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We live in the Netherlands, not very cold. Now it is at night between 3-7 degrees Celsius, at day it is above 10 degrees Celsius. We heat only the kitchen at daytime with our little woodstove. If it is below zero, we heat an extra one at the dining room when the kids are at home. The woodcost are low because my husband helps the people in the village by cutting down threes at there property en he keeps the wood.

We dress in multiple layers especially myself, I count 3 layers today, because I have an hard time adjusting to the cold in the autumn. The kids are used to it en my husband also. 

At day we open al the curtains to let the sun in, we wash al the windows in September to get the most heat of it and  in the evening they are all closed. En we put al the carpets back at the floors, so our feet are not cold.

Thank you Grandma Donna for this post. I really do think we are all starting to notice these subtle changes in climates around the world. Combined with what seems to be rising costs, it is a worrying time. Here in South Australia it isn’t so much the cold that we contend with but the heat. As we approach summer I do worry about the cost of running our air conditioning. Our system had problems last year but we have put off replacing it as it is a hugely expensive job. Here’s hoping it lasts another couple of years. In terms of heat, what we are noticing are an overall increase in temperatures, both day and night. When it’s hot overnight our homes (or us!) don’t get a chance to cool down. Many people, especially the vulnerable and elderly, are negatively impacted by the heat and the cost of energy prevents them from cooling their homes.
Keeping windows and blinds closed and using cooling cloths and towels have helped us a little but it’s still a challenge!
I do hope your winter isn’t too severe

I live in mid Wales UK and similar temps to Marre D in the Netherlands (not too far away).  I have the heating on for an hour in the morning and in the evening for about the same time.  I no longer live in a home with a woodburning stove or with a range in the kitchen, both of which really kept the rooms comfortable.  

I wear three layers at present, and if it's chilly when I'm sitting down, use an electric throw.  Or a hot water bottle.  I am quite active, which keeps you warm - just sitting all day long soon makes you cold.  Hot drinks and soup warm from the inside.

If it's frosty or we have snow, then the central heating goes on for much of the day.  I have to budget for that.  

I live in the east of England and have similar temperatures to Jennie although our climate is probably a lot drier than Wales :) 

Am a great believer in heat the person not the room so the heating goes on for an hour in the morning and two in the evening but during the day we don’t run it. We do dress appropriately for the seasons and layer up in the winter with warm vests or camisoles then a long sleeve tee followed by a jumper. We always wear wool socks in the colder months as  I find these easier to mend than man made fibres and still have my Grandma’s wooden darning mushroom.

We have hot water bottles for bedtime and use sheets & blankets rather than duvets as I think you can regulate the temperature better with layers, I recently saved up for a new wool blanket, made here in the UK with British wool and it’s far better than our old blanket which was polyester

First let me say I am so grateful for you sharing your lives with us, teaching new things or reminding us of things we may have forgotten and being a wonderful motivation for me, at least, to do more as my own ancestors did.

I lived for 55 years in the Midwest, before moving to Tennessee a handful of years ago.  Twenty of those years were Iowa in the middle of corn and bean fields in a house built in 1917, which did not have the best heating system.  Because there were no houses or other structures within several miles, the winds there could be quite a challenge in the winter, especially when it was below zero.  While we replaced our windows and insulated everything as best we could, the thermometer I kept in our bedroom upstairs often showed 40 - 45 degrees Fahrenheit during the wintertime.

About an hour before bedtime, I would turn on one of those oil radiator looking electric heaters, just to take a bit of chill off.  Overnight, though, we wouldn't use it, as we would become too hot, if you can believe it.  That is because, YEARS ago, on a trip to Denmark, we made probably THE BEST purchase - a Siberian goose down duvet which, along with flannel sheets, kept us toasty all night long.  

On the second floor, we also had a pretty tiny bathroom which had southern exposure, so often sunlight would be what warmed that room, since we kept the door closed in the winter.  We also had a ceiling light/fan/heater combo and would turn the heater on a couple of minutes before bathing.  This helped immensely.  

