Simple Ways to Winterize Your Home

I love winter but I hate living in a cold home. Like every other American family this year, our budget is tight. I knew, going into this winter, we'd find ourselves strapped for milk money if we didn't do something about our energy bill. Last year, we paid $400 per month for heating fuel costs. Believe it or not, we live in a brand new home. So I set about doing whatever I could to make our home more energy efficient without having to sacrifice the toasty 70-72 degrees I prefer to maintain indoors during the winter months.

Sealing Doors

This was a simple problem to identify and fix. When you can see daylight between your door and the door frame, something is terribly wrong there. I have a front door, back door and a door that leads to an attached garage. I bought three rolls of self-adhesive foam door seal at WalMart for a couple dollars each. By running a strip of the foam sealer under the seal that was already in place, I was able to make for a much more snug fit that no longer let a draft through. I have to be careful to ensure each door latches now because of the snug fit, but when closed properly, the seal is excellent.

Sealing Windows

This was a big project only because I have so many windows. When the average window in your home is 4' tall and 3' wide and you have at least two windows per room, you've got a good bit of glass to cover. For this, I purchased several window seal kits (also from WalMart) that cost $3 each. I initially purchased ten of them but didn't need nearly that many. These kits are all-inclusive and completely idiot proof. All you need to do is clean your window frames with the alcohol pad included in the kit, run the double sided tape along the frame, slap a piece of plastic on the window, running your finger over the plastic covering the tape and then gently finish it with a hair dryer which effectively shrink-wraps your window. When you're done, just trim the edges of the plastic and people will never know you've sealed your windows. These kits allow you all of the sunlight but none of the draft.

Sealing Cooler Fans

Like most people in the West, we have a large cooler fan in our attic which, when turned on, sucks all the hot air out of our house in seconds. While this is a handy piece of machinery in the spring and fall, it does cause fuel efficiency issues in the winter. The slats do close on the vent when it is turned off but they hardly provide an airtight seal. Since hot air rises, ours rose straight out the duct for that fan. I took some of the tape and plastic left over from a window sealing kit and sealed off the 3' by 3' square opening for that fan.

Sealing Dryer Ducts

Last winter, I saw the warm moist air from my clothes dryer get pumped straight out a hole in the laundry room wall and wished I could send it into my house instead of into the wind. This year, I learned that is possible.

I went to Home Depot and purchased an indoor dryer vent for $12.99. This simple plastic box is amazing! I simply removed my dryer hose from the outside vent (hole in the wall) and plugged it onto the round opening on the indoor dryer vent. The way this little wonder works is you add water to it and all the lint that comes out the dryer hose is trapped in the water while the warm, moist air is sent into your home. After hooking this up, I sealed the hole in the wall with a plastic bag and duct tape. Not only does the indoor dryer vent help me to heat my home with a byproduct of all the laundry I do every day, but the additional moisture eliminates the need for me to run a home humidifier any more.

One other thing I did which cost about $8 was putting up a clothes line outside. I purchased the line itself and two pulleys which I attached to my home and the backyard fence. On warm days, I can string up a load of laundry and see them dry within an hour without having to use any electricity at all.

After incorporating all of these inexpensive, energy saving measures, I was anxious to see how they would affect our energy bill. It wasn't long before I saw a drastic change. Last month, we had a record cold spell and forgot to turn the heat down most nights. Instead of paying dearly, we received an energy bill that was $250 less than that same month last year! I had a one-time expense of $42 and have been saving $250 every month since. Money may be tight, but the initial investment really paid off for us!