Blog: Cooler Days, Warmer Hearts: Small Eco-Friendly Acts to Prepare for Winter Sustainably
- ruchira nigam
- Nov 6
- 6 min read
Blog No. 3225/PI - Written by -
Ms. Anuradha Gupta, Founder General Secretary, Prithvi Innovations
As the air begins to bite and the days grow shorter across the winter months of November, December and January, many homes in South Asia turn towards heaters, extra blankets and longer hours of lighting. But what if we could make our homes cosy and reduce our carbon footprint at the same time?
At Prithvi Innovations, you know how passionate we are about exploring new ideas and ways to switch to more earth-friendly ways, in our daily life. as we strongly believe sustainability isn’t just about big infrastructure - it’s in the everyday little choices we make. How about sharing with you our latest idea of upcycling wherein our team a Bhoomija Green Livelihood mission is adding their touch of creativity and art and fabulously making warm, colourful rugs, floor mats and pooja asaans from the warm colourful katerans, and textile waste donated by few Nature Lovers to us.
I am sure you are curious to have a look at our pieces of artwork and Zero-Waste and then explore the options of having one for yourself this winter or for gifting to you near and dear ones. Check this link and visit our Bhoomija Eco-store, before the cold sets in - https://www.prithviinnovations.org/bhoomija-eco-shop.
Also let’s engage you in some action and generate some heat with our kind acts, rather than switching our heaters. So are you ready for our super warm Winter Challenge-"Track Your Winter Footprint, Celebrate Your Wins with Prithvi. It's right there at the end of this blog. Just scroll down or connect with us joinhandswithprithvi@gmail.com or join our whats app https://wa.me/c/919305483307
With Christmas round the corner, how about being a Santa in your city. Put on your kindness Santa Cap & get ready to share your warmth with people and animals around you. Join us to celebrate Christmas with children of Cancer Ward, KGMU, Lucknow. Catch a glimpse of our last year's celebrations - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5VZU9qiaYa0
Reach out to us to help you declutter and donate your warm clothes, woollens, jackets, sweaters, caps, gloves, mufflers socks, comforters to the less fortunate. Donate warm bags and comforters for our street dogs and cats. We are just a call away.
So let's generate some warmth and enjoy reading and exploring some creative, practical, and slightly out-of-the‐box eco-tips that suit Indian and South Asian households, helping you stay warm while being kind to our planet.
1. Let the Sun In, Then Lock the Warmth
On a clear winter morning, open your curtains or drapes on the side of your house that faces the sun. Let that gentle low winter sun warm your living room, kitchen or lounge. Then as dusk falls, close heavy curtains, quilts or even a hanging fabric over windows to trap the warmth. According to energy-efficiency advice, opening windows during the day and closing them at night helps a lot. In an Indian home where large windows, balconies and verandas are common, you can convert that into a solar-warming zone: place a reading chair, perhaps a small indoor plant, or simply enjoy a warm‐sunlight breakfast in November. Then once the sun sets, curtains draw.
Tip: Consider using thicker cotton or jute curtains (local fabrics!) for the night. They look nice, align with sustainable textile use, and trap warmth better than sheer fabrics.
2. Seal the Gaps – Warmth Doesn’t Know Leaks
Many homes in India and South Asia were built for the heat; the winter months often bring cold drafts through windows, doors and unsealed gaps. Simple weather‐stripping (rubber beads under doors), sealing cracks around windows, placing fabric or vieja rugs at the base of doorways - these low-cost actions really count. The US energy advice emphasises sealing leaks around windows and doors and then using heavy curtains.
Practical Indian twist: Use leftover cloth or old saris/bedsheets to make decorative draft stoppers (“door snakes”) along the base of doors leading outside or to balconies. Place rugs over bare tiled floors (cold to the touch!) especially near entrances.
3. Use Your Furniture and Fabrics to Insulate
It’s not just insulation boards and double‐glazed windows that count; how we arrange our furniture and fabrics makes a difference too. Keep sofas and chairs a little away from external walls, place thick rugs on floors, consider layered bed linen, add a “throw” over your sofa for extra warmth. According to research, proper ventilation and furniture arrangement can reduce energy loss.
In India, where many floors are tiled and airflow is high in winter, this layering helps. You might push a shelf unit up against an external wall (with books acting as additional insulation), or hang a tapestry over a cold wall surface.
