Economizing Measures ~ Saving On Heating Costs Part 1

Everyone knows to keep your thermostat set low, as low as you can 

stand it.  But how do you keep warm enough to not complain?

1- you must dress for the weather.  Layering your clothes is a 

great way to go.  And make sure they are loose layers.  I'm usually 

ok in slacks, long sleeved shirt and slippers at home.  If it gets 

colder I add fuzzy socks and a sweater.  If it gets to freezing 

temps I can add sweat pants and sweat shirt over regular pants 

and shirt and a sweater on top of that.  

2- decide what rooms you really use and only heat those.  

Close off the vents and close the doors to unused rooms.  I have 

a bath and 2 bedrooms that are rarely used and they are off their 

own hallway.  All vents and doors are closed  and I put up a curtain 

at the end of the hallway that enters my living room.  That also 

saves on cooling those rooms in the summer.  Just a simple 

curtain will do, make it match your window curtains if you want.  

A great Victorian idea we need to bring back!

3- if you have ceiling fans you can set them to reverse at a 

slow speed to push the warm air back down to the area you are 

sitting in.  This means it will spin clockwise in winter.  A good 

way to remember is clockwise while we are on regular time and 

counter-clockwise while we are on daylight savings time.

4- you can utilize space heaters to only heat the room you 

are in.  I have a small electric oscillating heater I bought at 

Dollar General for less than $20.  I only use it in the room I am 

currently in and it keeps me pretty toasty without using a lot of 

electricity.  Please be cautious as to what kind of space heater 

you use and make sure to use it properly with any required 

ventilation.  If you need to crack a window for ventilation then 

choose a south facing one to avoid the colder winds coming 

from the north.

5- use a quilt on your bed!  Grandma wasn't just saving 

money by making her own quilt and re-using those fabric scraps, 

they are much warmer than blankets.  You need it to be loose 

over you and not pulled tight, your body heat will fill the space 

between bed and quilt with warmth and you will be toasty all 

night.  I believe it has a lot to do with the insulation quality of 

the quilt which is made of fabric, batting and fabric.  Heavier 

is not always warmer.  If you have no quilt but you do have a

sleeping bag, use it!  And flannel sheets are much warmer feeling

than cotton. 

6- but maybe this should have been first, add insulation.  

Check for drafts and insulate and caulk where you can and add 

weatherstripping if needed to doors and windows.  If you have 

no restrictions in your neighborhood then spritz your windows 

with water and cover them with cut to size bubble wrap for 

insulation.  You can often get bubble wrap for free from sites 

like craigslist or freecycle.  Alternatively you can pull down 

your shades at night to keep out drafts and raise them during 

the day to let in the sun's warmth.  Grandma used to swap out 

her light and lacy summer curtains for heavy and lined winter 

drapes for good reason and we can do the same.

7- if you are going to be home, make it a day of cooking 

and baking.  That extra heat will be welcome on a cold day, 

especially if it came from a pot of homemade stew and home

baked bread or cookies.  When you are done baking leave the 

oven door open to utilize that heat as well.  I used to live in an 

apartment that had no heat source in the kitchen so I just 

turned on the gas burners.  No worries about ventilation, the 

place was 80 years old and very drafty, but do take care if you 

need to do this and never leave the room unoccupied with burners 

on, especially if you have children.  If you have an electric stove 

you could turn on the oven and leave the door open but I'm not 

sure how frugal that would be.  Also you can boil water in a pot 

to add humidity which makes you feel warmer.

8- if you have a pet like a dog or cat and they like to 

snuggle, indulge them.  A dog or cat's body temperature is much 

higher than a human's (100-102.5 degrees Fahrenheit) and they 

are portable heaters that cost very little.   I used to have one 

cat that would sleep under the covers with me so I stayed nicely 

warm all night and so did he.

9- try a heating pad to warm up your bed 30 minutes before 

you crawl in, just like a bed warming pan of hot coals like your 

great grandma used to use.  A hot water bottle at your feet

works well too.  If you do use a heating pad, only use it for a short 

period of time, it is not meant to be slept with, would save you no 

money and could cause a fire. 

10-  don't be afraid of looking silly wearing clothes to bed.  A 

sweatshirt and sweat pants are much warmer than a cotton gown.  

