How To Avoid Turning on the Heat When It’s Cold Outside

Some days are worth spending inside.  When you’ve got time to spend in your home, but want to avoid turning on the heat here are a few ways to avoid turning on the heat:

- Put on a sweater, socks, hat and fingerless gloves.  Yep, if you run cold like I tend to, layer up while at home.  I used to peel off my extra layers as soon as I got home.  Off came my socks, sweater, jacket and hat.  Now, I just change my layers to more casual ones: wool hoodie instead of cashmere pullover, comfy socks instead of wool dress socks.

- Do the dishes by hand: Living in San Francisco comes with some compromises, including not having a dishwasher in our kitchen.  I used to loathe hand-washing all of my dishes, but now that the temperatures have dropped I look forward to running the warm water over my hands.

- Cover up: find a stylish and cozy blanket to keep on your couch.  Keeping it nearby and readily available will encourage you to use it.

- Take a hot shower or bath.

- Watch a movie or browse photos of warm locales.  Read a book set in Mexico.

- Eat warming or spicy foods.

- Knit something beautiful out of wool or cashmere: it will keep your hands busy and warm, and as your projects progresses it will cover your lap to keep you warm as well.

- Head to bed early.  In the winter the sun sets early, daylight is short.  Heading to bed, often the warmest place in the house, is a great way to stay warm.