Now that the Edgeworks Crew is all back together in adorable Waterbury, Vermont again. I would like to point out an awful truth: winter is coming, people. 

Yesterday and today are not good indications of this, but on Tuesday morning I had to SCRAPE THE WINDOWS OF MY CAR, which made me late to work, which then threw off my mojo for the whole day. 

There's this new trend of "Life Hacks" abound on the internet, so I was thinking maybe I could compile a winter specific list to make all of our friends/family/frenemies who live in colder climates have an easier go of it (it being winter- like Voldemort, you shouldn't say its name too much). 

I would like to preface this list with the fact that: I have tested NONE of these recommendations before posting this. They might all be lies from Pinterest- but I recently followed a pattern that I found there and that seemed to work pretty well (he's wearing a hat because it's getting cold- like I said)... So I know that some of those things are true.  

COLD WEATHER LIFE HACKS:

1. Tired of scraping off the ice from your windshield? Prevent your windows from freezing by spraying a 3:1 mixture of vinegar and water. Apparently the science behind it is acetic acid from the vinegar raises the freezing point of water. Obviously, this does not prevent you from needing to wipe snow off the windshield... but we can't always win. 

2. Don't want to buy another sweater? Make gross pilly sweaters look nice and (almost) new again by using a cheap single blade razor to shave off the pills! Or if that fails, make awesome mittens out of them. This is especially great those cashmere sweaters someone accidentally stuck in the dryer so now they are like felt or infant cashmere. 

3. Still use a woodstove and tired of surprise bloody noses? To keep humidity in the air keep a tea kettle on the stove at all times: no more cracked inside of noses and instant tea. Even better: keep a pot of cider and add mulling spices. The house will smell like it should be in a Martha Stewart commercial. 

4. Cold feet? Wear wool socks (duh) BUT buy them from Darn Tough. They are made in Vermont and they have a Lifetime Guarantee! So even when you have to use them as mittens to go play outside (because you had no idea how to sew sweater mittens) and you ended up tearing a hole in them- you can trade them in for a new pair. 

5. Have lots of unwanted family over for the holidays and there isn't enough fridge space for the gluten-free beer? A snowbank fridge makes a great alternative. (This one is really advanced, but you get the gist).

6. Really popular but have poor ciculation? Buy gloves that still let you use your cellphone. You can still text your friends so they will think that you love them enough to sacrifice your finger to frostbite to respond to them. (Side note: they really need to update their phone to iOS 7- lameo). 

7. Feeling really envionmentally friendly? You can winterize your bike! They make official snow tires for bikes- but if you're cheap (which I am) you can use zip ties to create tread. I suggest not using this in areas that never seem to get plowed... putting tread on them doesn't make you more fit.

So- What are your life hacks for winter? Comment here or on the Edgeworks facebook page! Share your knowledge with neighbors (they may shovel you out of a ditch this winter...) and stay warm!