How to stay warm without sending your heating bill through the roof

If you have seen your heating bills soar the last few years, the ten tips on this page could help you lower your heating bill significantly.

As a nation, we saw record cold over much of the country last winter, from the Midwest eastward, all along the Atlantic seaboard, and in the South.

While I live in unseasonably warm San Francisco today, I grew up and raised my children in far colder climes, where even in the 1970s, heating bills could go as high as $100 during the coldest months. Seems cheap now, doesn't it? Back then, that was a fourth of our monthly take-home pay.

Keeping warm, and keeping that heating bill in check was tough then and still is for family and friends around the country.

Americans are expected to spend on average $94 more to heat our homes this winter than last year. That's according to the National Energy Assistance Director's Association (NEADA), says USA Today in its article, Winter heating costs could rise an average 10.5%.

Now is the time to take stock and fill the gaps--literally--so your heating bill is manageable.

My parents, who grew up in The Depression, knew how to save money and stay warm. They passed those strategies along to their children. I knew how to protect my family from both the cold and outrageous heating bills--something my then California-born-and-bred husband couldn't possibly know.

Here I share the ten best tips we employed for keeping warm and lowering our heating bill. Some of these tips require a few bucks, or more, depending on the size of your house and the heat gaps. Most costs are recoverable within the first year. After that, the savings are all gravy.

Most importantly, watch for the no-cost solutions. Yes, you can save money on your heating bill without spending a cent. Go ahead, take a look.

One of the benefits of winterizing your home, is that some of these tips will help you save air conditioning energy costs in the summer as well. Of particular benefit: Weatherstripping, our number one tip for saving money on heating bills saves on the AC bills too.

Invest a few dollars and a few hours installing inexpensive weatherstripping. You should begin to see savings on your heating bill right away. If you do it now, you may also see savings on your cooling bills this summer. You save all year long!

Think about the heat you're paying for this way: Heat wants to escape. It looks for every tiny crack it can find and slips away. These products will help trap that heat inside--and in summer months, outside--saving energy and saving you dollars. Plus, they are surprisingly easy to install.

Look for by-the-foot bargains on all-weather weatherstripping like this one. It keeps cold air out in winter and hot air and dust out in summer time.

During a deep freeze, like the one we saw on the East Coast and in the Midwest last year, you can save substantially on your heating bill by sealing off unused rooms.

From personal experience, I can assure you this works. As renters, we have no control over the building heat, which we get for four hours twice a day, 365 days a year, no matter the temperature outside.

We feel the cold any time the temperature drops. On wet, windy days, our apartment is quite chilly. To conserve what meager heat we have, we close this door, keeping as much heat in the room we use most as possible. I'm always amazed how well this works, considering that much of the door is glass.

Put a seal between the bottom of your door and cold drafts in winter, hot gusts in summer.

Over time, the gap between the floor and the bottom of the door widens. You can choose from a variety of seal types. Aluminum ones like this close the gap without causing the door to drag.

Make your own from fabric remnants and recycled materials. Martha Stewart shows us how, step-by-step, with her Draft Dodgers for Doors and Windows.

If sewing is not your thing, look in your local stores (Shop local!) starting in the late fall for door snakes similar to this one. They come in dozens of fun fabrics, patterns and colors, with and without handles.

Just turning your heat down a few degrees nets savings in the monthly heating bill. Stay warm by adding a couple layers to your winter ensemble.

On cold days, check the back of your closet and dresser drawers for thin garments you can layer on for warmth without bulk.

Cross-country skiers and hunters know this trick. Lightweight layers trap heat in air pockets between the garments, keeping you warmer than a single heavy sweater.

If you don't find what you need, consider Thermasilk. I'm a big fan of this super lightweight material, which is designed to wick moisture away from your body, yet provide an insulating layer to keep you warm and dry no matter what you're doing.

To me, it feels almost like wearing nothing at all against my skin, but provides that insulating layer that keeps me toasty warm in cold weather.

Undershirts like the one you see here are made in sizes and styles to fit women and men's respective body types. Your local sporting goods stores carry this brand, which also includes full-length pant and trouser liners, again without adding bulk.

Thermasilk gloves are thin enough and flexible enough to permit you to type, which comes in handy if you live in a drafty apartment like we do. They also make sock liners, which are wonderful under wool socks. No itching!

Better yet, install a programmable thermostat that will turn the heat down when you're away and turn it back up an hour before you arrive home so your home is comfortably warm when you get there.

Put extra blankets on your bed and turn down the heat at night. Studies show we are healthier when we sleep in a cooler room, so pile on a couple of extra blankets, put on your flannel PJs and sleep comfy!

Incidentally, this is another time a programmable thermostat can save you money and keep you comfortable. Program it to turn the heat down at your normal bedtime and up half an hour before you usually rise.

Windows are huge heat-loss sinks. Close the draperies to conserve heat in winter.

Keeping blinds and draperies closed when you are not using a room and at night will save dollars on your heating bill each month. Depending on the size of your house and the cost of fuel in your area, it could potentially save tens or hundreds of dollars.

Take advantage of the cold weather to use your oven and bake up a storm. Go ahead, bake extra and freeze cupcakes, pies and casseroles for those days down the road you might not have time to bake.

It's such a simple thing, and so easy to forget. Stop warm air from escaping up your cold chimney, but make sure the fire is dead out--no smouldering embers--before you close that flue!

If you seldom use your fireplace, consider investing in a chimney draft stopper. As you know, heat rises, and if there are gaps in your flue trapdoor, that chimney is sucking heat right out your room and up into the sky.day and night.

San Francisco apartments can get chilly any time of year. One way we keep warm: A pot of hot tea,

Currently, we boil our water stove top, but my daughter uses the Breville automatic tea kettle. She's had it for years and insists I should get one. It shuts off automatically, so you never have to worry about boiling the kettle dry, as this old lady has done on a couple of occasions. Meh.

View outside Mom's dining room window, Christmas 2012. Her house was as toasty warm that day as ever.

They had even more snow last winter. At 91, Mom still goes out and sweeps off her deck every time it snows.

How do you and your loved ones stay warm when Jack Frost decorates your windows and the temperature keeps dropping?