This is always a key point in the wheel of the year for me - the closing of the windows. It's now cold enough that the windows have to be shut at night. There will no doubt be days when I can have them open for a while - or choose to put up with the cold in order to freshen up the air in the flat a bit.
With the windows closed, I can't hear the nearby stream while I'm lying in bed. Every year I feel this loss keenly. I won't pick up the subtle sounds of leaves and birds or of fish jumping, as they tend to at night. I might not hear the foxes and badgers who sometimes pass under my window at night. I will still hear the owls because they come in close, and are loud, and we often don't have any significant background noise that would drown them out.
Many people this year will be facing the implications of a cold house for the first time. Closed windows can mean waking up to condensation. If you can't keep your home warm, it will get damp. Having damp beds is horrible, and will make you even more cold. If you're new to all of this I cannot emphasise enough the value of staying dry even if you can't stay warm. Being dry means not having mould, and is less cold than being damp at the same temperature.
If you have no money to throw at this problem, the only option is to throw time and effort at it. Of course not everyone can do that, and this situation is cruellest for people who are ill, disabled or so overworked that they do not have the resources to handle even more work.
You might be able to cut down the amount of moisture in the air by reducing the amount of boiling you do, and cutting the length of showers. Drying laundry is a nightmare if your home is cold and you also can't afford to run clothes-drying technology. And when it works you just add more problem-moisture to your home.
Physically drying all the windows every morning helps get water out. Opening windows when you can helps with the damp if it isn't also damp outside. It doesn't help at all with the cold.
If you can afford to invest in anything, or run anything then I recommend going for a dehumidifier rather than a heater. They aren't that expensive to run, and they do add warmth. They speed up the drying of laundry and they are good against dampness and mould. Not everyone is going to be able to afford to do that, either.
Whatever you are up against this winter, I hope you're able to find ways of coping and managing. I'm afraid that for a lot of people in the UK, things will be grim.
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