I know that during the winter, it’s not ideal to have the thermostat set in the 70s.  But my husband and I both grew up in tropical climates, and as a result, we like the house to feel a little — well — tropical. Not to mention the fact that I get chilled to my bones really easily. Of course, that typically leads to a much higher natural gas bill during the winter when we’re trying to keep the house warm and cozy. Not great for our pockets.

We’ve been keeping the thermostat as low as we can bear, but we’ve also been trying to find other ways to minimize our heating costs. So when Walmart gave us the opportunity to winterize something in or around our home or car, we saw it as an opportunity to finally make a dent in that pesky gas usage.

As apartment renters, we can’t make any permanent changes to building structure, and our community’s maintenance team handles a lot of other tasks as well. In other words, we couldn’t install a programmable thermostat or new windows, and I didn’t think they’d take too kindly to us shrink-wrapping the windows. So what could we do?

Simple. We headed to Walmart and picked up some Eclipse energy saving curtains. These “therma-back” curtains are lined to help keep cold out during the winter and keep heat out during the summer. And we have a 10″ wide glass door in the living room that was begging for something warmer than just ugly vertical blinds. As a bonus, these curtains also block out 99% of light and help reduce noise, which will make for some awesome movie nights and hopefully make our neighbor’s howling dog a little more bearable. (aff)

We opted for the Eclipse Kids Dayton curtains for two reasons: We needed three curtains to cover the great expanse that is our glass door, and they were more affordable than some of the other Eclipse options at $12.96 a pop. We also liked the grommet top style, rather than rod pocket, which I hate. We grabbed three panels in navy, a great choice since they’ll mirror the dining room, which has navy painted walls. (aff)

The curtains were a great first step, but 84″ was the longest option available in store, and I knew they wouldn’t be long enough. Using an old decorator’s trick to make ceilings feel taller, I like to hang curtains high above the window (or door) line, which means I usually buy 92-108″ curtains. I couldn’t go all the way to the ceiling in this case, but even so, we still had those hideous vertical blinds to cover. When we hung the curtains, as is, we were left with an almost 10″ gap between the bottom of the curtains and the floor.

Not a good look, especially because you could see the ugly blinds. Time for plan B.

I found an old white curtain panel that we haven’t used in years and cut it to add a 10″ white panel to the bottom of each curtain so they just graze the floor.

Perfection! We love the nautical look of the navy and white, and they look amazing next to our red sofa and orange lamp.

While the white bottom panels are not lined, the fabric I used is really thick, and we can already feel the difference.  In weeks past, walking past the glass door first thing in the morning or at night meant an instant chill. Now, the temperature in front of the door feels the same as the rest of the room.

Not bad for $39 worth of curtains. I’m hoping to see a difference in our heating bill over the next month or two. And now, we need to get some lined curtains for the sunroom/office space, because I am usually freezing during the day while I work.

DISCLOSURE: As a participant in the Walmart Moms Program, I’ve received product samples and compensation for my time and efforts in creating this post. All thoughts and opinions are my own.