Cabin Fever has Officially Set In

This is about the time of year that cabin fever sets in like a cold stone in my starved-for-sunshine soul. I start daydreaming of blue skies, green grass, and clear chlorinated pools. I hear birds chirping, squirrels chatting, and kids on bike rides outside the open window. Of course, none of these things are real just yet, but the hope is starting to creep back in that winter will eventually end and I’ll be outside sitting under a starry sky and the red glow of a warm patio heater, eating a grilled hot dog.

The advent of the patio heater has revolutionized heating outdoors. I’ve seen patio torches, outdoor fireplaces, and patio stand-alone heaters cropping up at the local swanky restaurants as well as the buzzing dives. It made me start to think that having a patio heater in my back yard might be a great way to extend those highly longed for spring and summer nights. A patio heater would be an easy and affordable way to take advantage of all the extra daylight. I might actually see my neighbors again if I installed an outdoor fireplace. We’d all emerge from our hibernation, hungry for the smell of fresh cut grass and grilling meat. We’d gather around the flames of a patio torch or cozy outdoor fire pit and talk about how good it feels to have the winter at our backs.

For now, as I sit in my cabin, all pent up with the fever I stare at the window and plan exactly where it is my patio torches, outdoor fireplace and patio heater will go.

Keep an Engine Warmer in your Car for Emergencies

For a Boy Scout, being prepared is more than a motto, it is a way of life. We could all take a few lessons from them, especially during the colder months when emergencies are more likely to be dangerous and life threatening. Being caught in the cold or stranded without shelter on a road trip can have particularly unhappy endings. It is wise to be prepared and stock your vehicle with necessary and potentially life-saving items such as a first-aid kid, jumper cables, small fire extinguisher, flashlight, blankets, water, food, warm clothes and an engine warmer or battery warmer .

Before you go on any type of journey, take an inventory of what emergency items you have in your car. Make sure you have an electric heating mat stored near or in your automobile for extra cold mornings you’ll need your car to start. An outdoor heating mat is suited for any type of vehicle and works well with other types of equipment as well. Since there is no need to have advanced knowledge of engines to use an engine mat, they make sense for any household member to use. Engine warmers ensure proper performance in vehicles. Electric heating mats do not require any professional installation. All that you need to use an engine or battery warmer is a 120v outlet to plug the heating mat into.

Having safety items on hand could save you from potentially freezing and uncomfortable nights, should you become stranded. Check your tires and fluids regularly as well. Having an engine warmer on hand will ensure your vehicle starts properly even on the coldest of mornings. Being prepared will get you where you want, when you want.

Does My Piggy Bank Look Fat to You?

Anyone here want to save money on their home heating bill? Yep, I thought so. We are all feeling the squeeze and searching for solutions to save money anywhere we can. May I offer a few tidbits of sage advice that may save you money on your monthly home heating bill?

• Check each room in your home for air leaks. Windows or doors with a draft may be the culprit when losing any amount of warm. Seal any leaks found with weather stripping or caulk. If the rooms are still cold, consider installing an inexpensive wall-mount heater.

• Consider turning down your central heating system and using smaller wall-mount heaters or space heaters that cost less to operate in rooms your find yourselves most often.

• Close the heating vents in rooms or areas you rarely use.

• Inspect your chimney and make sure the flue is closed when not in use. Cold air can seep in or warm air escape when this is open.

• Let the sun shine! Natural light can be a truly affordable (try free) home improvement. On sunny days, open your blinds and curtains and let earth’s natural heater do the work for you.

• A programmable thermostat is another way to achieve optimal energy saving heat. Set the temperature lower at night while you sleep under those thick, warm blankets and program it to warm up as you rise in the morning. This will significantly impact your home heating system.

• Treat yourself to a simple luxury that won’t break the bank. You want to be frugal not feel like a financial reject. Consider a towel warmer and bathroom heater, which offers an affordable and efficient way to step from a warm shower to an equally warm towel. This also saves on dryer time, thereby cutting down on further energy uses that can add up on your monthly bills.

Hang A Heater, Watch Your Wallet Grow

For those of you reading who have recently relocated your family to a dark cave in the mountains or joined a cult and are currently still in the “brainwashing” orientation phase, you may not know that we are facing an economic crisis. If your cave has the Internet, you may now be accessing this page and others like it and finding out about the   thousands of jobs at risk across the country, that stocks have plummeted, and that the American people are struggling to find ways to stretch their dollar.

Many of us are spending more time in our homes and are finding ways to make do or do without. This is no time to scrimp on home heating. Despite smaller wallets, keeping food on our tables and heat in our homes during the cold winter months is something we are still willing to spend money on. However, finding ways to save money and be efficient in our home heating is of the utmost importance to us.

In some homes there are rooms and spaces that seem to always be colder or have a constant draft, making efficient home heating more of a challenge. A simple and affordable home improvement that remedies this problem is the purchase of a wall-mount heater. Replacing old furnaces or out-of-date heating systems may be cost prohibitive right now, yet a wall-mount heater is a low cost alternative solution to warming problem areas.

