Innovative, money-saving tip to heat your home

As the snow falls, the days get shorter, and the weather gets colder, people are staying inside and trying to keep warm any way possible. But what if you don't have the budget to turn up the heat and stay toasty? You find creative (and cost-effective) ways to heat your home for the chilly months ahead.

Heat your home with common household items

Sometimes all it takes is a quick Google search to find budget-friendly ways to heat your home without breaking your budget. True Activist believes sustainable energy is the way to go if you want to be eco-friendly, heat your home, and save money all at the same time. To help you do that, they featured interesting (and unlikely) ways to stay warm that include tea light candles, a bread tin, and two (one small and one large) ceramic flower pots. That's right, you can heat your home during the cold winter months without turning up the thermostat - all you need to do is gather items that you probably already have in your home and put them together creatively.

Want to get in on the money-saving action? Remove four tea light candles from their metal casing and set the casings aside for later. Light the candles and place them inside the bread tin, then cover the bread tin with the small ceramic flower pot. Cover the hole on the top (well, actually it's the bottom because the pot is upside down) of the ceramic pot with the metal casing from one of the tea lights and then place the larger ceramic flower pot over the small one and voila - a handmade, energy efficient home heater that didn't cost anything to make. According to their DIY source Dylan Winter this homemade heater can keep you warm for up to 8 hours a day.

Does the homemade heater really work?

According to Winter, yes, it absolutely does. The heat from the candles warms the smaller flower pot, which becomes the heater's core, and as it gets hotter a convection of air is created between the two ceramic pots. The hot air is then released through the top (again, really the bottom) of the larger ceramic flower pot.

Who knew that heating your home and staying warm this winter could be so easy - and so cheap.

Try it out and let us know what you think. Extra points for photos.