Hi friends! Long time no chat. With this unending cold snap, I'm in need of some mustachian advice.
I currently rent a studio apartment in Chicago with a gas furnace and hot water tank which I pay for. I'm also lucky to have a Nest thermostat in said apartment. My lease started 11/1/17 and runs for 18 months, so I have at least one more winter to survive in this place.
On the really cold days lately (sub zero) my furnace is running constantly and struggling to maintain reasonable temps. If it's below 0, running 100% of the time gets my apartment up to about 62-64. This is just on the edge of bearable for me when bundled up in long underwear, wool socks, sweat pants, etc. My very thoughtful boyfriend got me an electric blanket for Christmas, which definitely helps, but also got me thinking about the most efficient way to tough out these cold days.
Since it's a studio, I can't close off any rooms. I could plastic wrap the windows, but my suspicion based on the temperature of my walls is that it's actually poor insulation that's the bigger culprit (I have 3 external walls). A space heater seems really silly since it's just going to put out more heat that's going to be lost. Obviously the best solution is to get off the couch & stay warm doing things, which I've been doing as much as possible, but I've meal prepped and cleaned just about everything humanly possible at this point. Am I missing any other cheap options here?? Am I going to hate myself for using the electric blanket when I get my electric bill?? Help!