Weathering the Welly Winter

The weather’s cooling down, and with only a week left until winter officially ramps up that wind chill factor, it’s high time to hunker down.

If you hail from the South of Aotearoa, you might be well versed in the practice of rolling your eyes at shivering JAFA’s and lending your jacket to those of us with more subtropical customs. But even for you cold-hearted highlanders and scarfies, the first winter after living in a warm family home or heated hall can be rough, especially on a student budget. As a lowly Australian with the weakest of cold tolerances, I present to you my guide on surviving the Wellington winter through to see another spring.

Fortify Your Flat

First things first: if you haven’t already, take a long, hard look at your flat’s energy provider. Sites like Power Compare let you weigh up different options, and if you’ve simply inherited a plan from pre-existing flatmates, it’s likely you could find a better deal elsewhere. Several companies even offer free hours of power, where you can use as much electricity as you like for no cost. This is the time to crank your heaters, do your laundry, and have hot showers without worrying about the price. One such provider claims that customers can save up to 30 percent on their power bill when utilising these hours efficiently. 

Something more tangible that you can easily control to maximise temperature is your curtains and, more specifically, whether they are closed. While you can buy insulating window tape for as low as $15 from Bunnings, and insulated blinds from Spotlight starting at $40, the most important element for temperature preservation is actually the distance between the curtain and the window. For the best cold protection, the fabric should be between one to five centimetres away from the glass, and ideally floor-length to create a proper seal. Air near an uncovered window is typically three to six degrees colder than the rest of the room, so if your bed is up against one, it might be time to move that too. 

Sleep So Toasty

When it’s bedtime, the last thing you want to be doing is crawling into cold sheets. Your most affordable option is by far the classic hot water bottle, just $6 from The Warehouse and New World. Why not double, or even triple up? If you can’t afford a cover, wrap it in a shirt or a towel, because those burns are no joke. Take it from me. The hottie also reaches far beyond the realms of sleep: you can tuck it into your jacket and carry it around the flat, on the bus, to uni. The sky’s the limit. No one’s judging, I promise. 

The next tier of luxury is, naturally, those scratchy woollen blankets you used to be offered at your grandparents’ house when you were sleeping over. This is not a drill: those things are damn warm, and if you can sandwich them between two fleece blankets, you’ll be in heaven. I have had luck finding them at op shops, and often on Facebook marketplace as well. If New Zealand’s whole “thing” is sheep, we better make the best of it.

And finally, the crème de la crème of modern slumber technology is the electric blanket. Combine one of these bad boys with an energy plan that gives you free power from nine to midnight, and you’ll be laughing straight in the face of Jack Frost himself. Again, Facebook marketplace is your pal here. Twenty dollars and picking some lint off here and there has never been such a good investment. 

Stayin’ Alive

May through September is flu season, if you didn’t know. Being cold sucks, but being cold while having a cold is even worse. And if you aren’t careful, lower temperatures can prolong illness, creating a recipe for academic and holistic disaster. If you can afford them, vitamins C and D from the grocery store will do wonders in keeping illness at bay. Try and look for ones with at least 500mg per tablet; anything less won’t do much, or so my doctor tells me. 

If those are breaking the bank, you can try incorporating more citrus, capsicums, kiwi fruit, and broccoli into your diet to increase vitamin C intake, and more fish, eggs, milk—soy or cow!—and mushrooms for vitamin D. 

To decrease Winter blues and the likelihood of seasonal depression, do your best to get outside, whether the sun is shining or not, and keep a tight sleep schedule. I know it can be hard to get out of bed on those six-degree mornings, but a consistent routine will do wonders in getting you through winter. Trying a new indoor sport like badminton, yoga, or rock climbing can also help you stay active during these shorter days, allowing you to fill them past that 5 p.m. sunset. 

If All Else Fails

It’s wrong that staying warm is so expensive, and therefore not accessible to everyone. If you are in need of support, you can reach out to Student Finance and enquire about support from the hardship fund via the Te Herenga Waka website. In the meantime, utilise the heated public and university libraries, layer up, and drink as much tea as you can.