4. Smart Use of Appliances: Use Less, Use Clever
Winter often means increased indoor time, more lighting, more hot-water usage, perhaps more time on gadgets. But energy-efficiency tips still apply. For instance:
Replace incandescent bulbs with LEDs (they give same light, far less heat-loss).
When you heat water (for bathing or washing), insulate the pipes or use a cover or thermal jacket over the vessel. Heating water is energy‐intensive. (Fronius)
Use a timer or switch off heating or hot‐water when you’re not around.
South Asia specific: If you have a rooftop and solar heating capability (or are thinking of one), the sunny winter mornings are great for solar water heating - less dependence on grid electricity or LPG.
5. Cook Smart, Gather Warmly
One beautiful way to keep warmth in your home is by cooking and gathering in one space. When you cook (especially in Indian homes where one pot or tawa is on for longer), the kitchen becomes a warm hearth. After cooking, leave the oven or vessel lid open for a short while (if safe) so residual heat warms the room. This kind of “heat harvesting” is pointed out in winter‐energy‐saving guidelines.
Additionally, host evening chai or game time in the kitchen/dining zone rather than spreading thin across the house - this concentrates your heating need, and less of the house needs to be warmed.
6. Layer Up—But With Sustainable Textiles
Rather than cranking up the thermostat, layer your clothes and bed linens. A cotton undershirt, a lightly insulated jacket indoors, and breathable woolen or pashmina shawls are both culturally fitting and energy saving. Encourage your family to don slippers or socks indoors (especially on bare tile floors) so body heat is retained.
And think about local, natural fabrics - wool from Himachal or Uttarakhand, handloom shawls from Kashmir or the north‐east, jute blankets from West Bengal. These support sustainable fibre systems and connect us with our region.
7. Green Outdoors, Warm Indoors
Planting shrubs or small trees around your home’s exterior (especially on the side facing winter winds) acts as a wind‐buffer and reduces cold air hitting your walls directly. While we often think of trees for shade in summer, they also serve as insulation in the opposite season. Home‐owners advised this to reduce heating loads.
Even a trellis of creepers along the external wall, or hanging potted plants on balconies, helps create a micro‐buffer zone. For South Asia where many houses have verandas or terraces, this is ideal.
8. Make It a Family Ritual—Warm Hearts as Well as Warm Homes
Beyond technology and gadgets, the most sustainable actions are the ones we commit to as family or community. Make a weekend ritual of reading by a window, doing indoor board games, and storytelling under a quilt. Encourage your children or elders to share tips: “Let’s keep the door closed to this room together so the heater works less.
” Create a “warm-zone” in the home where the family gathers, rather than heating every single room.
This not only reduces energy use but builds relationships - our tagline “Cooler Days, Warmer Hearts” is as much about human connection as about thermal comfort.
9. Track Your Footprint, Celebrate Your Wins
Since we at Prithvi Innovations advocate measurable change, encourage your household to track one thing this winter: how many units of electricity did you save compared to last year?
Or how many fewer times did you switch on an electric heater? Make it fun—a chart on the fridge, a weekly check‐in. When you see small numbers drop, your carbon footprint drops too.
Even lowering your thermostat by 1 °C can lead to substantial energy savings (figures show around 6% savings from small temperature drops). (dekra.in)
Final Thought
As the cooler days approach, let’s remember that true warmth comes not just from turning up the heat, but from living intentionally. By choosing smart materials, sealing our homes wisely, layering our clothes, sharing spaces, cooking together, and engaging in simple actions that align with our planet, we turn homes into sanctuaries. Our carbon footprints shrink, our energy bills moderate, and our relationships grow.
At Prithvi Innovations, we believe that sustainability begins at home—and in the heart. So this winter, let your home be cosy, your carbon footprint light, and your hearts warmer than ever. We have some very interesting, inspiring, cute upcycled rugs and warmers, comforters especially curated by you to add that extra warmth and love in the winter months. Walk down to our Happiness Cafe at IIM road or visit our Online eco-store and share warmth.
Call-to-action: “Join the Winter Warmth Challenge – Make one new eco-habit this week and let us know your savings story!” - https://wa.me/c/919305483307
“Find more sustainable lifestyle mentoring from Anuradha Gupta at Prithvi Innovations. Let’s create a future where our homes and hearts both shine brighter.”
Wishing you a cosy, conscious and carbon-light winter ahead!
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