With the weather in Chicago turning (much!) colder, my husband and I had our yearly conversation about how to keep electric and heating costs down this winter. Not that our bills are outrageous. In fact, ours seem to be lower than a lot of people we talk to, but it takes a little effort to keep them under control. Still, we want our family to be comfortable, so when our daughter came to us complaining that she had to pile six blankets on her bed to keep warm at night, we were concerned. Hubby and I looked at each other. The window? And not just any window. A set of three large windows, actually, that take up virtually one entire wall of the bedroom. Without a word, we both trudged up the stairs to assess the situation. Our hands hovered over every joint, edge, and seam of the windows, searching for the tell-tale draft we were sure was turning our little girl into an icicle. We couldn’t find it, but we did notice how very cold it was. The giant wall of glass provided no insulation from the cold that secretly seeped into the room.

What to do . . .

Well, way back in the day, when I was in college (and, no, I’m telling how far back) my roommate and I shared the top floor of a century-old house with windows facing every direction to the outside world. It was great when it was sunny, filling the apartment with warm sunshine. But during the winter, the wind’s icy fingers crept into our little home, making the radiators moan with the effort of keeping us warm. We asked our landlady what to do and all she offered in the way of advice was to stuff towels along the seams and hang old blankets from the curtain rods. Huh . . . yeah, ok. Sure. That’ll work. We tried it anyway, but didn’t like the fact that the blankets blocked out the natural light, making us feel like we were living in a dungeon. And it didn’t do a very good job of stopping the drafts from finding other gaps in the window sills. So, we asked our parents. They suggested putting plastic over the windows. We did, and it worked. It wasn’t perfect, but we were much warmer and, subsequently, happier knowing we weren’t going to have to take a blow dryer to our toes in the morning anymore.

So, my husband stopped by the hardware store on his way home from work the next day and picked up a package of insulating wrap. It was only about $8 or $10 and was made for large windows and patio doors. After dinner, we set out to keep our daughter from freezing while she slept. Start to finish, it took us about 45 minutes. We took down the valances and curtains, wiped the surfaces, then rolled the double-sided tape along all the edges. Next, we carefully placed the plastic around the window, trying not to make any wrinkles. Then my husband waved my hair dryer over the entire surface until the plastic was taut. Then we replaced all the curtains. Done. The next morning, our daughter gleefully informed us that she was so warm that night that she had to take off her socks and shed a blanket or two. Naturally, we were relieved and glad we wouldn’t be treating her for frostbite.

Surprisingly, the process of insulating windows with plastic isn’t very difficult. Plus, it’s an inexpensive way to block drafts and chilliness while holding the heat in, which will save you money on heating costs. You can even see through it. If you have drafty windows, but can’t afford to replace them just yet, consider installing these plastic insulating wraps to your windows. You can find them at hardware, grocery, and discount stores. (Chances are they’re on sale right now.) They also come in several different sizes with everything you need to protect your windows, including instructions. You supply the hair dryer. It’s an easy, inexpensive alternative to freezing to death or going broke.