Insulate Windows With Bubble-wrap Year Round
I read this tip in my favorite magazine, Mother Earth News, a few years ago, and finally got around to trying it this year. It works!
Instead of expensive window insulation kits that are hard to install and can be used only one year, try this: buy bubble wrap. Cut it to fit each window. Dampen the window and apply the bubble wrap, flat side to the window. It's that simple. It lets the light through, looks a bit like glass block windows, and does keep the room warmer. If I touch the bubble wrap then touch the window, the wrap is definitely warmer. My bedroom is about 4 degrees warmer this year!
If the wrap comes off or you lift it up for any reason, just re-dampen the window, and it's good as new. At the end of the cold weather, I will remove the wrap, and roll it up separately for each window with a note in the middle to tell me which window it goes on, then I'll store it until next year. I bought my bubble-wrap at Walmart, about $4.50 for 100 feet. A roll and a half did all of my windows (except the one by the computer, since I watch the birds at my feeder through that one). The kits in the store cost a LOT more, and next year, this is free!
Source: Mother Earth News