During this time, I was away from the home about 13 hours a day, working in a distant city and my husband was travelling for work 75% of the time, so often was not at home.  When I got home from work, I changed into heavy wool socks, sweat pants (sometimes with thermal underwear beneath, if it was below zero out, plus a turtleneck at that temp), and a sweatshirt topped by a zip-up fleece jacket.  Oh, and I wore slippers - not the cute ones, but ones that were like booties and came up over my ankles and had a sturdy rubber/synthetic sole to them, so the cold didn't come up through the floor and freeze my feet (I had frostbite when I was younger and have found I really don't tolerate cold feet any longer).  Oh, and if I was sitting still, I would read, crochet, whatever, under a quilt.  ;0)

Now that we are in Tennessee, I'm having to figure things out for the weather here.  The first winter here, I pulled out the duvet and after the first night it was immediately removed and packed away!  We practically sweated to death.  I have thought about donating it to my favorite thrift store when I'm back in the Midwest, but we go camping and it can get pretty cold at night, so we are reserving it to use for those times.  

The past couple of days, the temp has been 72 - 74 degrees and my house has been opened up to capture the warm breezes.  Once it begins to cool outside, I shut it up again.  In the summer time, I open up the house and have a couple of small window fans to pull the cooler air through and close up in the early AM, usually before sunrise.  I long for what we had in my childhood in Northern Illinois - we called it "the Big Sucker" - one of those large attic fans in the ceiling in the center of the house.  Once the outside air was cooler than the inside, we opened all of the windows and quite a cooling breeze rushed through the house.  This was a pretty common thing for the houses in our area at that time.

Again, I thank you and all of those in the Forum for sharing.  I greatly look forward to new postings.   Gayle

I live in Boston and it does get very dry and cold, though the last few years winter was milder. We manage dryness with portable humidifiers kept in the bedrooms. We save on heating by doing sensible things like: owning a home in third floor in a sturdy but 55 year old cement/brick (not wood!) structure helps insulate and reduce the costs of heating. Our old home was a one level ranch style that had oil heating and it was extremely costly to heat in winter. Living with smaller square footage (about 1000 for three people) really made a huge difference for us too.

Other things: we wear wool socks and house slippers, we layer our pajamas - long Johns then flannel on outside, and we have a heated electric bed pad for each bed. My daughter sleeps hot so she keeps hers on the lowest setting. My husband and I have dual controls and he keeps his on the lowest whereas I’m always cold and keep mine at the middle one. We are able to sleep warm without cranking up our electric baseboards. 

Also, I find that if we do not dress properly and keep warm when at work or school during the day then we never really warm up well when we get home. We all walk to work or school about a mile each way from the center of town regardless of the temperature or conditions. Over that last fifteen years, I’ve thrifted or invested in the best winter outdoor gear we can afford- insulated waterproof winter shoes, fleece lined tights and wool socks, a down jacket plus water proof layered coat, gloves and hats. We each have snow pants too for very snowy days. With care they have last for many years.

Stay cozy <3
 

Thank you for this article. Basic necessities are getting very expensive. We, currently, live in a very large house (ranch style with a full finished basement) that is on one thermostat. Frankly, I think this is ridiculous, but it is what it is. In our prior home, which we had built, there were three zone thermostats and we could keep areas much cooler that were not being used. 

Our winters can be either brutally cold or, what we call, mild. Temperatures can range from 30 below zero to 45, in winter. We purchased small electric heaters that look like old wood stoves for downstairs, in the rooms that are used most. They take much less electricity and space heat nicely. We, also, have a woodburning cookstove in our kitchen, but haven't used it for ten years. We used it quite alot in our past house as power outages were much more common and the space to heat was much larger.

We have thermal curtains on windows on the north side of the house. The Southern windows are large and provide heat during the winter. Our elevation, in our city, is 5,150 ft. The sun gets very hot on the south side, even in winter.

I apologize for not having more suggestions. I enjoy reading everyone's comments.

I live in the NC mountains and it gets quite cold here once winter arrives. My house was built in 1917 and had no central heat, water, or electric. The chimneys had fallen in and were extremely expensive if I were to rebuild them. So, I installed small propane stoves in three rooms and a water heating system which also provides my domestic hot water that can use propane or wood. I have rugs with pads on all the floors as there is no underfloor. Insulation has been blown into the wall cavities as well as batts laid in the attic and under the house. Underpinning has been added using stones I collected from around the farm as the house is built off the ground. There is insulation there as well to prevent air coming under the house in the winter. It can open in the spring and summer for air circulation to cool. Every year I try to add something to make the house more energy efficient. This year I am adding quarter round at the baseboards as air does come in there. It will take a full year for me to do this as it’s one room per month so it doesn’t break the budget or the woman staining and laying it! Lol

I have insulated curtains and quilts for windows and doors in the winter. Since there are twelve foot ceilings, I stay cool most of the summer, but winter is harder so I have ceiling fans to keep warm air down and moving.

