It’s gotten chilly in Washington, D.C., but that’s probably old news to most of the country. I was thinking about it this morning, though, when there was a definite draft whistling from my bedroom windows. My family lives in a condo, so we have limited options for replacing the windows (that’s more of a whole-building thing). What alternatives do we have besides turning up the heat (and blowing our electric bill out of the water)?

Our tried-and-true remedy is one my father-in-law uses every year. He puts sheets of plastic wrap over the windows and tapes it closed with duct tape or something similar. It’s an easy, cheap and quick way to block drafts. (Which reminds me, I have to get on that right away…)

This sort of do-it-yourself window treatment can be left in place in rooms where the window view is less important. We’re turning our second bedroom into our baby’s room; she’s still quite little, so she won’t even be able to look out of the windows for some time yet. On that basis, it won’t matter so much if her windows have a view or not—at least, not until she’s old enough and tall enough to demand one.

This is just one example of things that can be done to fix up the house and make it more energy efficient. If you haven’t already, give the seasonal tips page a look. It has great ideas on ways to stay warm and save money over these cold winter months.

Drew Bittner is a former Presidential Management Intern (PMI) and the Web content manager for EERE’s corporate Web pages.