Keeping yourself warm

 So, basically where we live it's getting cold! Many Europeans, when they think of Africa, they think of tropical places and all that. And while there may be some African countries where the climate is like that, there are much more countries that have 4 seasons.   So here we are, and winter has started. Maybe not officially yet, but its getting colder here! Living in a country where the average person has not a very high income, you'll learn to be creative with the resources you have. Contrary to what I was used too, many locals consider heating your home as a luxury. Say what?! Don't you NEED to heat your home?! Well, if you live in a very cold climate, I'd defenitely agree with that statement-- here however, it doesn't get THAT cold. It usually doesn't freeze here, and if it's cold its usually a few degrees above the freezing point. So you technically don't have to warm your house. So yeah, heaters are a luxury. And I've adjusted to that point of view. It's not that we don't use heaters at all, but we try to be careful with using heaters too much, both for environmental reasons as well as financial reasons. 

As I said its getting colder, but we still haven't turned on our heater. We certainly will when its getting colder! Though we acknowledge that heating is a luxury, we certainly love the convenience. But for now, we've taken certain measures to still be comfortable without a heater. 

Here are some things we do. 

Wearing sweaters and slippers. This is an obvious one but apparently not for everyone so I decided to start with this one! From my own experience, cold feet cool your entire body. And the opposite is also true; with warm feet you'll likely not getting chilly quickly. So warm slippers it is, and of course warm sweaters. I love wearing jumpers that my late grandmother knitted for me! Needless to say we also wear multiple layers of clothing. 

Drinking warm drinks. I am not into coffee, but I love tea and herbal infusions, some of which I forage such as olive leaves. I can appreciate a lovely hot chocolate too but try not to indulge in that too often! 

Switch to winter-y kind of meals. During the colder seasons our eating change a bit as we're eating more warming stews, soups and occasionally casseroles. We also like to eat all kinds of hot porridges for breakfast.

Another obvious but we try to stay very warm at night, with pajamas and thick blankets. Even once you've woken up you will stay warm for a long period of time. 

Being active during the day. Try to involve in activities that keep you warm. Cleaning (I like sweeping the floors with a broom- zero electricity used so very frugal/environmentally friendly plus a free workout), kneading dough, baking bread on my gas stovetop. There's so many more things but these were just some examples of how even indoor activities can keep you warm. As for outdoor activities, I like taking a walk and then being amazed by how warm my house actually is when I return! 

So, these are some things we do to stay warm before turning on the heater.