Normally, I’m not a fan of taking a regular non-powered everyday object and “reinventing” it so that it now takes electricity and money to use. I think the world needs to be moving the exact opposite direction on that front. Digital picture frames, plug-in air fresheners, automatic paper towel dispensers and electric can openers (if you have arthritis I guess you get a pass on this one). Apparently I’m a total hypocrite though, because my husband bought me an electric blanket two Christmases ago… and I can’t get enough of it. I call it my electric husband.

Not that kind of electric husband. But almost as good.

When I first opened my Sunbeam Electric Fleece Throw, I was a little disappointed and my face must have looked like someone had just given me a digital picture frame. That feeling actually persisted for a while, because although I loved to sit under the electric blanket on the couch watching a movie, it was a hassle to get the blanket out of the closet, unwind the cord, find an outlet, and set it up each time. As a result, I didn’t use it all that much the first winter.

But this winter, I learned to stop worrying and love the blanket. These days I put the electric blanket on my side of the bed in between the sheet and the top blanket and oh mama that’s nice. Going to sleep in the winter used to be an hour-long ordeal every night in which I pulled the blankets over my head and shivered in the fetal position until my meager body heat finally warmed up the space enough for me to fall asleep. The shrieks and kicking from my husband didn’t help matters any. Let me tell you, my electric husband never complains about my popsicle feet.

Turning on the electric blanket for five minutes a night is all it takes to warm up my side of the bed. If I’m feeling particularly indulgent, I turn it on before coming to bed so that it’s already warm when I get there. I’m getting almost an hour more sleep each night just by using a 180W electric blanket for five minutes. My real husband gets more sleep too, because it’s really hard to sneak your icy feet of death onto someone’s warm legs without waking them up.

Me using an electric blanket even allows us to save money on our home heating bill because we can turn the furnace way down at night and I’m warmer than ever. It also does double duty as a heating pad for sore muscles. Best Christmas gift ever, from someone who apparently knew me better than I knew myself. My electric blanket has changed my life (for six months of the year anyway).

 

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And in the category of Products That Changed My Life – Personal Heating division, I’d like to give an honourable mention to: my housecoat. As soon as I get home I put a fluffy bathrobe on over my clothes and magically the incessant complaining about harsh Canadian winters and meager vacation budgets stops. We can keep the house at 18°C for maximum savings and I actually feel comfortable. I do try to keep up appearances by taking off the bathrobe when I answer the doorbell, but there ain’t nothing wrong with a cute housecoat when you’re wearing it over nice clothes with your hair done and makeup on. My husband in his bathrobe is a-okay with that.