The option of walking downstairs and turning a dial to turn up the heat is not available to me. I live in a gorgeous 18 year old log house (not to be mistaken with a log cabin, but that’s not my story), which is currently not heated by a furnace, but rather, by a wood stove. It’s 39 degrees Fahrenheit outside, but there’s no fire burning downstairs. I could, and likely should, go start one, before the temperatures start to drop for the night. However, the ways I combat with the chill in my house might be of interest to anyone else who does have the ability to control their heat by a dial, but chooses to keep it low to save money.
- My slippers. My mother gave me a pair of lamb’s wool lined slippers for Christmas in 2005, because I was always stealing hers. My feet tend to be cold long after the rest of me is well covered, and I hate wearing socks indoors. This minimal investment is both comfy and does wonders for your body warmth.
- Closing off rooms you don’t use. The back office, where our family business supplies are kept, and the door to the basement remain shut at all times. Sure, it’s cold in that back room when I pop in there for 10 seconds to retrieve something, but I get over it.
- Layers! I’m almost never around the house without a hoodie or sweater on, regardless of whether there’s a fire in the wood stove or not.
- My poor hands while I type at my computer have not yet been saved. I have the yarn to knit a pair of fingerless gloves, but I don’t have the proper size of needles yet. Does anyone have five “size 2” double-pointed needles laying around?
In the end, perhaps it’s laziness that keeps me from starting a fire right now. But as long as I’m not cold, I’m saving a few logs, which saves money in the long run. If you’re wondering how I survive the opposite – heat in the summer – it’s simple. I grew up without air conditioning, so I never became dependant on it.. When it gets real bad, I move all of my stuff into the basement bedroom and refuse to leave until September.
Being a fellow WNYorker…does it ever really get that bad (warm I mean!!!) Loved the post. I too am a layer/slipper/ close off room person, but since we got the coal furnace I am running around sweating…it was 86 in here the other night & since it was the wind not our thermostat keeping it that warm I almost opened a window!!! It sounds nice, but it makes going outside pure TORTURE!!! Nothing like a 60 degree temperature change to get you moving! π
I think I’m just a pansy when it comes to the heat! I seem to melt into a fairly useless puddle, or at least get really crabby – I spent most of my summer in Los Angeles hiding in my air conditioned apartment!
I know what you mean about it being too hot indoor in the winter. There were times we had the woodstove burning too hot, and I hid in my room with the window open! That’s the other disadvantage with a woodstove – you can’t just turn it DOWN using a dial, either!
I came across an article on the bbc a while back (lot the link now sadly) that was looking at how warm people felt in their homes now, compared to 50 years ago.
50 years ago people “felt” as warm as we do now, but had their average indoor room temperature at around 18 degrees C.
Now the average indoor temperature is 26 degrees C for the same “feeling” of warmth.
The difference is the proliferation of central heating systems where it is more convenient to turn the thermostat up rather than wear appropriate clothing!
Good on you for layering up. We run our home at around 16 degrees C and keep a duvet on the sofa to pull over our laps.