My suggestion is to work on one goal per year to find ways to make your home more energy efficient. One year my goal was to buy a solar oven, so I watched for sales and got the oven and pans at 20% off. I can use it all year round and it does a marvelous job baking bread or small cakes as well as cooking meat or boiling eggs! Lol Just keep studying and looking for ways and you’ll find them! 

Grandma Donna,

Would you (or anyone else) please share where you found thick flannel pajamas? I’m only able to find what’s really a thin brushed cotton at best, or a polyester velour at worst.

Lovely post, as always, and thank you in advance!

Such a thought provoking post. Thank you.  I live in the inland NW (USA) and we do get real winters. I have had wood heat most of my life. We moved from the mountains closer to town in 2021 and rented until we found a place to buy that was what we were looking for.  The rental had an inefficient electric heater.  I had every door closed and vent shut in the unnecessary rooms and the bill would still be outrageous keeping it at 54-64 degrees (only about 700 sq. ft.). We bought a house this year and have wood heat again. We go get the firewood during good weather.  I have been cooking on the wood stove over the past couple weeks since the weather has turned- not every day but frequently.  I have been keeping the fire going but dampered all the way down so we don’t just burn through the wood.  It’s not ‘that’ cold yet so this is working well and keeps the house roughly 65-70 degrees.  I still wear a sweater or flannel shirt over my regular shirt.

At night I have a “foot-warmer” that I set on the wood stove to warm up and take it to bed with me. I have a heating pad I use at times but prefer the foot warmer.  It’s just a flannel rectangle with pockets of rice.  When my great grandmother was young, they would heat bricks near the fire then wrap them in an old towel and take them to bed.  I’ve also heated rocks on the stove and put them in my coat pockets so if my hands got cold doing chores, I could warm them up.  Making the most of the heat source while it’s hot- which I know you do. 
Have you read “Aunt Arie” from the Foxfire series?  If not, you might enjoy it. 
I need to ponder this topic some more, and will be interested in the comments. 

What an inspiration to hear about hand mixing the cake! 

The first part of October was very mild, but then it got cooler. It always feels extra cold when the weather first changes. I kept the heat off this year and started layering up, knowing that I would get used to the cold in time. I read Ruth Goodman's books about how to live like a Victorian and a Tudor, and paid special attention to how they layered to stay warm. At first as the weather kept cooling, I added another layer when necessary, and then I ran out of layers! I ordered another set of woolen leggings. I was trying to find a Union suit, but didn't have much luck. Most of what I found wasn't practical, but meant to be fashionable. That's why I was left with leggings. The weather warmed up again for awhile, but we're getting a deep freeze over the next few days so the layering starts again! I did find that I got used to the cold over time. I'd look at the thermostat and a temperature that felt freezing a few days before was much more tolerable. 

I leave the oven door open too after baking, and I now make sure I move my pot or pan off the electric burner when I'm done cooking. That way the heat as the burner cools down can heat the air, and the pan in another spot does the same. I found that leaving the pot or pan on top of the burner blocked some of the heat.

In the living room, when I want to watch TV, I tuck myself into a cocoon with a blanket and stay toasty and warm. Since my central heating has never worked right since we bought the house, and needs replacing, we find it's more energy efficient to heat the smaller bedrooms and stay in there for most of the winter. We hibernate. :) The kitchen warms up as I cook. We're supposed to get a very cold winter, so at some point I'll heat the kitchen because of the pipes. We don't usually get a lot of snow here, but after last year's power outage in the snow, snow boots and pants is on the list of things to buy this winter. We had to go outside and drain the faucets after we'd turned off the water during the outage, and it was in negative temperatures, and very uncomfortable without the proper clothes. 

I've done very well this fall with not turning the heat on except for a little after a particularly cold overnight temperature, but the weather helped, and the layers I'd bought previously helped too. But winter is coming and I'll see how that goes! 

I use a woodstove and electric radiators.  The woodstove is reserved for power outages, extreme cold when the radiators can't keep up, days when I'm working in the part of the house only heated by wood, or when I'm boarding a dog who sleeps out there.  The wood is "free" because I cut it myself, but not truly free due to wear and tear on the saw, time invested in cutting/splitting/hauling, et cetera, so I kind of ration it's use.  I probably only use it about 40 days in total most winters.

The rest of the time electric radiators in the bedroom and kitchen keep each of those rooms (where I spend the most time) around 50 degrees Fahrenheit during the day.  I usually shut them off overnight and wake up to temps in the low 40's, but will run them all night when the outdoor temp is single digits or below and the wind is really howling, because I don't want pipes, canned goods, et cetera to freeze.

