I have discovered one drawback to having my office in the basement of our new home. Make that, “on the lower level,” in the vernacular of modern real estate. Heaven forbid that a house be saddled with such a dreary component as a basement. Particularly when it is a walkout basement.
The drawback to my office is . . . it is cold.
This past weekend, Kansas City was hit with a winter storm. It started as rain, turned to freezing rain, and was followed by snow. The rain froze on our screened porch, which gave me an idea of what the porch would look like if I ever put blinds on it—light gets through, but they lose the view.
Screened porch in the frozen rain
Winter view from my office
Thermometer at 64 degrees
My office, which looks out on the same view as the porch, regularly gets down to 64 degrees. I know, because I moved a thermometer into the room. It might get colder, though I haven’t recorded anything lower than 64 degrees yet.
I am adapting to the cold.
Space heater at 68 degrees
I have a space heater, which we have owned for many years. My son’s basement bedroom in our old house (yes, the old house had a basement) needed it. And I figured my office and/or the lower-level guest room in this house might also require an extra heating source, so I kept the old space heater when we moved. It turns out that the lower-level bedroom in our new home is toasty warm—its walls are mostly underground and its window is small. But my office, which is mostly above ground and has a large window, definitely benefits from the space heater. I am careful for safety reasons to only turn it on when I am working and to turn it off whenever I leave the room.
I keep an extra fleece jacket in the office, which I wear while I’m working. In addition to the two layers I wear in the rest of the house.
Fingerless mitten
And I have discovered the merits of fingerless mittens (or are they called wrist warmers?). A relative gave me a pair a few years ago, and, while they are pretty and I couldn’t give away her handiwork, I didn’t much see the point. But now these mittens keep my hands warm while I pound away at the keyboard or scroll with the mouse. It’s a little awkward, and my typing speed goes down, but I’m learning. This Christmas, I was given a sweater with those thumbholes on the cuffs. It works as well as the fingerless mittens.
Right now, I am typing away as I watch it snow, fleece around my shoulders, mittens on my hands, and the heater set at 68 degrees. Life could be worse.
What do you do to stay warm in winter?
Just think of those pioneers who lived in Sid houses. Your room will feel quite cozy.
Cold is not always bad. I still recall an office that was always too hot in winter due to an over active radiator with a broken shutoff valve that maintenance declined to replace. I always felt like I needed a nap.
Sod houses.
Very true. It’s hard to work when one is too warm.
I have a space heater and extra layers also. When I’m writing a cold scene I take off the extra layers and turn off the heater. It adds a new layer of authenticity!
I’m not THAT interested in authenticity!