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A linen armchair with a green throw, a lamp just lit, a book and a mug on a stool, slippers on the rug at golden hour

Maison · 15 min

One warm room for the cold weeks

When heating the whole home is hard, keeping one room properly warm through the cold months can help you stay well.

15 minutesFrom the library, free to readFour steps
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Cold homes are hard on the body, especially for babies, older people and anyone with a heart or lung condition. When heating every room is not possible, one well-kept warm room, where you spend most of the day, can be a steadier choice than a home that is a little cold everywhere.

The steps

Four small steps,in your own time.

  1. Choose the room you spend the most waking time in, ideally a smaller one, and plan to keep it warm through the day in the cold months.

  2. Keep the warmth in: close the door, draw the curtains at dusk, and block the gap at the bottom of the door with a rolled towel.

  3. Dress in layers, keep a blanket and a warm drink within reach, and get up and move about at least once an hour.

  4. Look up what help with energy costs is available where you live, from your energy company or a local or national advice service.

The reason

Why it helps

Several thin layers trap warmth better than one thick one, and a warm drink and a little movement help the body make its own heat. Heating one room well, with the door closed, can use less energy than trying to keep the whole home slightly warm. Advice services often know about support that people do not think to ask for.

A gentle variation

If you sleep in a different room, warm the bedroom for a while before bed, and use extra blankets rather than one heavy cover. A hot water bottle can help, as long as it is in good condition and not filled with boiling water.

Hands passing a dish across a candlelit table set with glasses and greens

WE · TRIBE

Try itwith someone.

If you look after someone who feels the cold, or who does not notice it, check the room for them, and make the warm room a place you sit together. If someone nearby lives alone, a call or a knock on the coldest days is worth making.

Make it a plan in HIVELIVE, with WE

Try it today

Today, choose your warm room and put a rolled towel along the bottom of its door.

Add it to your day

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