#TuesdayTips – keep your home warm on a budget

Not that we don’t all love British weather, but the biting cold can extend to our homes, and it’s not cost-effective or energy efficient to have the heating on all the time. There’s nothing worse than that moment in the morning when you have to leave your duvet and venture out into the cold, so if you want some alternatives to walking around in several jumpers or hibernating under the covers, WhatHouse? has come up with some suggestions...

Maximise your heating

Time your thermostat to maximise the warmth. Set your heating to come on about an hour before you get up, and the same before you get home. It’ll seem much warmer as you’ll be coming in from the cold, and this way you won’t have to get dressed under the covers.

Close those curtains​

Once the sun goes down, pull your curtains tight to keep in all that lovely warmth. If you’re in a particularly cold area, invest in some insulated curtains for the winter.

Goodbye drafts

Cover up any drafts. Even if you resort to using cushions or socks to cover up gaps under doors, it will make a huge difference. Keep your doors closed to seal in the heat, particularly if there is a certain room you spend more time in. If you have rugs or a roll of carpet, now is the time to use them – it’s all about layers in winter.

Cook up a storm

Fancy cooking a roast? Using the oven and doing lots of cooking will help the room to warm up – a great excuse to throw a dinner party and make hearty, wholesome winter meals.

Wrap up warm

While you don’t want to be sat in your coat at home, it’s more important to keep yourself warm, so thick socks or slippers, plenty of blankets to curl up in and lots of hot drinks will keep you feeling snug.