DIY Cold house living: hot! rice! sacks!
By Karina | February 8, 2010
I’ve mentioned before that our house is really cold. Really! Cold! So I wanted to share a little quality-of-life discovery that has really changed everything: rice bags. Amazing!
It’s so simple, really all we did was take a cotton sack that we had around the house (yet another use for those many reusable bags we have?), dump a couple of uncooked cups of rice into it (whatever on-hand - we have a big container of basmati rice so that’s what we used), knot the sack so there’s a little bit of play in the rice, and hey presto! a microwavable rice bag that, once hot, will keep its’ heat for over 30 min. I threw this together when we had an overnight guest with a sore shoulder, but last week I’ve been microwaving the bag on our way up to bed, and chucking it under the covers so we could have a nice warm bed after we’ve brushed our teeth. And while I wrote about the magic of flannel sheets in the winter, I have to say: a hot rice sack at your toes is pure luxury.
There are lots of DIY sources for rice bag instrucutions:
- Simple and to the point, this is pretty much what we did to make our bag.
- Our rice bag smells pretty ricey, but this tutorial recommends using a few drops of essential oil in the rice, and this one suggests breaking open a herbal tea bag and mixing it in with your rice.
- And this one recommends microwaving it with a cup of water so the rice doesn’t burn or scorch, and so it stays hydrated and warm longer.
I’m thinking that I’ll make a rice bag for every bed in the house! they double as heating pads for sore muscles, so it would be good to have a few around.
And for those that are interested: we had some people come over to give quotes for insulating the attic, and really, it’s not going to be that bad! I had wildly guestimated that it would cost about $5000, and it turns out that it will probably come in at half that. Still lots of money, but much more managable. However, the contractors came over on the windiest rainiest day of the winter, and we found at least 2 roof leaks and even worse, lots of leaks under the windows that the previous owner had installed, but apparently not sealed up. Darn it! so even though we’ve got these good quotes we have to now patch the roof (really the flashing, where the roof meets the chiminies) and seal the windows. THEN we can insulate the house.
Do you have any other heating pad ideas, or DIY staying-warm ideas?
[[Photo credits: http://www.flickr.com/photos/papayatreelimited/ / CC BY-NC 2.0 - go read the story at the flickr photo page, it’s great too!]]
Related posts:
- A Better Vocabulary and Free Rice!
- Rice Cooker Meals
- Update: Free Rice
- Free Rice, Thrice
- Sick Days
- Cold-Brewed Coffee
- Update on insulation
Topics: Home |
Yes, hot rice (we use dried beans) bags are fantastic!
For the truly lazy (like me) or the non-sewing inclined, even easier is to take a men’s sock, fill the foot with rice/beans and then knot the top. We have several around here, and while not pretty - they do the job.
this is a great idea to use up all those one-socks that come solo out of the laundry! THAT is how we should make the bed warmers. brilliant!
I have no microwave, but I have in the past taken a hot water bottle to bed.
I have in my possession a small synthetic fleece throw, which is perfect for wrapping around my legs and feet as I hop into bed. It gives me a little bit of cozy insulation and is not at all bulky.
My dad grew up in Greenpoint, back in the day when most of the houses didn’t have any kind of heating system, and my grandma would heat up bricks in the stove before bedtime then send the kids off to bed with those at their feet. Sacks of rice or beans are much cozier to cuddle than bricks!
I have one of these made with industrial corn inside… it smells lovely and cornish when heated, which is comforting!
we add a few cats and a nice, big dog to our bed! ;)
I misread that as cats and MICE. Oh well, the more the merrier!
I’m taking mine to work. My shared office is actually a garage, so you know it gets pretty cold in there!
PS- Along the same lines, a long fabric tube filled with beans makes a great draft stopper for doors and windows. No need to microwave. ;)
I love my rice bags, too! I have 4 of them in various shapes and sizes around our house, and I always micro two of them before going to bed - one for my always frigid feet, and one for my tummy (warmth on your belly also aids digestion). So wonderful to snuggle into bed with warm rice bags. Great tip!
I don’t have a microwave but I also don’t have a hot water bottle, and I do have lots of spare socks and rice. Do you think I could make this work with the oven, somehow?
Maybe I could heat the rice in a pan on the stove, like I’m toasting it, then transfer it to the sock via a funnel …
Flax seed works well too, but is definitely more expensive. We have 4 or 5 rice socks in a couple different sizes. Haven’t used them for keeping warm much but they are also really great for aches and pains!
Lauren, I think heating the rice first would work fine–great idea, actually.
[…] night in bed, our flannel sheets and down comforter really did the trick! but we REALLY missed our hot rice bag - without the microwave we didn’t have a good way to warm it up. This is where a hot water […]
we don’t have a microwave.
I use hot water bottles and ice packs from the chiropractor - heat a pot of water to warm them. Also, I wear thick fleece pajamas with cotton longjohns underneath. I heat up the bed first and then I can get to sleep!