My mom has a story about heating up stones and wrapping them in cloth to put at the foot of the bed on cold nights during her childhood. I think the low-tech heat source sounds quaint and have come to do something similar in my home:
I heat a rice bag in the microwave and toss it under the blankets at the foot of the bed. It provides heat at the beginning of the night when you're trying to fall asleep. During this transitional season when there always seems to be a chill in the air, that additional heat is more than welcome.
Plus, it's safer than an electric blanket or heating pad (I've never liked the idea of plugging in my bedding). If your feet are also a little cold during these March nights, check out how to make a rice bag of your very own right here.
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We just have tons and tons of blankets :)
I remember seeing an early bed warming device in a house tour in England that consisted of a metal tray with basically a metal rib cage coming out from it. You put a couple coals from the fire onto the tray and inserted the whole contraption under the bed clothes for a bit. And yes, the tour guide admitted, many beds did burn down this way. Heated rice sounds better!
What a great idea. I will try this when I have a microwave again. For now, I use a hot water bottle.
I love rice bags. They are so comfortable to sit on the couch and watch tv with around your neck. Or reading a book. Nothing better.
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When I lived in Paris, the apartment was often chilly in winter. I used to fill an old waterbottle (a usual one, like coca-cola, pepsi or water) with hot water from the tap (the hot water was really warm) and toss it into bed. It worked great!
Have the cat sleep at the foot of the bed for a while! Nice and toasty.
Remember when Darren and Samatha toured the house in Salem and the bed warmer was haunted by a warlock from the 1600s!! Betwitched....
In Italy in the past was used the "scaldaprete", there is a nice description here:
http://textline.wordpress.com/2010/12/04/keeping-the-priest-and-me-warm/
I've used it once or twice when I was young, in a cold and humid country house where the only heating source was the fireplace in the living room... and the blankets in the bedrooms were so cold that you could almost feel them wet! Brrrrr
I'm always hot at night even in the winter, I need y'all do post a solution about how to keep your bedding cool at a low cost. Dallas doesn't really have much of a winter!
I'm always hot at night even in the winter, I need y'all to post a solution about how to keep your bedding cool at a low cost. Dallas doesn't really have much of a winter!
Ummm lovin' this ;)
My husband and I broke down and bought a featherbed for our bed. It kept us so warm all winter.
That rug is amazing. anyone know where it is from?
my boyfriend and i just use our plethora of fuzzy pets! one puppy usually under the blankets curled around our feet, and the three big cats that switch between head warmers and little spoons.
woah, i love this rug...
I'm a huge fan of fleece sheets. They're the incredibly soft and never cold.
Cats, flannel bedding, and down comforters!
I love using a hot water bottle. They're very common in the UK, and I'm surprised I haven't seen them more widely available in the US. I have a large one for my bed which I put in 10 minutes before bed time, and I have a small tiny one in a cute cable-knit cover which I use to warm my hands. http://www.etsy.com/listing/57963850/the-handknitted-cotton-cable-knit-hot
Low tech for me is to spoon with a man-creature. Works every time.
I know many people who love their rice bags. Growing up, my bedroom was so cold. I had Lanz flannel sheets and duvet and a feather bed and comforter. It was like a large nest. But these days my favorite low-tech way to keep warm is snuggling up to my husband in flannel bedding.
LL Bean used to make (not sure if they still do) these flat beanbag kind of things that you put in the microwave to heat up a bed or lay over a sore shoulder. It's great, it always smells like cinnamon oatmeal when it comes out of the microwave. If it's really cold I'll say it's a "bunny night" meaning I'm heating up my bunny shaped beanbag heater.
I'm pretty sure the rug is by Susan Sargent. She used to have an amazing store in Bennington VT. She has a website - just google her name. She's a very talented artist who uses a really vibrant color palette.
Layer colorful blankets over the foot of the bed so that your feet stay warm and you'll for the most part be TOO warm every night. Easy to straighten out in the morning too if you're not a fan of making the bed with a bunch of blankets on it.
This works great for me. I just put rice in an old sock that lost its mate in the dryer.
I think the rug is a Susan Sargent rug. I love her stuff.
http://www.susansargent.com/rugs.html
re: warm beds. I wouldn't give up my electric mattress pad. We turn it on in the evening and turn it off when we get in bed. It made life worth living, during this long New England winter.
my favorite solution is to take my laptop to bed with me and pull the covers over my head. it gets super warm from the heat of the computer and you have a nice cozy cave!
Hot water bottles with knit covers stay warm for hours. My son's attic room has no heat and he is put to bed with a hot water bottle. I also made a double-ply canvas "teepee" over his bed to keep the warmth in. He has a sheet, a wool blanket, the hot water bottle, and he's still toasty in the morning.
Serious aha! moment here. Love all the comments here (thanks!) ... reminded me of how buckwheat is used in heating pads. I love my sobakawa buckwheat pillow; but, my daughter doesn't like hers. Been planning to repurpose her pillow by deconstructing it to make draft dodger(s). But, now her pillow can be repurposed into heating pad for her feet (no work needed).
I have a heated blanket. I turn it on 15min before I go to bed and when I get in I turn it off. Keeps me warm all night!
My mother-in-law has been doing this for years!
Her way is a little more "rustic" but easier. She takes a men's to-the-knee athletic sock, fills it with rice and sews it shut. Microwave it for a few minutes and cuddle with it or wrap it around your shoulders.
I love my hot water bottles! I plop them under the covers before I get into bed, and they're still warm in the morning. By far my favorite low-tech indulgence.
i went over to the dark side a few years ago & got an electric blanket. LOVE IT! i just bought an electric mattress pad on sale at target--that will get its debut next winter.
oh. and i still have my bed buddies, which i love.
Cannot live or sleep without electric blanket (which here in Oz means what the US seems to mean by pad). Not usually into power toys, but it warms THE WHOLE BED, I turn it off when Im warm (got a two-person one with two controls so Dr Heliotrope can heat his 3/4 of the bed as he wishes) - it is sooooo good for my cruddy back & aches. Turn it on again when I get up during the night, turn it off again when I get back to bed.
Cant cope without one.
Hot water bottles look a lot funkier, especially in knitted cosies, but they suck the heat out in the morning. And the ones around here leak...
I also used to have a hot water bottle (these days I have my husband and cat to keep me warm) and I loved it.
My grandmother says in her youth they used to use whiskey bottles filled with hot water, wrapped in a towel. I prefer the squishiness and huggability of hot water bottles though.
In Chile we used to fill glass bottles with boiling water, wrap them in towels and slipped them under the covers. I still do that sometimes with those cool French Limonada bottles with the plug-top thingy. Then in the morning you have fresh water to drink!
Love the rug!!!
Don't do what I did and wrap the rice in a tea towel. Tea towels set your microwave on fire...
a friend of ours shared a lo-tech, but rather clever idea, that they had learned from working at orphanages in mexico. really just a hot water bottle, but rather clever re-use of a 2 liter soda bottle! fill with water (about 3/4 or so) and heat in the microwave for 6 1/2 - 7 min - just toss into bed at night (still warm in the morning). was great in a pinch when our heater stopped working this winter. while not the most aesthetically attractive solution, it does the trick!
I love my rice bags. I have several, and they are great for cold beds, cold feet, sore necks, and a wonderful heating pad for ....girl days... I've also kept one in the freezer for those hot summer nights, and it's divine. Much better than an electric blanket and the damage that can do to the body.