Chilly
I’m wearing long underwear and wool socks, and I’m sitting under a red and blue fleecy blanket I’ve had since college, but I’m still shivering. It’s 37 degrees Fahrenheit here (feels like 31 because of the wind), and the thermostat’s set at 68 degrees.
We could knock it up a couple of degrees, and occasionally do if we get desperate. What we really need is a space heater for the family room, because it tends to get colder than the room where the thermostat is. We’ve never gotten around to getting one. So instead, we’re getting by with blankets and sweaters.
We could also knock it down a few degrees and add more layers. I know many people do, to save energy and money. We haven’t gotten to that point; I think where we are is pretty reasonable.
We do have a programmable thermostat to help make sure the heat gets turned off when we’re not here. And we’ve got separate thermostats for upstairs and downstairs, so we don’t need to heat space we’re not using. In fact, the heat rising from downstairs is often enough for both levels.
But now it’s time for bed, and it’ll be warm there. Remember in The Long Winter, how they would go to bed early to save fuel? Totally seeing the benefits of that now.
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December 4th, 2009
Yup! Got what you’re talking about. It’s mighty cold. It’s 30 degrees outside as I type this. The thermostat is set for 60. I’ve been wearing thermals and at least one more layer, two at times, over that. Tonight I decided to bake my fish in the oven instead of the microwave so when it was done, I left the oven door open so it would heat up the place. I was not going to waste that heat!
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December 4th, 2009
I kept my thermostat at 60 degrees (like Corina) in Sacramento; I think one gets used to colder and colder temperatures, so 65 feels unbearable at first after being used to 68, but eventually 60 is tolerable. (I have not experimented with testing this out below 60, though…)
I ALWAYS wear a hat in the house during the cold months, though. I tend to forget that this is somewhat unusual behavior to some people until someone comes over or I visit someone else’s home.
I’m not sure how cold it is in here right now… I need to get a thermometer. The trouble is that I pretty much sit/lie on the living room floor (I haven’t got a couch or any comfortable chairs), and my heater is two feet above floor level; so I always stay pretty cold even with the heater on, and then I stand up and it’s so hot I can hardly stand it (in my layers and hat).
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December 4th, 2009
The space heater idea is actually a great one.
Last year I didn’t want to deal with worrying if my toddler was warm, and had the thermostat set at 72 degrees. All winter long! Our electric bills were through the roof.
This year, I’ve set up an oil-filled electric radiator in the living room, and an oscillating ceramic electric heater in the bedroom. I turn one or the other on (and occasionally both) depending on which part of the house we’re occupying. The radiator in the living room is actually enough to keep the furnace from coming on at all during the day! Our electric bills are 2/3 what they were last year at this time.
My feet ARE cold as I write this, though, from underneath my fuzzy fleece blanket. ;o) And I make sure my son wears his undershirts.