(Photo credit: Shutterstock)
While there’s still a while left to enjoy of the summer, there’s nothing wrong with thinking ahead – particularly when it comes to planning how to keep your family home nice and cosy during the colder months. If it’s important to you that you make your house warm and welcoming through the drearier season, here are some tips to achieving that this year.
Plan an Autumn clean
The ‘Spring clean’ needn’t be the only time you give your home a thorough once over – plan a top to bottom sort-out of your property this autumn and enter winter feeling refreshed.
If your house starts to get cluttered, dusty, or less than fragrant in the summertime, you’ll have the choice to head out into the garden or fling open the windows for fresh air – not so easy in winter!
Autumn is an ideal time to have a proper clear out of any junk and make sure everywhere is spotless; this way you’ll be ready for the Christmas period too, when visiting family and friends often make you feel the pressure to get things tidy.
Get your throws ready
Winter has its drawback; your favourite outdoor activities might be off limits, and your energy bill is probably likely to increase, but it can be a nice time to wind down and spend more time just relaxing.
Soft and snuggly throws for your bedroom or lounge are a must buy at this time of year, allowing you to keep warm whilst watching your favourite TV shows or catching up with a good book. Maybe treat yourself to some snug new slippers while you’re at it?
Upgrade your duvet
If you want to keep warm on the coldest of winter evenings, double check you’ve got a suitable duvet. Duvets come in various thickness, and you may find you have a standard all-season design or even a lightweight summer option. If this is the case, head online to order a reasonably priced Winter duvet. Winter duvets have a tog rating of between 12-13.5.
Clean the chimney
Plan on having a roaring fire this winter? Make sure your chimney is fit for the job. A clean chimney will reduce safety risks and ensure your home doesn’t fill with smoke unexpectedly. Autumn is a good time to start setting aside a budget for fire wood if you plan to rely on a log fire for heating your home too.
Prepare your central heating system
To keep your heating bills down this winter, make sure that your central heating is running as effectively as possible. You can prepare your system by bleeding radiators and invest in a power flushing service, which will remove lime scale and sludge allowing optimum performance, reducing the noise of your heating system too.
Switch to thermal curtains
Another way to make your home extra cosy this winter is to make sure you have the right curtains up.
It can be easy to sacrifice style for substance when it comes to window coverings – cheap blinds are an obvious choice is you want something modern and attractive, but they’re not great for keeping heat in!
Switch to thermal curtains (there are some beautiful designs out there) to make sure you’re not wasting any precious heat.
Treat yourself to new candles
Alongside a log fire, candlelight has to be one of the most-romantic winter accessories for your home. Stock up on pillar candles that you can place on your mantelpieces or dining room table and give a relaxed glow or choose pretty tea-light holders dotted around the room for a magical touch.
