Disclaimer: This blog contains affiliate links which means we might get a small commission at no cost to you.
Working freelance is great, but working from home in the winter can be expensive when you're trying to stay warm! We both work from home and know first-hand how tricky it can be to keep warm when heating the whole house isn't an option. In this blog, we're sharing our top tips for staying warm while working from home without running up a huge energy bill!
#1: Warm the person, not the house
This tip comes direct from Laura D's husband, who happens to work for one of the UK's largest energy firms and makes total sense. Laura D's office is in her garage, and Laura M's is in a north-facing bedroom, so we are constantly cold in the winter and have, over the years, invested in some brilliant products to help us warm ourselves up!
Laura D's favourite heated throw.
If you've been on a Zoom call with Laura D in the winter, you'll probably have spotted her draped in a snuggly fleecy blanket. What you probably didn't realise is that it is an electric blanket which costs pennies to run!
Laura uses this Lakeland one, but there are various other options on Amazon; we've linked a few options below for you.
- Lakeland Embossed Super Soft Heated Throw 120 x 160cm
- Tanant Electric Blanket Heated Blanket USB Heated Shawl
- BATTILO Home Faux Fur Throw Blankets Brown
Laura is also partial to a snuggly hoodie, although she's yet to turn up to a Zoom call wearing it! Hers is from Oodie, but you can get similar options at a lower price on Amazon here.
Laura M's favourite foot warmer
Laura M hates socks! Weird right? So to keep her toes toasty in the office, she has a secret weapon hidden under her desk! The children's slipper she uses was actually originally meant for her son, William, but after borrowing it 3 years ago, it's never been handed back! Hers is no longer available, but we found this adorable alternative for you, and you can even get heated ones like this one now!
Laptop-friendly fingerless gloves
For those really cold days, we both swear by fingerless gloves. Working in social, they have to be fingerless to ensure we can still use our phones to access Instagram or listen to our favourite podcast.
You can buy these in so many places, and we are lusting after these cashmere ones after seeing them on Facebook ads – sorry in advance if you start being followed around the internet for ads for them as you finish reading this article!
Warm drinks
We swear by a nice hot cuppa during the winter; Laura M is also partial to a hot Ribena, but there is nothing worse than a cold cuppa, especially on a cold day. So we love our plug-in mug warmers for hot drinks, and we know these are really popular with other freelancers too.
Bonus tip: If you know anyone who has recently had a baby, buy them one of these! We were forever forgetting to drink our tea while it was hot when we'd first had our kids!
#2 Heat the room when it's essential
Not everyone is happy being on Zoom with a heated blanket wrapped around them! So for the occasions when heating the person instead of the house doesn't work, we'd recommend heating the room rather than the whole house.
Our tried and tested oil-filled radiators.
We both have these portable radiators at home and LOVE THEM so much! Laura M is usually sitting within an inch of hers!
They are brilliant and give off so much heat in a really short space of time. Plus they're on wheels, so you can move them around your house, although you won't want to keep taking them up and down stairs as they're heavy! The added bonus with these is that they have a built-in timer so you can set it for your office to be toasty when you start work, and the built-in thermostat means you'll save energy (and money) when the room is warm.
What other tips do you have for staying warm when working from home? Drop into our community and let us know!
