Keep warm! These tips from the Georgia Power earthcents pamphlet (we received in the mail with our power bill before we left Georgia) were all pretty darn good!
1. Check weather-stripping around doors, windows, and between heated and unheated areas of your home.
2. Caulk or re-caulk around windows and doors.
3. Change your air filters. (Dirty filters can increase your systems operating costs, damage equipment and reduce efficiency.)
4. Keep the thermostat on your heating system at the lowest comfortable setting. (GA Power recommended 68 degrees Fahrenheit in winter. On average, you use 3 percent more energy for every degree set above 68 degrees.)
5. Have your heating or cooling system professionally checked to make sure it is running properly. (Prolonging the system’s life and reducing operating costs.)
6. Insulate your electic water heater with at least R-6 insulation. (Read your water heater’s manufacturer’s warranty to make sure it’s not voided by adding a water heater jacket. Do not cover the pressure release valve when you wrap an electric water heater. )
7. If you are going away for several days, lower the thermostat to 60 degrees, but not to “off.”
8. Keep heating vents and registers clear. (Make sure they aren’t blocked by drapes or furniture. Vents should be cleaned regularly with a vacuum or broom.)
9. Make sure fireplace dampers fit tightly, and keep them closed when not using the fireplace. (Add a fireplace screen, if possible.)
10. Cover bare floors. (It adds heat retention. I had no idea.)
11. Let the sun shine in by opening drapes and windows. (Natural solar heat will warm the house. Keep them closed at night and on cloudy days. Use insulated or heavy curtains on north facing windows.)
12. Use a humidifier to keep your home more comfortable. (By adding moisture, you can lower the thermostat setting without feeling colder!)
13. If you have a window air conditioning unit, remove it for the winter months to prevent heat from escaping through and around the unit. (If you can’t move it, put a cover over it to prevent drafts.)
14. Check the R-value of insulation in your home. (GA Power recommends R-30 in the ceiling, R-13 in the walls and R-19 in the floor for maximum comfort and energy efficiency for existing homes.)
No snow angels in this house!!
Other articles on how to warm your home, apartment and tankless water heaters:
- Going Tankless: The Dollars & ‘Sense’ of Tankless Water Heaters (txu.com)
- How to Winterize Your Home (blogher.com)
- Small Electric Heaters and How To Reduce Your House Heating Costs – Eight Straightforward Recommendations (mydecorarticles.com)
- How to [Save Soooo Much Money and Polar Bears and] Winterize Your Apartment (mynewplace.com)
Attempting zero waste lifestyle in a military household 
A good list..some of them are already in operation in our house..like carpets in the winter but tiled floor in the summer…curtains to keep out the cold. A lot of village people use newspapers, tin foil or old wrapping paper at their windows to keep out the cold…and they only use one room..that way there is only one room to heat…somehow I don, t think that there are any engineers to check electrical equipment but we do a good job on our own. Chimney gets cleaned by a very small lady who clambers onto the roof and drops a weight down the flue , then she jiggles it about to loosen soot etc…very basiv stuff but it work’s. ?… many oldens die in the winter due to cold which can be -25
Love your snow angel! Still in shorts and flip-flops here. But it’s been cool enough (in the 70’s and 80’s) that the house has been wide open for a few weeks now. So nice!