The Cheap Window Trick Japanese Grandparents Use to Keep Heat In All Winter

Everything to keep your home warm, lit and safe when the power goes out, in one place! Last January my neighbour Dolores called me from across the street. Her furnace was working fine, but her front room was cold anyway. Big old window, thin curtain. Now picture that room with the power out, a storm at nine at night, and the heat gone with the lights. By breakfast the house is cold, and getting colder. Here's what most people don't know. Even a house at 60 to 65 degrees can lead to hypothermia in older adults. That's not a snowbank. That's your living room. And in Japan, the Environment Ministry says about half of a home's warm air in winter escapes through the windows. Not the roof. The glass. My mother knew that long before any ministry said it. Every November she brought out a box labeled "Winter Windows" and did one cheap thing to the glass. I'm George. I grew up in a Japanese-American family where every September my father ran a little drill, and I still check my shelf on the first of every month. In this one: the damp-hand draft test that finds every leak in two minutes, the rolled towel at the door, the Japanese "one warm room" idea, rope caulk and the vents you must leave alone, closing the curtains at dusk (and opening them for morning sun), why floor-length curtains close to the glass matter, the blanket on the window at night (and how to keep your escape window clear), your "go number" on a simple thermometer, the cold-bathroom rule from Japan, the "three necks," heating the person instead of the house, and number one, the window sheet my mother put up every November, done the right way. Honest warnings in the video: never heat your home with an oven, a grill, a camp stove or a generator indoors. Get a carbon monoxide alarm. Keep space heaters three feet from anything that can burn. What did your family do to keep warm when the power went out? Tell me, and tell me where you live. I read every one. #powerout #winterprep #japaneseway #emergencypreparedness #seniors #poweroutage #stayingwarm #winterstorm #prepping #homesafety #livingalone #frugalliving