Clothing: Warm yoursefl and not the room!!
Two great websites for buying your essential winter clothing are:
https://www.offgridclothing.co.uk/
https://www.smartwool.com/
Woollen, insulating socks, gloves and hats are a must to keep your extremities warm. Waterproof
jackets and trousers will mean that you are both cosy and dry when working outdoors collecting
wood or tending to your livestock. Army surplus stores are also great for buying durable and warm
clothing that will be dependable for many years. A friend spent some time in northern Sweden as a musher. With an average temperature of -25 degrees Celsius he needed the correct clothing and bought the majority of it via army surplus stores
https://www.armysurplusworld.com/sitemap.asp
Layers of lighter clothing for outdoor work are ideal as they will allow body heat to travel easily
through the various items of clothing, providing you with a jacket of circulating heat. Steel-capped boots, goggles (with a UV protection lens) and face masks will also make the outdoor hours more
comfortable.
Firewood: Wood, wood and more wood is the order for the winter. Stocking up on firewood in the months leading up to winter will mean that you can rest easy in the knowledge that you have an abundance offuel to keep those wood-burning stoves roaring. Jamie writes in his blog
Prepping for an Off-Grid Winter https://anamericanhomestead.com/prepping-for-an-off-grid-winter/ how he buys “slab wood from a nearby mill” at a cost of “$20 for 1 ton (2000 pounds)”. Slab wood is the rounded part of the wood that goes to waste after boards are created. So on an eco-level, employing this wood for your fire puts it to good use. The bits of wood tend to be rather small so are ideal for continuous feeding of your fire. Larger logs should be used for overnight heat and off-grid blogger
Jamie collects these from fallen trees and branches in the local area. Make sure that all wood is kept in a dry storage area. Furthermore, if you have a generator or vehicles, you need to stock up on gas and petrol. This is especially important if your home is liable to being snowed in and unreachable.
Rooms: Be cautious and conservative with how much indoor space you are using at any one time.
Shut off rooms that won’t be used for prolonged periods of time. Block up the space under the door with blankets. If door and window frames have expanded and contracted, cracks and crevices will have appeared. These can be sealed with gaffer tape or plastic cling-film. By using a candle or lighter and tracing the frames, the flame will flicker where air is passing through, signifying where you need to apply a seal. Attic and loft insulation is a must and foam should be wrapped around any exposed pipework.
Exercise: Remain active as often as possible to keep your core-temp up. Performing chores around your homestead, in the correct clothing, will keep your body temperature high. Jogging and fitness exercises will also help this. A good tip for when your fire is roaring is to use your hands to rub circular motions over your chest which will help in keeping your torso warm.
And finally: Here’s a video for a cheap and easy to make your own room heater. All you need are
flower pots, tea lights and a bread container!
Just make sure you don’t cover the top hole of the second flower pot, the heat must escape as this unfortunate DIY attempter found out.