After last month's cold snap here in Atlanta, I have got to tell you that I am pretty tired of being cold, so turning the heat down feels a little bit counter-intuitive right about now. Luckily, with a little bit of help, you can make your house (and yourself!) a little warmer without running the heater quite so much.

Make a Draft Dodger

Nope, I'm not talking about what my dad may or may not have done in the 70's. I mean one of those heavy, stuffed tubes of fabric that goes under your door to keep cold air outside where it belongs. We showed you how to sew your own draft dodger this winter.

Amy Sedaris showed Steven Colbert how to make a draft dodger from a necktie! The tutorial starts at around 1:20.

Sip Some Tea

This might seem like a small thing, but a nice cuppa can really warm you up from the inside out. While the tea warms your belly, you can hold the mug to warm up chilly fingers, too! If you need some tea inspiration, Maria over at Feelgood Style just shared some of her favorite home made tea blends!

Use an Efficient Space Heater

If you're only in one room, it doesn't make a lot of sense to blast the heat in the whole house. Instead, you can just warm the room that you're in with an efficient space heater. Space heaters can be energy hogs, so make sure you get one that's Energy Star rated.

I especially love my space heater at bedtime. We can turn the heat down in the house, set the timer on the space heater to one hour, and it keeps the room cozy until we're asleep.

Bundle Up

This might seem like a no-brainer, but it definitely bears mentioning. If you're cold in the house, put on a sweater! In the summer, it's fine to hang around in shorts and a t-shirt, but when temperatures drop, it's time to break out the flannel PJs.

Use a Rug

Can't afford to insulate the crawl space right now? You can at least stop some of the cold air from coming through the floor by throwing down a rug. Your chilly toes will thank you, and so will your heating bill! When the weather warms up again, you can just roll up the rugs and stash them under the bed until next winter.

Do you have any winter tips for using less heat? We'd love to hear them in the comments!

Image Credit: Creative Commons photo by mulmatsherm