Low-cost tips on keeping warm

WITH winter on the way, the latest Smart Living Ballarat free sustainability workshop will be aimed at teaching people how to cheaply stay warm.

Organised between BREAZE and the City of Ballarat, the session is the latest in a monthly series hosted by Ellen Burns, who said she’ll share about 40 tips on how to stave off the cold at a low cost.

“I’ll go through tips I either don’t see people talk about or seen mentioned once so I think people will get a lot out of it,” she said.

“There’s a few tips I see cropping up over and over, things like heated throw blankets and DIY double-glazed windows using bubble wrap for extra insulation.

“One I brought up in a session last year was rearranging some of your furniture to the south side of your house for insulation because it doesn’t get the sun.”

Much of the information shared during the presentation is meant to be relevant to renters as well as homeowners, with attendees able to make use of items they already own.

Ms Burns said the idea for the event grew out of a similarly themed Smart Living Ballarat workshop, and she said the upcoming one will be tailored to a wider audience.

“Last year, I ran a session called Smarter Ways to Stay Warm which included some free and renter-friendly tips,” she said.

“It included a presentation from Dale Boucher who’s a home efficiency consultant. His presentation contained a lot of things homeowners can do. I wanted to flesh out the first part and make it more accessible.

“Cost of living is a real issue with gas and power bills going up. For renters there’s no choice to upgrade your appliances so this will be about reducing power consumption while being comfortable.”

The event will run from 12.30pm to 1.30pm on Wednesday, 24 May at the Sebastopol Library as well as online via a Zoom link available from the event’s Facebook page.