Cozy and Cost-Effective Hacks to Keep You Warm All Winter Long

By: Kate Row | Published: Dec 22, 2022

Whether you’re a fan of winter or not, cold weather brings its own set of challenges that we don’t have to think about in the summer season. Hot chocolate and Christmas movies are accompanied by higher electric bills and ice covering your driveway.

Check out these simple hacks to keep your home cozy and get you through the winter while saving some money!

Spray Your Shovel For the Same Reason You Spray Your Pans

Most of us will agree that shoveling snow is one of the worst parts about the winter time. Interestingly, cooking spray is all you need to make this task an easy one. 

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Spraying your shovel with cooking spray helps to keep snow from sticking to your shovel in the same way it keeps food from sticking to your pan. If you live in an area where it snows you have to try this trick to help yourself out in the colder months.

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Keep the Fireplace Clean for Santa

Santa doesn’t want to slide down the chimney to a floor full of soot, but more importantly, you don’t want dust and ash spread all over the place from your fireplace during the winter. Using tinfoil is a great way to make cleanup easy.

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Place some aluminum foil below the wood in your fireplace so it catches the ash that falls down. Then, just take the foil and dump it after the fire is out. It’s an easy way to clean and a great way to save money since the energy bill from using your heater can really add up.

The Perfect Winter Hack: Eat More Pasta!

You might be wondering how eating more pasta is going to save you some grief this winter, but really it’s all about the garlic. Garlic has antioxidant properties which help boost your immune system. 

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We need this boost in the winter more than ever when our immune systems are down. So, pull out the recipe books and make some garlic bread or pasta. Feel free to throw in some extra cloves to help out your immune system!

Make Your Own Heat (It’s Easier Than It Sounds)

What if we told you all you needed to make your own space heaters was a glass bowl, a small candle, and a ceramic flower pot? Place the candles in a small bowl, light them, and place the ceramic pots over them.

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You can put multiple of these little contraptions around the house as your own insulated heaters to save some money on the dreaded electric bill this winter. Make sure the ceramic pots have holes in the bottom so the heat can escape. These are great to have around in a power outage as well!

Keep Your Windows Open… Trust Us

It might sound counterintuitive to keep your windows open in the winter, but there’s a way to do it to save some money on the electric bill. If you have a sunny day, even in the winter, the sun will warm up your home the same way it warms you when you stand in it. 

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The ctas that sunbathe in the ray of light have the right idea! Open those windows and let the sun stream in to help warm up the house. If you live in a place where there aren’t very many sunny days in the winter, this one might not be for you. 

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Your Fan Has a Reverse Setting

Not many people are aware that the fan has a reverse setting, but you can probably guess what it does. When the fans go in the opposite direction they bring the cooler air upwards and push the warm air back down.

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This can help keep the house a little warmer, especially those floors that can feel freezing cold to the touch in the dead of winter. We still recommend wearing those slippers or fuzzy socks to help stay bundled up!

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Use the Old Boy Scout Trick to Start a Fire at Home

Whether you’re camping this winter or just ran out of lighter fluid at home, this DIY fire starting technique is easy and effective. Duct tape is actually extremely flammable and can be used to start a fire in a pinch.

Source: eartheclipse.com

Crumple up a bit of tape and light it with a match to get a fire going. This is great for campers because it’s easy to pack and doesn’t take up too much space.

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Take a Note From the Penguins

Slipping on ice can be very dangerous (and not to mention very embarrassing). So, take a lesson from the penguins to avoid slipping on icy sidewalks. The penguins walk on their toes with their arms out.

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It might not be the most attractive way to get around but it might just save you from slipping on the ice, so give it a try.

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Repurpose Your Pool Noodles in the Winter

The pool noodles are usually stowed away for the winter, but you can actually break these out before next summer and repurpose them to insulate your doors. Cut down the center of the noodles and slide them underneath your doors.

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This will prevent the heat from escaping under them and will keep your home warmer for longer at a fraction of your usual electricity bill.

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Don’t Put Those Pool Noodles Away Just Yet

Another way you can repurpose your summer toys is by using the pool noodles in the garage. If you have lived in the snow, you know how messy the garage can get when the car tires track in snow that melts into a muddy slippery mess.

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Avoid this with a simple DIY hack. Lay down a mat or piece of fabric on the floor of the garage. Cut the pool noodles in half and lay them underneath the mat so the snow tracks on the mat instead of the floor.

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No More Muddy Shoes in the House

Anyone who has spent time cleaning up muddy shoe tracks in the house should try out this hack. Take your shoes off and wrap them in newspaper or some old sheets. This will soak up the excess water.

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No more mud in the house and it will save you from having to throw your shoes in the dryer constantly. Plus, it’s a good way to reuse the newspaper after you’ve read it.

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Fuzz, Be Gone!

Those wool and cotton coats and pants are the best for keeping warm in the winter but as most of us know, they are prone to pilling and collecting fuzz. Fortunately, there’s an easy hack to get rid of the fuzz.

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Lay your clothing down on a flat surface and drag a razor gently across the fabric to collect all those little fuzz balls. You might save some of your favorite winter gear for another season after all!

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Stick With What Works: Wool Socks

Cotton socks might be slightly more comfortable but believe us when we say that nothing beats good old wool! It’s the reason people have been wearing it to keep warm forever. 

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Wool socks are thinner and lighter than theri cotton counterparts and are the best way to keep your feet warm in the cold months. 

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Your House Needs to Breathe Too

As much as it might seem counterproductive to keep the windows open in winter, you should open them up every once in a while to let the air circulate. 

