Baby it’s
getting cold outside, but there is no reason to be cold inside when you can
recycle items you already have to really make a difference in how much heat
escapes your home or stop cold from seeping in.
Two simple
old fashioned ideas will go a long way to helping cut down drafts in your
home. You can use either new materials
to make them or recycle things you have on hand.
Those two
items are Draft Dodgers and Window Quilts.
On one group
I’m on I recently did the informational post on a simple way to make a draft
dodger for little to no money.
Basically it
read that to make a Draft Dodger all you needed was a tube of fabric the length
of the bottom of the door you want to stop the draft from coming through. You want the tube to be large enough that it
will go from the floor up over the gap at the bottom of the door. An old blue jean leg will work fine, or a
tube made out of an old t-shirt, new fabric whatever works best for your
budget.
When you
make the tube seal one end of it. I then
generally line the tube with a recycled plastic bag I can seal, this helps to
keep moisture out, just in case.
You fill
that bag with bulk purchased, beans, rice, peas, sand, aquarium gravel or something
similar with weight and density to it. Use whatever is cheapest or you have on
hand.
You then
seal the other end of the tube and you have a basic Draft Dodger to place
against the bottom of all doors that leak cold air.
You can have
more fun with the project decorating it to a theme. I’ve seen them done to look like dachshund, a
ballerina doing the splits, a lanky cat and many other cute ideas.
One thing I
do when I make them is to make them where the bag of beans, rice, or other
materials used can be removed and then the outer shell can be thrown into the
washing machine periodically.
I’ve given
these as gifts over the years to folks too, think about the holidays coming up.
Equally as
easy to make is a window quilt. All you
need is a blanket, quilt or fabric big enough to cover the desired window.
Basically
you measure your window, then add a little all the way around to allow the
window quilt overlap the edges enough to seal the draft out. Also allow enough space to make a rod pocket
at the top to put a hanging rod through.
Then either
by machine, hand or heck even a stapler if you are desperate you connect a minimum of two layers of fabric
of that size together. Ideally you would
like an outer layer, a liner and a back layer for optimal warmth.
The easiest
way is to yarn tack the layers together.
We’ve all seen the old quilts where the layers are hooked together by
yarn being poked through them to be have both ends of the piece of yarn tied
together on the front of the quilt top.
It’s fast and easy to do.
Ideally you
would actually make a quilt, but many people do not have the time or expertise
to do this. The simplest way is of
course just throw a spare blanket over the window, but if you want a little
classier look make a quilt to co-ordinate with your room décor.
The final
steps require you to have a folded over area at the top of the quilt that a
hanging rod can go through. It, of course, will need to be stitched or safety
pinned down so that the weight of the quilt will not pull the quilt off the
rod. If you have regular curtain rods on that window then you can use those to
hang the quilt. No rod? In the past we’ve used a dowel rod supported
by two J hooks that have been screwed into the wall stud to hang quilts.
Again this
project can be as plain or as elegant as you want to make it. You can use new or recycled materials. The choice is yours.
Jan who is
wishing you a warm and comfortable winter in OK
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