I also wait much later in the year than most people to start heating at all, basically not turning the heaters on until daytime temps are staying below freezing.  This both saves electricity and helps slowly toughen me up in preparation for winter.  

Some other things I do to stay warm, in no particular order:  At least seven layers of blankets on the bed, two of them wool.  Lots of hot herbal teas throughout the day.  Bring a hot water bottle or, when the woodstove's going to heat it on, a hot brick to bed with me.  Light a candle for a few hours in the evening (really takes the edge off the chill in a small space).  Dress warm, sometimes to the point of wearing a hat and coat indoors (I have a specific "indoor coat" I chose because it doesn't restrict arm movement or make noise brushing against itself like some coats). Jump straight out of bed and into said warm clothes, don't give myself time to get chilled in-between!  Two layers of socks when needed, with a dusting of corn starch to keep my feet dry if they sweat. Keep a handkerchief handy (I've learned that I often felt miserablely "cold" only to realize that the real issue was my nose getting sniffly from the cold - blow it frequently enough, and the cold itself is no longer miserable!)  Spend enough time outdoors in true cold, that stepping into even my unheated addition feels warm by comparison: "Ooh, shelter from the wind! Nice!" 

Grandma Donna, your new flannel pajama and robe are both very pretty!  I was glad to see you write about having a robe!  For about 15 years now my favorite robe has been styled like a hoodie, with a long zipper (quick to put on) and a hood.  I grew up putting on a robe in winter.  Most younger people I know don’t wear robes.  My own adult children would rather just put on their clothing, and my husband is the same way.  But right now on a cool morning that will warm up significantly, I’m wearing my robe and wool slippers.

Having installed solar, our electricity is now “pre-paid” in a way, but we are learning about the system as we go and have found we are generating far less electricity now that the days are shorter and the angle of the sun is lower.  I am determined to not use the grid if I don’t have to, so week by week I’m learning how to use less electricity.  I now only run the main oven once a week at most.  I purchased a 4 quart electric pressure cooker that runs at 800 watts — I knew it would be useful in the house and in our campervan.  The pressure cooker is more efficient than a pan on the stove because of how well sealed it is.  Last night I used it to make “baked” potatoes, and instead of the 1500 watt toaster oven cycling on and off for over an hour, the pressure cooker used 800 watts off and on for less time, with far more off time than the toaster oven.

We enjoy twinkle lights at dinner, and I used to have them programmed (via the outlet) to come on for an hour each evening.  Now I turn them on when we sit down to eat and turn them off when we stand to clear the table.  The strand is 40 watts because it is incandescent.  The overhead light has 5 LED bulbs in it that consume 36 watts altogether, so it isn’t very different.  I don’t like to eat under the bright overhead lights.

Where I live we have mild winters.  But one thing I think is true is that people adapt to their local weather, so when our winter is cold, I do feel cold, whereas someone from Minnesota might not feel cold at all.  At the same time, our heat in summer is truly shocking to people who aren’t accustomed to it.  As for experiencing deep cold, we spent a month in a very cold country once, and learned a lot!

Where we stayed, the heat was never on at night.  The bed was piled with down duvets.  In the morning we were to get out of bed in the frigid room, turn on an electric powered oil radiator, and get back in bed for 30 minutes or so, until the chill was off the room.  At home, we keep the heat set very low overnight, so it doesn’t come on, and then about 30 minutes before when we plan to get out of bed we have a schedule set to turn up the heat.  We set the heat to 64°F and it takes at most an hour to warm up the house for the rest of the day and into the evening.  Before I learned how to stay warm we used to set the heat much warmer.

I’ve found little things that help, such as not sitting next to a window when it is cold outside!  We sleep with bedroom doors closed — one pup with us and one with our adult son.  Keeping the doors closed holds in any heat our bodies make as we sleep.  In our bedroom the window is covered with an insulating layer and then an insulting drape over that.  If it is particularly cold I make a hot water bottle for my feet.  During the day we have warm throws lying on the sofa and chairs, ready to cover our legs and warm us.  Another thing we learned, is that even on a cold day, the sun can be quite warm, so sometimes I’ll sit out in the sun.  We drink a lot of hot herbal teas.

Last year we purchased heavy wool duvets, but we only need them a week or two out of the year.  Most of the time a good down and feather duvet works for me during the coldest months.  We sleep German style with each of us having our own covers — I think it is common in many other countries as well.

