Turn An Old Towel Into An Affordable Solution To Keep Your Home Warmer

If your home is drafty in winter and you want to seal gaps under doors and around windows to keep the cold out, we have a simple trick to save you time and money. While new windows or doors may be the best answers in the long run, those aren't always in our budget, but this free hack lets you use old towels to stop the chill from coming in from the outside. Best of all, it doesn't even damage your towel, so you can use them again for other projects when the chill is gone from the air. This also gives you a reason not to throw out old towels.

If you have enough spare towels taking up space in your linen closet, you can easily make one of these simple draft stoppers for any doors or windows that are letting cold air in. The only additional item you need, aside from the towel, is rubber bands —two per towel. Although an old towel is best, you'll still want to make sure that you're using a clean towel; you don't want any stinky towels adding foul odors to your home. Lay out the towel whichever way—long or short end up—works best for the width of the door or window you'll be placing it at, then roll it into a tube. Grab a rubber band for each end and put it on to keep your towel rolled up. Now that your draft stopper is ready: Tuck it in at the base of doors and windows and enjoy your newfound warmth.

We love this project because you can choose towels that match the room decor. You can use solid towels or those with festive, colorful prints — perfect for holidays that fall during the chilly months, when drafts become an issue in our homes. It all depends on your preference and what you find available in your linen closet. Then again, if you don't have any towels you can spare for your draft stoppers, you can find affordable towels at the thrift store. Since you can also find rubber bands in various colors, you may want to visit the dollar store to get a multi-colored pack so you can "tie off" your towel draft stoppers with a rubber band that matches the color scheme of the towel or blends in with it so that you don't see it. You could also use some yarn scraps to tie them off.

Of course, before you place your tightly rolled towel, check your windows and doors for drafts to ensure you're making the most of this DIY project. There's no reason to waste a towel in a spot that isn't actually drafty. You'll also want to wash your door draft-stopping towels, at least once during the season, as they can pick up dust and dirt.