Thrifty Tips to Reduce Your Heating Bill This Winter – Part 2

See Part 1 Of This Series HERE.

There were some great responses on my initial post yesterday!  You guys really do have some great ideas for saving money! Continuing on with my series, here are my next tips to help you all save money on your heating bills this winter:

7. Consider getting a programmable thermostat.  If you find it way too tempting to constantly change the temperature, then you will fair better getting a programmable thermostat.  You can program it to turn the heat down at night and when you plan to be away from the house for several hours.  This will help you avoid changing the temperature based on whims.

8. Take advantage of your fireplace or wood stove.  When doing this, be sure to find the best price on wood in your area.  Use scraps from your yard and surrounding wood areas (if you have these), to use as kindling.  If you have a gas fireplace, it may not be more financially savvy to run it during the winter.

9. Bake Often!  There’s nothing like baking something and turning the oven on to take the nip out of the air when everyone is waking up in the morning.  This will help you avoid the temptation to turn the heat up when you wake up.  Try to also make sure most of your winter meals revolve around using your oven as this will serve two purposes: cooking and warming the house.

And if you are really brave, try cooking with your fireplace or wood stove.  Just be sure proper safety measures are in place.

10. If you find yourself getting a little chilled, take a nice hot shower or bath (but make those showers quick as using hot water will cost energy). Be sure to leave your bathroom door open and don’t turn the ventilation fan on.  This way the steam and heat spreads throughout the house.  You can also soak your feet in some hot water to warm yourself up quickly.  Remember that warm feet make for a warm body!

11. Use space heaters if possible.  Newer space heaters are a lot safer these days.  Most of them shut off automatically if they are bumped or knocked over.  Some people also like to use Kerosene heaters, but this may or may not be financially beneficial depending on kerosene costs.

12. Keep warm throws on hand to keep yourself covered when you are sitting at the computer or on the couch.

13. Use flannel sheets and extra comforters at night.  You’ll be surprised how well you keep warm.

14. Choose one room of your house to be the main bedroom, and have everyone sleep there at night.  Having all the bodies in one room will keep it warmer for everyone.  This is how people used to do it when living on the frontier, and you have to admit that it is pretty smart.

What do you think of these tips so far?  Do you have any misgivings regarding some of them, or you do you think you could easily accomplish this? I’d love to hear your thoughts! Also, be sure to join in the discussion on the forums if you’d like to chat and bounce ideas off of other forum members!  And look forward to the last and final part of this series to come tomorrow.