Homeowners may also find savings simply by heating only the rooms in use or the rooms used most frequently. Installing a wall-mount heater may be the only home improvement you can afford this year but will go a long way in maintaining proper home heating without breaking the bank.

Toasty Toes Translate to Toothy Grins

Let’s face it, if our head or feet get cold it takes a long time to warm them back up. We all know that heat escapes the top and bottoms of our brilliantly engineered bodies first. During extra chilly days and nights keeping your feet warm with heated floor mats is an easy and efficient way to keep those toes toasty and those grins toothy!

There are many electric heaters on the market available for home and office use, but in the past they have been bulky and dangerous. Electric heaters often cause fire hazards and pose a significant risk to homes with small children and pets. Using heated mats in place of electric heaters as foot warmers is a safe alternative to the aforementioned hazards.

Generating a little extra heat using a heated floor mat will also speed up the time it takes your feet to normally warm back up. After a day on the slopes, a brisk walk on snow shoes, a hike to the top of a sledding hill with your kids or a few turns on hockey or ice skates and your ten pink toes tend to turn an interesting hue of bluish purple. It would be a bonus in warmth for your toes if you could come home, plug in your heated floor mat and set your weary feet upon that heated mat and count down to toasty toes.

Foot warmers make excellent gifts and are also handy in several rooms throughout your home. Portable, durable and safe, foot warming mats may be your best friend during wintertime.  

Throw a Block Party Around a Fire Pit and Earn Points with Your Neighbors

As I watch the snow fly in droves outside my front window this morning, my head tilts back, flooded with nostalgic memories of summer nights, firelight and friends. Although spring and summer still feel far away tucked beneath this thick blanket of winter snow, I can’t help but be excited for the green grass and chilled nights of spring.

With the right outdoor heating in place, I plan to take advantage of the longer days and the kindness of my friends and neighbors. I picture us huddled by an outdoor fireplace or fire pit, bellies full after a round of grilled burgers and potato salad. We will swap stories of how we made it through the winter, after gladly hanging up our coats and scarves for another season, and we’ll enjoy the heat of the fire pit as it shares its warmth with our circle of friends. At one point, I envision a bag of marshmallows being ripped open, stacks of graham crackers handed out, and the chocolate bars unwrapped for the ultimate s’more ending to our perfect star lit evening.

The social benefits aside, outdoor heating can promote healthy living as you master grilling fresh food and take advantage of the fresh air. Installing an outdoor fireplace or fire pit will lengthen your summer nights and add value to your home. Think of it as an affordable home improvement, a boost to your social scene, and a healthy and economical way to spend time with your family and friends.

Towel Warmers Are An Affordable Luxury

There is nothing worse than stepping out of a steamy shower or hot bath, grabbing a limp towel at room temperature and pressing it against your face, only to realize that it’s cold and damp from yesterday’s use. It leaves you craving a magic towel warmer that works to warm up the cloth while you luxuriate in the hot water. Due to many home heating advancements, those “magic” towel heaters are now available and affordable to the average home owner. No more suffering at the hands of soggy, chilled towels.

Home heating has come a long way, from your basic wood burning stove, to central heating, and now all the way to the toe-warming radiant floor heat that many people enjoy today. That same idea is being expanded upon to ease and warm our lives. Towel heaters have been a luxury concept in the past, and many people felt them to be out of reach. Luckily those same companies looking out for our warm homes, have started to innovatively search for new ways to make our lives easier. Now coming home after a long day at work or the ski slopes, no longer means losing heat once you step out from behind that shower curtain. Grabbing a fluffy warm towel, from your newly installed and attractively wall mounted towel heater is well within reach! 

Outdoor Electric Blankets Will Keep Your Animals Toasty

As a pet owner I am finally admitting there was a time I may have gone a bit overboard in caring for my animals. If you are a pet lover like me, we’ve all been there; the knitted sweaters, the flavored dog bones, bows in the hair maybe even the puppy spa days. Here’s one more solution that is actually smart and safe for your pet-an outdoor electric heating blanket. If you, or someone you know has a pet that endures the winter months, with their nose pressed to the back door, begging with those puppy dog (or kitty cat) eyes to come in, then an outdoor pet heater is a great way to ease your conscience. Once you secure a heating blanket for your pet, they probably won’t even want to come in and lap at your feet anymore once the snow flies. Your pets will be safe and warm outside, all winter long, enjoying the luxurious heat that is supplied from their outdoor electric blanket. If they could speak, they’d use words like love, warm, happy, and thank you.

Outdoor electric blankets are even safe enough to be buried under your dog’s shelter, to protect them from being chewed by eager teeth. Even in very wet conditions, these outdoor pet heaters are proven safe. The outdoor electric blanket is a convenient and low cost solution to the sting in the air your beloved pets feel each winter.