Frugal Japan Wiki | Windows are the Key to Warmth browse

Topics: Home Improvement, Staying Warm

Heavy curtains are good for keeping the hot sun out in summer and the warm air inside in winter. If you don't have curtains you can use a bed sheet or a lightweight bedspread in summer or a heavier bedspread or blanket in winter.

Can't afford curtains? You can make temporary conversation-piece curtains, two panels per window. For each panel, tape one full sheet of newspaper (four pages -- to the bottom of another, for length. (Use double thickness for more opacity.) Then accordion-pleat them. String a cord across the window, anchored to pushpins on either side. Hang the curtain panels on the cord with safety pins. (I did this in my first apartment, using the brightly colored Sunday Funnies. I was embarrassed -- but guests thought it was "arty"!)

No curtain rod, or you're not supposed to make holes? Drive nails into the _top_ of the wooden window frame, roughly a foot apart. At the 100 yen store, buy a package (6 to 8 pieces) of the clothespins that have long, loop-shaped tails attached. Loop a clothespin over each nail and clamp the clothespins to the blanket.

Flattened cardboard boxes, neatly trimmed to fit, are also good window insulators in summer and winter. They are also quick to put up and take down. If looks are important, cover them with contact paper or staple cloth over them.

In summer, you can also reflect heat away from windows. Use the aluminum panels intended as grease guards around stoves. These cost only a few hundred yen at house ware stores everywhere. They come in several sizes, so be sure to measure your window first.

Insulation and double-paned windows could save huge amounts of money after the initial investment.

This may be a long shot for most renters but if you can convince your landlord to install double-paned windows (and doors that fit snug in the frame) it will significantly decrease your electric bill. Most Japanese homes seem poorly built and are exposed to the elements!

In the winter we tape bubble wrap around the frame of the windows to create a permanent seal. This really helps keep heat in and cold out.

Maybe this could provide an airlock or baffle to stop drafts, while still allowing your windows to open freely...

Cut the bubble wrap to fit the window _glass_ exactly. Stick it to the dry, clean window glass thoroughly with clear double-sided tape. Then cut strips of bubble wrap, as long as your window _frame_ dimensions and 2 or 3 inches wide. Tape these strips to the window frame so that they _overlap_ onto the bubble-wrapped glass panes. Another approach... The bubble wrap tears when you pull the tape off -- so don't pull the tape off!

Lay down a 'permanent' "hem" of tape on the surface of the bubble wrap, all around the perimeter. Lay down another 'permanent' "hem" all around the perimeter of your window frames. To seal the windows, lay down on top of these hems a 'temporary' strip of _not_-so-sticky tape, such as electrical tape or bookbinding tape -- i.e., any tape that can be easily peeled from the "hem" tapes without also lifting those tapes. When you want to reseal the window, apply a fresh strip of not-so-sticky tape.

<< Weekly Mansions | Index | World Airport Guides >>