Being cold is the worst. Here are easy tips to raise your core temperature and enjoy winter more.
1. Layers, Layers, Layers
![16 Easy Tips To Keep You Warm and Cozy This Winter 2 Young woman feeling cold outdoors](https://wealthofgeeks.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/freezing-cold-woman-outside.jpg)
Look for long underwear (top and bottom) in cotton, polypropylene, or silk. You’ll be astonished at the difference a thin layer can make.
Wear tights under your slacks and a long-sleeved T-shirt under your blouse/shirt.
2. Focus On Your Feet
![16 Easy Tips To Keep You Warm and Cozy This Winter 3 Young woman with legs on the plane seat. A passenger relaxes on a flying plane with her feet upstairs.](https://wealthofgeeks.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/shutterstock_1233214723-scaled-e1699060159625.jpg)
![16 Easy Tips To Keep You Warm and Cozy This Winter 3 Young woman with legs on the plane seat. A passenger relaxes on a flying plane with her feet upstairs.](https://wealthofgeeks.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/shutterstock_1233214723-scaled-e1699060159625.jpg)
A building contractor once told me that if your toes are warm, your head is warm. That’s why you should wear wool socks in the winter, not cotton ones.
Don’t walk around in sock feet at home, though. A pair of felt or fur/fake fur slippers helps keep you warm from the toes on up.
3. Seek Out Hot Spots
Figure out the warmest room in a house, and make it your winter headquarters for eating, gaming, and binge-watching. If there’s a door, close it to keep out drafts.
4. Warm Head Gear
A warm hat is essential when you’re outside. Consider indoor head gear as well. For example, a wool beret can be tres chic while keeping heat from leaking out of the top of your head. Sometimes, I wear a stocking cap inside.
5. That’s a Wrap
![16 Easy Tips To Keep You Warm and Cozy This Winter 6 WEALTHOFGEEKS FeaturedImageTemplate 2023 12 05T122345.575](https://wealthofgeeks.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/WEALTHOFGEEKS-FeaturedImageTemplate-2023-12-05T122345.575.jpg)
![16 Easy Tips To Keep You Warm and Cozy This Winter 6 WEALTHOFGEEKS FeaturedImageTemplate 2023 12 05T122345.575](https://wealthofgeeks.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/WEALTHOFGEEKS-FeaturedImageTemplate-2023-12-05T122345.575.jpg)
An artfully wrapped and draped scarf makes a great fashion statement. It also keeps winter drafts from sneaking down your neck while you’re hanging out inside or outside.
6. Hit the Thrift Shop
Do those hats, scarves, and such sound expensive? A trip to Goodwill or a thrift shop could yield fabulous finds.
No thrift stores near you? Pay retail, and consider it a long-term investment. In the book Making Home: Adapting Our Homes and Our Lives to Settle in Place, author Sharon Astyk states that “good clothing is far cheaper than heating your house.”
7. Drink in the Warmth
Coffee, tea, cocoa, broth, or even hot water with a slice of lemon is super-warming for your insides. Holding a hot mug is soothing on chilly digits.
Keep track of refills, though. Too much caffeine might keep you up at night, and too many hot chocolates will add a lot of sugar to your diet.
8. Move Your Body
![16 Easy Tips To Keep You Warm and Cozy This Winter 9 Front view of senior woman hiker standing outdoors in nature at sunset.](https://wealthofgeeks.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/older-woman-hiking-e1690834458145.jpg)
![16 Easy Tips To Keep You Warm and Cozy This Winter 9 Front view of senior woman hiker standing outdoors in nature at sunset.](https://wealthofgeeks.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/older-woman-hiking-e1690834458145.jpg)
Got a chill you can’t chase? Walk up and down the stairs for a few minutes to jump-start your body’s thermostat. Do some yoga or Pilates moves, or drop for some pushups. Heading to the hot yoga studio will also warm you right up.
Don’t be afraid to bundle up and head outside to move your body.
9. Eat Hot Foods
![16 Easy Tips To Keep You Warm and Cozy This Winter 10 Cheesy Potato casserole](https://wealthofgeeks.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/Potato-casserole.jpg)
![16 Easy Tips To Keep You Warm and Cozy This Winter 10 Cheesy Potato casserole](https://wealthofgeeks.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/Potato-casserole.jpg)
If you don’t already have a slow cooker or Instant Pot, get one. There are a billion easy-to-do online recipes for these appliances – and the fragrance of a simmering curry or freshly made stew will do wonders for your mood.
Relying less on takeout is a massive boost to the budget.
10. Cuddle With Pets
During the day, let Fido or Fluffy sit on your lap or beside you on the sofa. This helps regulate your emotional thermostat as well as your internal one.
Letting your dog or cat sleep on the bed adds warmth. Talk about creature comforts!
11. Extra Warmth With a Space Heater
Are both rooms in your apartment equally drafty? Consider a space heater to cozy things up. A closed door will keep that heat in.
But please, please be careful: Space heaters cause one-third of home heating fires and 80% of home heating fire fatalities. The National Fire Protection Association has a list of safety tips.
12. Blankets on Blankets on Blankets
![16 Easy Tips To Keep You Warm and Cozy This Winter 13 Woman wrapped in blanket](https://wealthofgeeks.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/cold-house.jpg)
![16 Easy Tips To Keep You Warm and Cozy This Winter 13 Woman wrapped in blanket](https://wealthofgeeks.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/cold-house.jpg)
Wrap yourself in an afghan, a heated throw, or a luxuriously soft minky blanket before you stream TV shows or puzzle over that day’s Wordle. I personally love heated blankets.
13. Extra Warmth via Rice Socks
Don’t have a heated throw? Make yourself a rice sock, aka “the frugal heating pad.” Fill a sock or cloth bag filled with flaxseed or (uncooked) rice, then warm it in the microwave.
This provides super-solid heat when draped around your neck, placed between your sweatshirt and T-shirt, or set onto your lap and covered with a throw.
14. Pre-Heat the Sheets
Pop that rice sock back into the microwave a few minutes before bedtime. Run the heated bag along the bottom sheet, then jump in.
Cuddle the rice sock to your body, or leave it at your feet. It will provide warmth for a surprisingly long time.
15. Go Outside
Sure, that seems counterintuitive. However, once you’ve walked around the block once or twice, your home will feel surprisingly warm when you step back through the door.
So do it – extra steps, after all – and then use one or more of the previous tactics to provide additional coziness. Spring will come again one day. Until then, there’s always a good old fashion rice sock.
16. Winterize Your Home
![16 Easy Tips To Keep You Warm and Cozy This Winter 17 handsome young man installing bay window in a new house construction site](https://wealthofgeeks.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/shutterstock_719818573-scaled-e1702588664798.jpg)
![16 Easy Tips To Keep You Warm and Cozy This Winter 17 handsome young man installing bay window in a new house construction site](https://wealthofgeeks.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/shutterstock_719818573-scaled-e1702588664798.jpg)
According to projections by the National Energy Assistance Directors Association, most US households can expect to pay anywhere from 4.2% to 8.7% more for heating in 2023-24. The only exception is natural gas heating, which is expected to decline by 7.8% compared to the previous year.
Staying warm has never been so costly, so take steps now to winterize your home. Energy.gov offers tips that even the least-handy DIYer can manage. Renters should check with the landlord first, but they’ll likely get the go-ahead for stuff like caulking and weatherstripping.