to be useful and will also add value to your home!

It really is a great time to think about making your patio more suitable for year-round use, so why not think about how you can provide light, heat and shelter to your outdoor spaces this winter?

In Home and DIY Projects

Make your own faux layered shirts from leg warmers or socks!

2 Mins Read

Holy easy project, Batman.

This was such a fun no-brainer—a trifecta, really, of circumstances that yielded kid #3 something like 50 new shirt combos:

#1 – it’s dang cold outside

#2 – baby girl has lots of these in her closet

#3 – I’ve got a bunch of these left over from past projects:

Women’s knee highs, Target; Leg warmers, Pick Your Plum

Voila!

Faux-Layered Awesomeness in two seconds flat.

This shirt can be worn plain. And sometimes plain is fine.

But sometimes plain gets the boot with a funky 3/4 ruffle or striped, full-length sleeve.

Just slip socks or leg warmers on all the way up to the shoulder and you’re set.

You can attach your new sleeves with a zig zag stitch/serger to make them permanent or just wear them opera glove style depending on your fashion fancy. Go for a more polished look by wearing the faux sleeves with the finished edge showing or keep it super casual with the raw edge exposed.

Here’s another example:

most days this is just a plain black shirt.

But add some faux sleeves and you’ve got a holiday wardrobe in seconds.

See?

So …

Go hack up some socks or drag out those old leg warmers

and stay warm (and cute) this winter!

In Home and DIY Projects

What Not To Toss Weekend: Make mittens and hats from old sweaters!

2 Mins Read

Remember this little sweater that became a cardigan?

Well it’s too small for kid #6 and has a few stains here and there which makes passing it down to younger kids a no-go.

Time to trash that striped number, right?

Wait! Don’t toss that!

With a little Edward Scissorhands love, that sweater or cardigan can yield mittens and hats —even with those pesky stains.

(Good thing, too, since winter in Utah this year has been a little like living on the ice planet Hoth. Add to that six kids who keep jumping head-first into snow drifts and I’m having a hard time keeping enough dry hats and mittens around.)

*Cue the back ups.*

Chop off the sleeves and nix any trim or zippers. Open plain sweaters up along a side seam.

Use a hat for your guide and make sure you have enough material to cut twice the length of your hat + side seam allowance.

Cut the extra fabric away and fold in half with right sides together.

Cut around hat leaving room for a seam allowance.

Stitch around the top and serge or zig zag the raw edges.

And those stains? Yeah, totally covered them with some scrap t-shirt fabric. Just stitched in place.

I got one kids size hat out of this 5T sweater. Adult sizes would easily yield a hat from both the front and back pieces.

So don’t stop there!

What about those sleeves? Or any extra sweater material?

When I opened up the sleeves, I realized I had enough material for another hat.

Trim up the arm and scrap pieces to even rectangles. Measure from the border and trim pieces 1/2” longer than the height of your finished hat.

Fold each piece in half and round the raw edge at the top to match the curve of your hat piece …

… so that it looks like this.

Then just pin and stitch together. Serge or zig zag edges.

Done and done, right?

Nope.

There’s still left over material from the tops of the sleeves. What about that?

Mittens!

That same t-shirt scrap kicked out two more little hearts while the folded sleeve edge made some quick and easy seam binding for the cuffs.

So …

Trash-bound sweater?

It’s What-Not-To-Toss This Weekend!

Oh … and one more thing.

On behalf of all Utah residents: