Sun comes up on a frozen morning.

We woke up to below-zero temperatures. Everything and every being outside was/is frozen.

There’s not much we can do about it since we can’t control the weather with a thermostat. All we can do is cope. Adapt. And wait until it (the always-changing weather) changes. Because it will.

This too shall pass.

And despite the extra cost associated with the cold winter weather, it does provide an extra sweet appreciation for spring. Ahhh, spring.

While using memories of warm weather to thaw out the icy grip Old Man Winter has on our area, you might also try a few of these frugal tips to stay warm(er):

• Wear lots of clothes. We keep our thermostat at 63 and wear wool socks, warm sweats and sweat shirts. We also keep lots of blankets around and have several blankets on beds.
• Our old house has ancient, inefficient windows, so I nail up extra blankets under the curtains on the bedrooms to keep more warm air in and cold air out. It has a weird, claustrophobic-causing effect on the room (despite the fact that it really helps) so I only do this in the bedrooms. This also has a WT effect on my house, but I embrace it as temporary and necessary negative.
  

  Blankets are hung under curtains to provide extra insulation during the winter.

• We don’t open curtains in the other rooms on days the temps are below 32.
• I keep a radiator heater going on extremely cold days in the kitchen area and keep unnecessary room doors closed.
• We leave faucets and hydrants dripping overnight.
  

  Dripping hydrant outside the well house.

• Keep boots and gloves and coats inside. I made the mistake of putting on already freezing gloves before heading out to feed this morning and it made a TREMENDOUS difference. I cursed my stupidity while hauling pans of water to my frozen birds with my frozen hands.
• Give extra straw bedding and extra feed to animals and make sure they have access to water. That’s NOT frozen, of course. Which is a problem when it’s below zero outside.
  

  Our dog, Eva, and Grey Kittie (the most annoying creature on our farm), get breakfast BY bed due to the cold.

• Eat warm foods and drink warm liquids. It helps.
• My mom makes cloth bags filled with feed corn (we cleverly call them corn bags). Heat them up in the microwave before bed and it helps keep toes warm.
• Leave the oven cracked open after you bake to let the heat out. You already paid for the heat and might as well get two uses out of it.
• Get some perspective. Count your blessings. The library and the Internet are filled with stories of people who had it worse. True story. It helps.

If all else fails, just wait. Each day we are closer to warmer temperatures.

Repeat: This too shall pass.

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Categories: Frugal homemaking on the farm

Tagged as: cold winter weather count your blessings frozen perspective spring thermostat warm weather

Ginia

My name is Ginia Oehlschlager and I'm a small-town gal from Missouri. Join me as I document my crazy life on the farm with my husband and four kids. I'm always looking for frugal, simple ways to live the life God set before me. Where faith, family and fun come together on the farm.