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I'm not sure if the linked article is part 2, part 3 or neither... I was actually hoping for some more tips, but it seems to just be a rehash of the informatio

I'm not sure if the linked article is part 2, part 3 or neither... I was actually hoping for some more tips, but it seems to just be a rehash of the information in part 1. Maybe I'm missing something. Since I already live this way, here are a few things that I haven't seen mentioned anywhere else: 1) Wear a hat all day. It makes a huge difference. A sleeping cap is essential on cold winter nights, but even during the day some kind of hat will really help. I wear a wool cap that makes me look like an old man. My wife seems to be happy with long hair, but still wears a night cap at night. 2) Your feet and hands are the first thing to get cold. I work at home as a programmer, so I'm not often moving around. My wife bought me a kind of pillow with a pocket in it to put my feet. It is amazing. Any kind of pillow with a blanket over it will work just as well, I think. 3) On the same topic, never, ever go anywhere without wearing slippers. As soon as your feet get cold, it is really hard to get them warm again. 4) If you are like me and have a sedentary job, make sure to go for walks at regular intervals. As it never gets below freezing where I live, I also go for a bike ride at lunch. Your muscles are amazingly efficient heaters -- and you will lose weight! (I am always worried about being cold on my bike, but even at 3 or 4 degrees C and the wind howling, the bike is the warmest place to be). 5) Don't get wet. At cold temperatures it takes forever to get dry again. All the while you will suffer. If you must get wet (washing dishes, hands, face, whatever), then make sure to use warm water and be careful not to get your clothes wet. If your clothes get wet (i.e., if you go for a walk in the rain and your socks get wet), change to dry ones immediately. I really can't stress this point enough. Finally, if you do end up getting cold (your skin feels like ice, or your fingers or toes go numb), then warm up immediately -- however you have to do it. If you start shivering, then you have gone waaay too far and you must warm up. Learning to live comfortably in the cold takes a lot of practice -- it is not intuitive (at least it hasn't been for me!). Do not "tough it out". If you get cold, then realize that you have made a mistake somewhere and try to figure out how to fix it for next time.

JetSpiegel 12y ago
The headgear tip is essential. I live in a temperate climate, but for leaving the house some sort of head cover is a must, particularly if there's even a slight breeze.
nikkisnow 12y ago
All good advice. One thing I would recommend is to wear wool when possible; even when wet, it's insulating properties are unmatched. I used to have a pair of wool trousers that kept me warm while winter camping in Katahdin.
derekp7 12y ago
One thing that is amazing is in-floor heating (hot water pipes run through the floor). Lacking that, a heated floor mat under your desk works wonders, and draws relatively little energy (compared to a space heater at least).
- dba7dba 12y ago
  Korea has been using in-floor heating for a long time. Of course other cultures/nations have them, but in Korea it's been in use for decades and used in pretty much all homes. Following video is from an expat in S Korea who put up a video to show how it works. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SFcmZlxa-TE https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SFcmZlxa-TE
  - bane 12y ago
    Some of the best sleeps I've ever had were on the floor in Korea, in winter, with the ondol system running. Coming back home, I struggled with electric blankets and all sorts of things to try and replicate it and the closest I've come is an electric mattress pad. Something about the low heat rising from beneath you is incredibly comforting. Every winter we put it on our bed and sleep like babies, even if the rest of the house is cold.
    - dba7dba 12y ago
      Sleeping on ondol room seems to be like sleeping in sauna, except you are lying down comfortably on a think blanket...
300bps 12y ago
What temperature do you keep the inside of your house?
- mikekchar 12y ago
  We have no integrated heating system in our place, so it's the same temperature inside as it is outside :-). It always freaks me out on cold days, wet days when I can see my breath inside! We live in Shizuoka prefecture in Japan, which has a mild climate in the winter. It very rarely snows (once every couple of years) and it usually doesn't even freeze over night. In the winter, the day time high can be below 10 degrees C, but is almost never below 5. Most days it hovers around 10 degrees +- 3. The low is normally below 5 but only gets below freezing a few nights of the year. We have a south eastern exposure and big glass sliding doors which capture a lot of light. It almost never rains in the winter in Shizuoka (only a few times a month), so this is the main form of heating that we use. At noon, it is probably 15 degrees C on sunny days. Unfortunately my office is on the north side, which is much colder. On cold, sunny days I will take my laptop to the warm area of the house and work there. Because I do work for a UK firm, I do work a lot at night, so I often work with an ambient temperature of 10 degrees or colder. The main problem I have at the moment is that my hands get cold. In the last similar story someone linked to a keyboard that works as a heater and I think I will try something like that next winter (it is already spring here, so it is getting warmer -- next week is supposed to be 18-19 degrees). When the heat comes, perhaps I will give some advice on how to stay cool without air conditioning ;-)

JetSpiegel 12y ago

The headgear tip is essential. I live in a temperate climate, but for leaving the house some sort of head cover is a must, particularly if there's even a slight breeze.

nikkisnow 12y ago

All good advice. One thing I would recommend is to wear wool when possible; even when wet, it's insulating properties are unmatched. I used to have a pair of wool trousers that kept me warm while winter camping in Katahdin.

derekp7 12y ago

One thing that is amazing is in-floor heating (hot water pipes run through the floor). Lacking that, a heated floor mat under your desk works wonders, and draws relatively little energy (compared to a space heater at least).

dba7dba 12y ago
Korea has been using in-floor heating for a long time. Of course other cultures/nations have them, but in Korea it's been in use for decades and used in pretty much all homes. Following video is from an expat in S Korea who put up a video to show how it works. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SFcmZlxa-TE https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SFcmZlxa-TE
- bane 12y ago
  Some of the best sleeps I've ever had were on the floor in Korea, in winter, with the ondol system running. Coming back home, I struggled with electric blankets and all sorts of things to try and replicate it and the closest I've come is an electric mattress pad. Something about the low heat rising from beneath you is incredibly comforting. Every winter we put it on our bed and sleep like babies, even if the rest of the house is cold.
  - dba7dba 12y ago
    Sleeping on ondol room seems to be like sleeping in sauna, except you are lying down comfortably on a think blanket...

300bps 12y ago

What temperature do you keep the inside of your house?

mikekchar 12y ago
We have no integrated heating system in our place, so it's the same temperature inside as it is outside :-). It always freaks me out on cold days, wet days when I can see my breath inside! We live in Shizuoka prefecture in Japan, which has a mild climate in the winter. It very rarely snows (once every couple of years) and it usually doesn't even freeze over night. In the winter, the day time high can be below 10 degrees C, but is almost never below 5. Most days it hovers around 10 degrees +- 3. The low is normally below 5 but only gets below freezing a few nights of the year. We have a south eastern exposure and big glass sliding doors which capture a lot of light. It almost never rains in the winter in Shizuoka (only a few times a month), so this is the main form of heating that we use. At noon, it is probably 15 degrees C on sunny days. Unfortunately my office is on the north side, which is much colder. On cold, sunny days I will take my laptop to the warm area of the house and work there. Because I do work for a UK firm, I do work a lot at night, so I often work with an ambient temperature of 10 degrees or colder. The main problem I have at the moment is that my hands get cold. In the last similar story someone linked to a keyboard that works as a heater and I think I will try something like that next winter (it is already spring here, so it is getting warmer -- next week is supposed to be 18-19 degrees). When the heat comes, perhaps I will give some advice on how to stay cool without air conditioning ;-)