How to Survive Winter in Your Apartment

Winter can be an incredibly trying time of year, with its sub-zero temperatures, salt stains, and frozen fingers.  However, winter also gives you the chance to get outside and embrace the snow, or to say in and really enjoy your space.  By following these simple guidelines you can ensure that whether you are cuddled up on the couch, or dashing through the snow, you and your apartment will survive winter.    

Prepare Yourself

One way to ready yourself for the cold is to ensure that your outdoor space is winter-ready.  Stack and stow all of your outdoor furniture, bikes, and barbecue, and, if you can, wrap them in a tarpaulin.  Also, have a sturdy shovel, salt or kitty litter handy, to ensure your outdoor space is free from ice and snow.  By keeping your outdoor space clear, little tasks, like taking out the garbage, or popping outside for a nip of fresh winter air, are less bothersome, and make you feel like less of a shut-in.  Another way to keep the winter blues at bay is to embrace the weather through skiing, sledding, or skating.  In order to make this easier, clear some space at your entrance to accommodate the bulky outdoor equipment you might need.  It is also worth your while to invest in a good floor mat for your entrance to catch dripping snow from your skates, skis, or boots.

Stay Cozy

If the cold is too much for you, then cozy up indoors.  Winter can be a wonderful time to have friends and family over, or to flake out on the couch with a good book or movie.  To better facilitate this, dust off your cookbooks and harness your inner chef.  There is no better time of year to make soups, and stews, or to bake bread or sweets than the winter.  Nothing warms you up more than homemade food, and the heat from the oven is an added bonus.  It also helps to make your living space cozy with blankets or throws, low lighting or candles.

Beat the Cold (or the Heat)

Depending on your unit or building, your apartment can either be extremely cold or unbearably hot in the winter.  If your place gets chilly in the winter, be sure to spend some time finding and blocking drafts.  There are window-sealing kits that can be quite effective, but thick curtains do the trick, and give your apartment a wonderfully cozy feeling.  Another option is to pick up a small space heater.  These little heaters, some of which come as imitation fireplaces, can really do a lot to warm your body and your heart on those frigid days.  If you have radiators, there is a good chance you might be too warm.  If your unit is too hot, and you do not have a thermostat, talk to your property owner about turning down the heat slightly, if your radiators are too old and stubborn for you to turn them down on your own.