Over the past couple of weeks, I’ve become somewhat of an expert at keeping warm when the main heat source is out of commission. So I thought I would share some of that knowledge here. You never know when someone might need it.

We have one of those oil-filled electric heaters (similar to this one), and borrowed another one from a friend. They are a godsend for keeping small spaces, such as bedrooms, warm. They’re also inexpensive and safe. Every one I’ve seen has a thermostat on it, so you can leave them on all the time and they only run when needed.

In a pinch, you can always turn on your oven and open the door just enough to let the heat out into the house. Boiling a big pot of water will help as well.

I hate kerosene heaters, but we’ve had to use one for the past week or so. If you use them, always keep safety in mind. Don’t leave them unattended, and if possible get a carbon monoxide detector and use it. It’s also wise to keep a window cracked, or at least open the door every now and then. Place a pot of water on top of it to keep the air from getting too dry. If you have a ceiling fan, reverse it and run it on low to keep all the heat from staying at the ceiling and the heater will do a good job of keeping things comfortable.

If you’re without heat for a long time like we were, run the kerosene heater as late as possible before going to bed, and try to get the house about 10 or 15 degrees warmer than you usually keep it. Run electric heaters in the bedrooms with doors closed when you do go to bed. Then the next morning maybe the rest of the house won’t be freezing when you get up.

Even if your heat is working fine, you should always have some sort of backup, especially if you live somewhere that the weather gets really cold (like the mountains). You never know when something could happen to it.