During the day I layer my clothing.  It isn’t cold enough here for merino wool long underwear, but I do have silk long underwear for the coldest days.  I buy wool sweaters at the thrift store to layer over my shirts, and I also have thick cotton sweaters for when it isn’t cold enough to want to wear the wool.  One thing I’ve found is that a wool clog or shoe really helps me stay warm in the house.  Growing up my children always had good boiled wool slippers with knit cuffs at the ankles, probably much like Gayle described, although I don’t think they had rubber souls.  Thinking of my children, we also wore and still wear knit wool hats if it is very cold inside — Waldorf moms are very serious about natural fibers and keeping children warm with layers, lol!  This year I intend to sew a wool flannel sleep bonnet much like we see pictured from the 1800s.

I’ve decided I’ll check the forum and respond on Saturday mornings, if I am home

I live on the Quimper Peninsula in the northwest corner of Washington State.  Being surrounded on three sides by water moderates our temperature fluctuations.  This morning when I got up, the temperature was 41 degrees.  The high temperature today will be around 54.  We still haven’t had our first frost.  

Years ago, when I bought my home, I only had baseboard heat, which was terribly expensive even then.  After about 10 years, I had a wood stove installed.  As I’ve gotten older, I knew it would become more of a hardship to manage wood, so I had a mini split installed.  I have a small home, so this small heat pump heats our kitchen, dining room and living room much better than the baseboard heaters and has cut electrical costs about in half, even though it’s “on” all the time.  The bedrooms stay cooler, but we like sleeping in a cooler environment.  We generally turn the heat pump off when the weather is warm enough in July.  We try to wait until the end of October to turn it back on.  In the warmer spring and early summer months, though “on," it doesn’t run, when the room is at the designated temperature.  The wood stove is still there for a power outage.  I still wear my wool socks and wool booties and a couple of layers, especially if I’m sitting, as we run the heat pump on its “economy" level.  Thanks for asking the question.  It’s interesting to learn how everyone is coping with the temperature.  I appreciate your posts and sentiments.  Yes, it does seem like many folks do not have access to their heritage of skills from our ancestors.  I feel lucky in my seventies to know how to do many of the things I need to do to live a frugal life.  I’m also grateful for your lessons.

As someone who spins and knits wool, I can attest that wool is truly a miracle fiber for keeping warm and comfortable. I have collected many wool throws and blankets over the years and wrapping up in them is very cozy and warm. Lately I’ve been focusing on only buying wool clothing for the fall and winter months. Gradually I’ll be purging my synthetic clothes. We live in Washington state on the West side which is cool and wet. It seems to me that once that damp gets into your bones it’s hard to truly warm up. Your flannel pjs look lovely. I love mine! Also, taking to bed a hot water bottle or a rice bag heated for a few minutes in the microwave makes all the difference in how I sleep. I used to have a lovely kitty to cuddle, but we lost him last week. For the writer who wanted to know where to get heavy flannel, The Country Store catalog has them but they are very expensive, however, they’ll last you forever

I'm no help really in staying warm as I live in AZ and we are relishing the cooler weather.  We now have 80 degree days, but about 5pm it drops 30-degrees and I don't do well with such a huge fluxuation.  My DH runs HOT, not warm, and I run cold. I froze last night (LOL) as the A/C has to be on for him. I have an extra blanket on my side, but too many blankets makes me not sleep well due to weight.  Means nothing for you all really, just say'in!  I wish I had a fireplace, because it would definitely be a working one for the amount that we need heat. We have heat issues in summer and we use blinds to cool and sun to warm (latter for winter). Not your question, but in summer, we freeze ourselves overnight and that coolness would carry over until about noon-1:00 if I handled my blinds correctly.  It saved us about $50/month. So we used the ac to cool it the most when it's cooler so it didn't work as hard.  Probably hard to do in reverse as no one wants to sweat during sleep. But maybe it would give an idea to someone.    On the mixer, I often wondered if I should sell my Kitchenaid mixer and just mix by hand. (I do have a hand mixer from the 80's - you know, the kind that still has heavy duty beaters!) The big mixer is handy for cookies and I shred cheese, but it is a beast for weight and space. Anyway, being cold (as I type my hands are icy - I'd never make it in a winterwonderland, lol), I do keep oven doors open after use, use sun for sure.  I swear I'd do well with a hot rock at my feet.   And darn it all if I can't get through a post without editing... that is to add... where, Grandma Donna, did you get those jammies?  They are adorable!