In buying insulation, it’s helpful to know that the R-value stands for the thermal resistance of the material. One type of insulation may be thicker or thinner than another, but if they have the same R-value, they’ll do the same job.
If the winters are hard where you live, try to have an R-value of at least R-33 in the ceiling and R-19 in the walls. As long as your house is properly ventilated, you can’t have too much insulation.
The attic floor is an important and easy place to add insulation. Nine-inch-thick fiberglass batts are about right for most houses, although you may use rolls of thicker material. Lay the insulation between the attic floorboards and the ceiling of the room below. A lot of heat is commonly lost through the roof, so if you’re going to insulate only one part of your home, this is the place to do it.
Another good alternative is to blow a layer of fiberglass insulation onto the attic floor. This is particularly effective because the insulation is seamless.
If the rafters in your attic show signs of wetness in the cold weather, check the attic floor insulation to make sure
you have a vapor barrier between the insulation and the ceiling below. If there isn’t any barrier, draw the existing insulation back and install a blanket insulation that has a vapor barrier on it. Lay the batts between the joists with the vapor barrier facing the ceiling below. Then place the loose fill on top of this blanket.
Black stains showing on ceilings only under the joists are caused by the joists’ being colder than the ceiling sections between them. Warm, moist air in the room below picks up dust, and since the area below the joists is colder than the ceiling area between them, the moisture condenses on the coldest areas first and leaves the dust that causes the stain. To remedy this situation, lay blanket insulation across the tops of the joists. This will make them warm enough to help prevent the stains. Lowering the humidity in the room by increasing the ventilation will also help.

Look to the Window
In windows that have sash weights, you can sometimes feel a draft coming from the pulley holes. You can’t do anything to insulate the cavity in which the weights move, but you can stuff the area below the weights with fiberglass insulation. Also, check the outside of the window for cracks between the siding and casing, and seal them with caulk.

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