Things that kept me going over the cold winter

I don't know if this last winter has been unusually cold, or whether I have noticed it more because we haven't heated the house as much as we normally would. It certainly seems to have been a long winter - this weekend was the first time that I left the house without a winter coat, and the first time that I sat outside and genuinely felt warm. 

I've found that the evenings in particular are the hardest. I've sometimes felt so cold after I put the children to bed that all I've wanted to do is put on fluffy pyjamas and get into bed with a book and a hot water bottle. I do all the usual things - extra jumpers, warm socks, hot drinks and soup for lunch - but there have been a few items that we've bought this winter that really helped me get through!

The first was my Oodie (a blanket with sleeves), which was a birthday present back in October. I only have a basic grey one and it wasn't cheap, although you can buy similar items more cheaply. But I've purchased from the Oodie website twice now, the one for myself and again as a gift, and both times at the last stage of the checkout process I've been offered the chance to add a second at a greatly reduced price. There are also discount codes available and sales throughout the year (I'd imagine that Spring/Summer is probably a good time to shop!) 

Admittedly it's not that practical for day to day tasks like housework and cooking, but if you have the chance to snuggle for a while on the sofa with a book or in front of the television it's perfect!

Second was a simple hair wrap to put my hair in while wet. I honestly can't believe I've never had one of these before! I exercise regularly so I frequently wash my hair, usually first thing in the morning, and I don't like hairdryers both because of the electricity cost and worry about damaging my hair. Cold wet hair hanging round my face made me feel miserable, and I couldn't believe what a difference it made just to wrap it up for a couple of hours!

Finally towards the end of the winter we treated ourselves to a heated blanket. I thought it was a bit of an indulgence, but now I can't believe that we've not had one for years. I thought that heated blankets were more like a flat mat for heating the bed, I didn't realise that they are just as soft and flexible as a normal blanket but with the added bonus of being heated. We bought a large one which several of us can snuggle under on the sofa at a time, and I use it to warm the bed while I'm getting ready, only turning it off when I go to sleep! 

I appreciate that these all have an associated cost which may or my not have been cancelled out by the money that we have saved on heating the house, but they will last for years and they certainly made my winter a little more comfortable! Fingers crossed the warmth of the last few days will continue...

Photo credit Amin Hasani via Unsplash