Thingy to put up against the door bottom to block drafts....

[Skidmore]

I had some old and slightly worn bath towels which I just recycled into door draft blockers. I took one of those styrofoam bats they sell in the summertime for kids to play with at the pool. They sort of look like the insulation for water pipes only bigger and they have hole through the middle. I cut one of these in half and poked one corner of the towel, laid lengthwise, into the center hole and rolled the bat until the towel was completely used up. Then I took the remaining corners of the towel and poked them into the hole too. I can remove the towels to wash them or swap them out with other old towels later.

[NMDemDist2]

1. great idea, I used them as light blockers when hubby was working graveyard shifts

the towels is a great addition!

[hippywife]

2. Hiya, Skids!

It took me a minute to figure that out but if I'm reading you right, you cut the bat lengthwise, but not all the way through, and place an edge of the towel into the split and then rolled it like a jelly roll so the towel is on the outside and the bat completely covered as the core? Is that correct?

[NMDemDist2]

3. no, I think she cut it in half so it's the width of the door and left the piece

intact.

I have a double French door and it covered the entire length of the door, so ergo, if you cut the length in half you have a two tubes that will cover two doors

[hippywife]

4. Okay...

I just saw "bats" and missed the pool reference. I was picturing a softball bat of the nerf variety rather than those long noodle floats for the pool.

Thanx, sweetie! Miss having you around as much, but I understand the demands of a full-time job. :hug:

[NMDemDist2]

5. noodle floats!!! that's what they're called

and yeah, I'm much more a lurker these days

:hi:

[Skidmore]

7. Thanks, AZDemDist6!! How are ya?

You bailed me out there. I couldn't for the life of me think of what they called those things. When I was doing counseling we called a shorter version of them used for anger management therapy "bats."

Good to see you. I wondered where you've been.

[Skidmore]

6. You could do it like that too.

I didn't cut the bat lengthwise, just in half to fit the width of the door. Then I just poked the ends of the towel in the hole at each end and rolled it like a jelly roll until the towel was completely rolled up and then tucked the other ends in to the hole too using a dowel to help force it in. I'll bet if you cut the bat lengthwise but not all the way through you could anchor the towel in the entire length of the bat but you'd still have to find a way to fix it so it would stay on after you've completely rolled the towel up--maybe by poking the ends in the holes. I'm afraid I'm not very good at explaining it.

I've had these at the doors for the last couple of days and they work pretty well for sealing out drafts.

[hippywife]

8. Could use nicer towels

and then tie them around in a couple of places with ribbon or decorative rope like on curtain tie-backs. Could make them look like a party favor if you wrapped the towel or fabric tight enough and then tied the ends. LOL

[Skidmore]

9. Good idea.

Could also fold over about an inch at each end and run a seam to make casings and then tie off with a cord.

Gosh, hippywife, we could make millions on this.

[hippywife]

10. They'd look better

than those goofy ones made to look like wiener dogs, anyway. LOL

[pengillian101]

11. Someone sells something like this. but it would be so easy to make!

Twin Draft Guard®

[eleny]

12. I knew I should have bought one this summer and figure out what to do later

They sold them at the supermarket at the end of the cereal and juice aisle. I'd pass them all the time. Figured maybe they'd be good for some craft but I never got one.

Maybe I can find some at the dollar store or other discount places.

[JitterbugPerfume]

13. Im using a wool blanket

your idea sounds a bit more attractive :applause:

[juajen]

14. Scandinavian smarts.

In the seventies I lived next door to a couple from Sweden (I think). We lived in Tennessee then and it can get really cold in them thar hills. Anyway, Helga (not her real name) invited me over for hot chocolate on a cold day. I went through the front door, and Helga pulled a heavy blanket clipped to a curtain rod in front of the door. She had them on all her doors and windows, including the sliding glass door in the den. She said quilts or woolen blankets worked best, and you could buy them to match your decor. I have often wanted to do this in my own house, but haven't gotten around to it yet. She said in her native country, they also had sliding blankets over the windows, making a three level heat loss preventer; the thermal windows, the closed curtains and the blankets or quilts. I'm guessing they just used one of those clip thingies attached to a circular thingie that slid on the pole. Anybody else had any experience with this tradition. Scandinavia is really, really cold.

[NMDemDist2]

15. you know what's hilarious about your post

I could instantly visualize every thingie and circular dohickey in your post and in the OP

we women are wondrous creatures yanno?

[WolverineDG]

16. are you sure it was a thingy & not a do-hickey?

;) just kiddin'. Interesting idea & I've often thought about doing just that with my doors & windows.

dg

[eleny]

17. I'd like to try this over my back door in the mud/laundry room

It's a chilly area of the house.

I'm intrigued that it's a Scandinavian practice.

[NMDemDist2]

18. I dunno.....

do they make quilts with tassels ??

:evilgrin:

[eleny]

19. !

:rofl:

Just what I need - another holy grail to hunt for. Well, at least I can settle for "fringe".

[NMDemDist2]

20. hey, you're a crafty person

how hard could it be???

:rofl:

[eleny]

21. Well, I do have tassel making supplies

Lots of them. No surprise there! :D

[kestrel91316]

22. I was asking myself about the window blankets - WAIT, doesn't that just

block out all the natural light?? And then I remembered that in Scandinavia in the winter there IS no natural light to speak of, lol.

[eleny]

23. I was thinking of drawing them closed only at night...

... or if we got an insanely cold snap, then also during the day.

[eShirl]

24. I throw my old down parka on the floor when I get home and push it up against the door.

It just fits perfectly, and the cat loves to sleep there on it like a cushy nest.

[juajen]

25. Ya'll are all so funny. Yes, usually, she said, only when it was very cold.

I didn't want to ask her how cold it got. This southern girl can only take so much cold. I believe these would look great in a house and would certainly help with too much light for sleeping babies or hubbies, or moms, or whoever needed to get some shuteye. If you're really handy like my SIL, you could make quilts to match your decor, or just buy blankets on sale that are the right color.

Wouldn't they be great in a woodsy cabin with red plaid, or another color blankets? With an electricity outage, they would be great for keeping in warmth, or for grabbing while you snuggle in that tent. Now, man, I gotta find me a tent. Love ya'll.

[eleny]

26. It's almost time for noodle floats to appear at my supermarket

This year I'm not going to forget to pick up several. I've got lots of fabric to sew a sleeve for them, so I'm ready to get busy as soon as the bin of noodles appears. :D

[troubleinwinter]

27. I picked up an odd tip on this forum a coupla years ago.

It REALLY works well. For windows you don't need to see through, but want the light to come in:

Cut bubble wrap the size of the window glass, wet the glass with water and place the bubble side onto the glass. That's it. When ever you want to remove it, it comes right off, and ya can stick it back on next year. Bigger the bubbles, thicker the insulation.

I've used it, and so has a friend. It works, it's free (and it's awfully funny).

[troubleinwinter]

28. I guess ya COULD use pipe insulation

if you wanted a smaller size, or didn't want to wait until June when yer hot & melting & outta the mood.