A Portable Environment, A Portable Environment, or...How To Survive The Ice Age, In Comfort!

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Together, my husband and I compiled a list of wearing apparel that would—we hoped—keep us toasty at a thermostat setting of 48° F. The list included daytime garments such as down-filled jackets, pants, boots, and snuggler sacks, as well as a few extras that would insure a comfortable night's sleep. [EDITOR'S NOTE: For an individual price breakdown of the items the Andersons purchased—and a list of the sources that they bought from—see the accompanying sidebar.]

The total cost for each of us came to $332.40, making the venture less expen sive than any of the heating alternatives we had discussed. And our investment paid for itself that first season! (We found that we used 60% less heating oil and 10% less electricity than we had during previous Winters.)

AND NOT ONLY THAT . . .

Since we made our decision to live in a cold house, we've finally achieved, in retirement, what had eluded us in earlier years . . . hardy constitutions. We're enjoying absolutely vigorous health, more energy, and restful sleep . . . all of which are fringe benefits of our new, frugal lifestyle. Furthermore, we're no longer plagued with colds or weight problems, yet such added advantages came as a complete. surprise. All we'd intended to do was conserve heating oil.

HOW IT WORKS

When I'm dressed in my "winter uniform", my body produces heat, every time I move, within the down garments. If—while I'm sitting down, for example—I find myself ,getting chilled, I can generate warmth by simply flexing the muscles of my back, arms, hands, and feet. (Just wiggling my toes is a very effective heatproducer!)

Of course, each person will have his or her individual "comfortable" temperature level, so I'd suggest you purchase down-filled clothing one size larger than you'd normally wear . . . to allow for any extra layers of garments that you might want to add. I've always been sensitive to the cold, so my daytime wardrobe consists of an undershirt, tights, long underwear, a cotton turtleneck, a shetland pullover, a cardigan, warm slacks, and—over all of that —down pants and a jacket. (The sack is necessary only for sedentary work.)

I've also discovered, during my quest for warmth in a cold house, that a considerable amount of body heat escapes through the 'head. Therefore, I started wearing a kerchief both day and night. (You could wear a wig if you prefer . . . or choose a hooded parka instead of a jacket.)

BULK IS BETTER

Although I may look double my size, I'm not even aware of the extra clothes on my body anymore . . . primarily because goose down imparts warmth without adding much weight. Of course, there are synthetic insulation materials on the market today, such as Thinsulate (manufactured by the 3M Company), which are supposedly as warm as down but not nearly so bulky. (Still, we're partial to the fluffy feathered filling.)

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