Seeking hygge

I don't know about you but I've just about had it up to here with winter.

I'm so ready for daylight and warmth. I've recently started a new job and now I have a longer walk in the early mornings and back in the evenings. I love the fresh air and the winter sunlight but it would be nice if I could feel my fingers at the same time.

But I think I have found a solution.

I came across this link earlier this week looking at cool cultural concepts from around the world, and one of them is "hygge", a Danish concept which as far as I can tell is about braving the weather then holing up somewhere warm and brightly lit with comfort food, warm snuggly woollen clothes and blankets, and good company.

I love the concept. I also love the word and how close it is to 'hug', like the candlelight, hot cocoa and blankets are giving you a hug.

So tonight I'm seeking hygge. I'm curled up on the sofa with a blanket and my knitting with food in the oven. Also in the plans are candles, hot water bottles, chocolate and of course actual hugs.

Singing the praises of curtains

Last night Brussels saw its first snow of the year. I love winter. I love the snuggly-ness you get inside, with blankets and hot water bottles, cocoa and mulled wine, and lots of pies and stews and solid, hearty, wholesome food. I love listening to the sound of the rain and wind outside, while burrowing deeper into the duvet. Inside seems even cosier when outside is so inhospitable.

However, keeping inside cosy while outside gets colder and colder is not easy. Or cheap. This is our first full winter in our new flat, as we moved in last January, and the one thing I have to say is: Curtains make a HUGE difference. First snow last night, we still haven't turned on a single radiator. This is inducing a probably appalling level of smugness - ooh check us out, we still haven't turned on the heating. I need to tone this down, I think. Of course, this is not a massive feat of endurance, as we have occupied flats above, below and either side of us, so the insulation is high from the start.

So. Five things we are doing to keep the heating off, and two things I want to add.

1. Curtains.

Curtains curtains curtains. I can't stress enough even how much difference hanging a thin pair of net curtains made when they finally went up last spring. Lined curtains are orders of magnitude more effective yet. Hang curtains. Ours are homemade, and cost me a total of €350 for four pairs of wall-to-wall floor-length curtains, two of them lined. And €120 of that was the first curtains, before I figured out the shortcuts.

2. Blankets.

I know I'm all about the decluttering these days but I still think you cannot have enough blankets. Heaped on the bed or draped invitingly over the sofa, snuggle under blankets anywhere and everywhere. Soft, warm, and a warm glowy feeling of 'I made that'. I have several crocheted blankets and the warmest by far is the one using Lucy's Ripple Pattern (from Attic24), which has the added benefit of being super easy.

3. Jumpers.

An old but a classic one. Put a jumper on over that t-shirt. Or if you're already doing that, add a vest underneath. No picture unfortunately - but it's on my to knit list.

4. Feets.

We lose much heat through our feets. House shoes, slippers, woolly bedsocks. Keep your tootsies warm and the rest of you will be fine.

5. Opening windows.

Yeah, might sound crazy, but make sure you open your windows at least once a day and get a good air flow through. Cleaner air means better lung health for you, less moisture creating mould you'll just have to clean off, and lower moisture levels also mean that it takes less energy to heat the air in your home. I know, the heating isn't on. It still makes a difference - the impact of the warm water passing through pipes to the bathroom, of having the oven on etc are magnified.

Still to do: Rugs.

I've been looking around at rag rugs and so on for a while. Definitely something I want to have a go at. Even with socks on, I can feel we're losing a fair amout of heat through the floor especially in certain places (ie where you can't feel hot water pipes serving as free underfloor heating).

Still to do: Draught excluders.

This is something I hope to get around to sooner rather than later. I can't feel a draught under the door to the rest of the building, but I can see light under it. Just not yet sure which side is warmer... This is an important point to ascertain before adding insulation.

Winterising: Clear your drains

As a renter, there really isn't much that you can do to prepare your home for winter, but keeping your drains clear is an easy and cheap way to avoid a potentially much bigger problem. While as a renter you probably wouldn't have to pay for the repairs, you would certainly have to live with the problem, and you just know that the pipes would burst on Christmas Eve or a bank holiday weekend.

Cleaning drains is incredibly easy. You need those two reliable, trusty friends - baking soda, and white vinegar.

Week 6: The handbag collection

I'm tackling another cupboard this week. The handbag collection. This is currently 'stored' (read: tossed in a careless fashion) on the floor of the cupboard used for long dresses and work shirts. I'm not one of those women with a handbag for every occasion. In fact, once I got the bags out onto the table, the vast majority of items in the pile were overnight bags and sponge bags.

Winterising: Your feet will thank me

A lot of winterising post and advice I have seen is targeted at changes to the house - but you also need to get  your clothes and shoes ready for winter. Shoes in particular! They need to be warm, comfortable and rain-and-snow-resistant. 

Put away your summer shoes (sandals etc) and get out all your sturdier shoes. Check the heels and soles, and get them repaired if necessary. If your shoes are leather, give them a thorough treatment - you can buy products to help keep leather waterproof, but I use my homemade shoe polish as the beeswax does that beautifully. If your shoes don't fit or have holes, now is the time to go out and buy a new pair - you don't want to find yourself without suitable footwear when the snow starts getting slushy. While you're at it, check that you also have warm socks that extend as far up your leg as the boots.

If like me you live in an urban area, you are unlikely to have a pair of wellies or walking boots. While you probably can't wear these at work, I get a lot of use out of my sturdy walking boots for trips to the supermarket, and walking to and from work (I change shoes when I get there.) My feet thank me, I save on damage to my other shoes, and I can walk around more quickly and safely with the better grip.

Week 3: The coat cupboard

I'm really enjoying the planning stage of the simplifying - identifying what can go, what needs to stay, and what I don't yet have (eg storage containers). I am finding that as I go along, I usually manage to solve the puzzle - I spot something somewhere else that is unnecessary there and can be repurposed in another room. In fact, I have already thought of some better uses for items I have already thrown out, but that's just tough.

As I have recently acquired a new coat, and with winter coming on, I made my next target the coat cupboard. Take a look at it. It's 'orrible!

The coat cupboard - BEFORE

Winterising: Bleeding radiators

There are many blog entries and articles about preparing for winter around on the internet, not to mention in books about green living and self-sufficiency. However, most of these assume that you own your own home and can therefore make changes to the roofing, insulation, windows, heating systems and so on. There's not a lot out there for renters, so I'm exploring what I can do in my home.

The first thing is to bleed your radiators. All you need for this is a radiator bleeding key and something to mop up water eg a rag or kitchen towel. A radiator bleeding key can be bought cheaply from DIY stores - I got mine from Brico. Instructions are below and can also be found here.

As we are on the top floor of the building, air accumulates very quickly in our radiators and we bleed them several times each winter. They usually tell us when they need bleeding - the apartment gets very, very cold! We were freezing last week, but after bleeding the radiators on Friday, it's lovely and snugly and warm now!