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The air in your home can get awfully stuffy in the winter when you’re stuck inside. Leave the windows open for a few minutes before bed to let in the fresh air before bed. 

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The Plastic Bag Trick

One of the most effective ways to scrape ice off your windshield is to not scrape it at all. Fill a ziplock bag with warm water and simply slide it back and forth on your windshield and watch the ice melt away in front of your eyes.

Source: indystart.com

It’s much faster than using an actual scraper on the window. Not to mention, it’s far less physically demanding since the ice melts away without you having to scrape it off. 

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Make Your Own Snow Chains For Your Bike

We are all probably familiar with snow chains on your car tires, but you can make some DIY snow chains for your bike right at home with nothing but one simple item. All you will need are some zip-ties.

Source: Reddit

Wrap the zip-ties around your bike tires and this will help create some traction on icy and snowy roads. Make your commute to work much easier.

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Cold Showers are the Key

We know how daunting this might sound in the winter but cold showers serve many great purposes. They’re good for your body in general because they shock it awake and have benefits for your memory.

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But they’re especially helpful in the winter for keeping your skin from drying out. The cold water will help you adjust to the brisk winter morning as well so if you can stand it try taking a cold shower in the A.M.

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Cleats are Good for More Than Just Sports

Break out your old soccer cleats because these are a great way to make your way around in the snow. They might not be the most fashionable but they sure do give you some grip on slippery streets.

Source: Pinterest

The best kind for keeping your feet from under you are the metal cleats. If you don’t have any you can use metal screws in the bottoms of regular shoes.

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Use Cat Litter on the Driveway

Shoveling the driveway is a huge pain in the winter. Fortunately, this hack will help you clear some of that ice in no time. Sprinkle some cat little over the pavement to provide some grip beneath your shoes. 

Source: Reddit

It might even be a good idea to keep a bag of it in the car with you when you’re on the go. You can pour some cat litter on the road if the car gets stuck as well. This will help create some traction for your tires to get moving.

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Keep Warming Bags Nearby

Hot water bags are your best friend when it gets cold in the house. They can be used for all sorts of things, not to mention they just keep you really toasty. They help with muscle soreness or upset stomachs as well.

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Hold it close to you or place it under your sheets to keep the bed warm for when you get to sleep. This is another great way to cut down on that electricity bill.

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Preserve Your Winter Boots

This is something you can do to preserve the shape and form of your winter boots. Cut up some pool noodles and stuff them inside so that the boots keep their shape when they’re not being worn. 

Source: Pinterest

This will also keep them from cracking, which often happens when they’re worn out and damaged by the winter snow. Boots don’t come cheap, so let’s preserve them for another season!

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Use This Mixture to Clear Ice

Here’s a simple concoction that will clear some ice from your doorway. Mix together a teaspoon of rubbing alcohol and dish soap in a bucket with some warm water. Give that mixture a good stir.

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Pour it over the sidewalk where the ice is and it should wash away that ice in no time. No more slipping the moment you step out of the door!

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DIY Gloves

If you’re sitting at home with freezing cold hands and no idea how to warm them up, we’ve got you! All you need is a pair of socks you don’t mind taking a pair of scissors to. Don’t worry! You’ll still be able to wear the socks, they will just look a little different when we’re done with them.

Source: Flickr

Take a pair of longer socks and cut them at the ankles. You can keep the socks for your feet and then cut a hole in the other piece of fabric for your thumb to fit through. Voila! Now you have matching socks and gloves to keep both your hands and feet warm.

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Waterproof Your Shoes in a Pinch

If you’re stepping out to walk the dog or take out the trash, it can be frustrating to have to wash the mud or snow off your shoes after each brief trip outside. 

Source: Reddit

Wrap some plastic bags around your shoes to keep them clean of all the outside mess and just take those bags off before you step inside.

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Redirect the Heat to You

Unfortunately, if your heater is facing away from the room then most of the heat is going towards the wall and you’re losing most of it! However, aluminum foil can act as a great conductor for heat to bring it back into the room. 

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Place a small piece of aluminum foil behind your heater to trap and conduct the heat back into the room. You’ll actually get to enjoy the benefits of the heater you’re paying so much to use.

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Load Up on the Vitamin C

Most of us can expect to get at least one cold every winter, and probably more than once if you have kids. But, there are a few things you can do to set yourself up for a successful and healthy winter season.

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Namely, incorporate some good vitamin C into your daily diet. Fruits are a great source of this, especially oranges! Plus, they’re tasty so this shouldn’t be too difficult.

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Keep Ice Off Your Windows

Scraping the ice off your car windows is a time consuming endeavor. And, it can be quite a workout in the cold weather! Use window covers instead to avoid this grueling process.

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You can buy window covers specially for this purpose. But, if you’re in need of a quick fix, you can use some plastic bags to cover the windows and prevent ice from piling on.

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Calcium Chloride

Calcium chloride might sound a little scary but it’s nothing to shy away from. This is actually an easy way to keep your hands warm. 

Source: gajitz

Pour the calcium chloride in a small plastic bag and fill a larger bag with water. Place the smaller bag into the bag of water and you have an instant hand warmer.

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Use Socks to Keep Wipers From Sticking

If you’ve ever fallen victim to the windshield wipers sticking to the window you know how frustrating it can be on a cold day! Use some long socks to prevent this from happening and wasting your time.

Source: Bobvila

Just put a pair of long socks over the wipers and when you wake up in the morning you can pull them right off without worrying about them being stuck to the window.

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