By Mark McNease

Our little house in the woods has terrible insulation, in part because it was once a one-room structure! It’s been added onto over the years, and while it’s still small, it has the look and feel of something designed by a less ambitious Dr. Frankenstein. The heating vents are here and there, snaking into various rooms and not being very effective in heating them. Only the bathroom seems to be consistently warm in the winter, and no  one wants to spend their time in the house huddled by the bathroom sink.

My writing desk in the living room is especially susceptible to the cold air. The A/C in the window next to me, and the window itself, do very little to keep out the cold. So how can we winterize our homes and apartments? Blankets, towels, and taped trash bags only go so far. Here’s a list of ways we can tackle the winter freez.

How to Winterize Your House or Apartment: A Practical Guide

Preparing our homes for winter can save money, prevent damage, and keep us warm all season long. Whether we live in a house or an apartment, a little preparation now goes a long way. Here’s a simple guide to help you get ready—without spending a fortune or needing special skills.

Seal Out the Cold

Stopping drafts is the most cost-effective way to improve warmth and energy efficiency.

Where to Start

• Weatherstrip or apply removable caulk around windows and doors.
• Seal gaps around baseboards, outlets, and plumbing entries.
• Hang thermal or blackout curtains for extra insulation.

Apartment-Friendly Tips

• Use removable draft stoppers at door bottoms.
• Apply clear shrink-film insulation to windows.
• Add thick curtains or layered blinds to reduce heat loss.

By Mark McNease

We’ve been talking about moving to a larger house for the past several years. Some of the common and obvious reasons have to do with getting older: our laundry machine is in the basement, down a narrow, creaky set of steps that should have been replaced thirty years ago. Another is the smallness of the house itself, with our bedroom on the first floor and a renovated, A-frame attic that serves as a guest room for our infrequent visitors.

And yet another is the bathroom. I’m not an overly large person, but this bathroom is not much bigger than a small walk-in closet. The bathtub almost touches your legs when you’re at the sink across from it. It’s just not meant to accommodate anyone larger than an elf, but we do our best to work with what we have.

It was brought to our attention a couple years ago that a wheelchair or walker simply will not fit into this bathroom, and that’s before the challenge of maneuvering between the sink and bathtub if any of your limbs is broken or not functioning properly. It’s a nightmare waiting to invade our golden years, and we sometimes think of ways to make it larger without the expense of a renovation that would only accomplish so much, given the width of the room. It would also be an expense we don’t need if we’re really going to move. Considering the house itself, a new bathroom would not increase the value by much.

So … let’s take a look at some ways to make your bathroom larger without the cost or inconvenience of renovations.

1. Use Light Colors

Choose light, neutral tones like whites, creams, and pastels on walls and tiles. Light colors reflect more light, making the space feel larger and brighter. We met this one half-way: our shower tiles are white with inlaid pink flamingoes, the tub itself is white, and one of my rotating shower curtains is white. However, the walls are pink (to go with the flamingoes) and add a sense of fun, which can offset the despair of feeling like I’m in a broom closet.