Also wear your fuzzy socks to bed.  A knit cap on your head in 

frigid weather  works nicely too, we lose a lot of heat out the top 

of our heads and it's a good old idea we have lost sight of.  

Remember the line from 'Twas the Night Before Christmas' about 

"Mother in her kerchief and I in my cap had just settled down for 

a long winter's nap."

11- some other ideas I have read about.  If you have 

radiators you can add a metal panel behind it to bounce that 

heat back into the room rather than letting the wall soak it up.  

For fun put up a tent in the middle of the room and only heat 

that.  Think your house is cold? go outside for a bit and it will 

feel heavenly when you come back in.

So there's 11 ways to stay warm while trying to save some 

money on heating, at least for those of us without a wood

burning stove or fireplace.

Economizing Measures ~ Banish the Vampires!

No, not your favorite movie vampires....electricity vampires!

I had just received my newest electricity bill (Oct 2009) and it was half what it was the past year at the same time, less than $70.  Why?   I can only put it down to the fact I was using less electricity in 3 areas.

One was not using the dryer.  The other things were putting the computer to sleep when not in use and only turning on the powerstrip for the DVD player and TV when I was actually watching a movie. 

Here's your guide to things that suck electricity like vampires suck blood even when not in use.  If it has a light that stays on or a clock that stays lit up even if you don't have it turned on or if it is run by a remote.  In my house it was the TV, DirecTV box, DVD player, clock/radio which I need for the alarm, microwave, window a/c unit, stove, power strips and battery chargers for phone, camera and weedeater.

Power strips are easy to just switch off when not in use.  The a/c unit can be unplugged when not needed, and unplugging chargers when they are done. 

So if you want to save some bucks on the electric bill, turn off and unplug.  One of the easiest ways is to plug stuff into a power strip and then when you're done using the stuff, just flip the off switch.   I can't promise your bill will be cut in half, but if you put up a clothesline as well it just might!

Economizing Measures ~ Saving by De-Cluttering

This post will be a bit different as I want to write about something I've done that in the long run saved me money, but you wouldn't think that at first.  The short list of 

how it is going to save me money is:

1. I won't buy something a second or third time because I can't find it. ( I found 3 hole punchers!)

2. You reap what you sow and I have already benefited because of donating so much stuff. Freebies from the charity shop girls, etc.

3. Selling a few items on Etsy or EBay has netted me some extra 

gas money, technically not saving but I spent less than I would have.

4. Less clutter means less stress so I don't need to buy more St. John's Wort.

5. Less stuff will make it cheaper to move one day.

6. I can see what I really have and make better use of it which keeps me from buying more stuff.

There are many sites on the net that will teach you about decluttering as well as several TV shows. I've seen them and read them and learned a lot. The one thing everyone says is 

how much lighter they feel after the purge. I feel it too. I can be a pack rat so here's how I looked at it in order to actually do it. I took William Morris' quote literally:

"Have nothing in your house that you do not know to be useful 

or believe beautiful."

Add to that 'If I haven't worn or used it in the last 1 to 1.5 years 

I am not going to, so get rid of it.'

Take one area or room at a time and fill sacks or boxes to haul to the charity shops. Small bags make it easy to carry and you feel like you have done a lot when you fill one. Tackling a small area at a time helps to not lose focus or get overwhelmed. Even if it is one drawer or one box, it IS progress.  Organizing is the flip side to decluttering. This helps everything have a place which helps everything stay in place. Not having a place for everything is a large part of how homes get in such a mess to begin with. 

One thing I have done is to use a plastic tub or box to put things in that 

didn't go where I was cleaning. Then I had to figure out where they went and sometimes it was AWAY. I also think about WHERE I put things. Will it be a convenient place near where I use it so that I WILL put it away?

I have shifted not only where things used to go but also what they are stored in. One weekend I patiently took apart all the 200+ music Cds and put the discs and booklets in one large notebook case that fits on an empty shelf instead of in 2 large wooden box holders. Less to dust, gives me more shelf space, weighs less and is easy to use. I should have done this years ago. The plastic cases are difficult to recycle but some people use them for crafts, picture display or to replace broken ones so they can be donated. 

Here's a site on dealing with clutter I have found helpful, they even have free calendars you can download to motivate you daily. http://unclutterer.com/

I say do a little at a time and keep going, it works for me.