Tips For Surviving Freezing Cold Weather

Even if you are the kind of person who much prefers cold weather to hot weather, there is no denying that brutally cold winters are pretty awful to experience. Maybe they can be fun for a few days, but to survive a whole season of such horrendous weather is something nobody should wish on their worst enemies.

Still, many people live through this voluntarily, or they don’t have a choice in the matter, and harsh winters are simply a reality for millions of people around the world. For them, we have four hacks that will make life more bearable in the extreme cold. 

Use Hand Sanitizer To Thaw Your Car’s Lock

You know it is too cold out when the lock on your car door freezes. Maybe you could thaw it by turning the car’s engine on…but then how can you turn the car on if you can’t get into the car? You could wait for the sun to come out, but you may not have time to wait, and what if the sun doesn’t come? That’s when hand sanitizer will come to your rescue.

You never would have guessed it, but hand sanitizer can actually thaw a frozen lock. Put a few drops of it into the slot and it will do its magic without doing any damage. An alternative would be to light a match, put it out, and then stick the warm match in, but sanitizer is an easier solution.

Put Plastic Bags Over Your Feet

Plastic bags are a surprisingly good tool for staying warm in the winter, especially when there is rain or snow. Even with waterproof boots, there is the chance that some liquid will get in and you will have freezing feet. To prevent this, put plastic bags over your feet before you put your boots on. 

Doing so will give you an additional layer that will keep you warm, and it will keep your feet from getting wet. You may still be cold, but you will be less cold than if you didn’t do that, and you minimize the risk of getting wet feet. All in all, it’s a good low cost, low hassle hack for surviving winter.

Make Your Own Gloves Out Of Socks

If you find yourself in need of an extra pair of gloves, or you find that your current gloves are unsatisfactory in their prevention of the cold, you can try fashioning your own gloves out of some old socks. The socks don’t even need to be in good condition, which is why it is a good idea to keep even old, torn, holey socks rather than throw them out.

You’ll have to cut them so they’ll fit your hands, making an opening for your thumb and another opening for your other four fingers. The longer the socks the better, as you can warm up your forearms without losing mobility from your fingers. It may even be cheaper to buy new socks to do this with than it is to buy gloves.

Use A Pool Noodle To Keep Your Boots Straight

Pool noodles are not just for pools and garages after all. They also come in handy when it comes to keeping your boots straight during the off seasons when you are not wearing them. Just lodge a pool noodle into the boots, and they won’t bend or disfigure as they sit around for three quarters of the year.

There will be no more later winter digs through your closet onto the find that the boots that you had tossed in there once the snow melted are now all crumpled up under the weight of everything else you put there. Now, it will be like wearing new boots every year when you once again take the winter attire out.