baby, it’s cold inside.
This morning the heat bill arrived in my inbox.
It was absurdly high.
And I think I’ve been chilled in this house since we moved in.
Plus, we’ve been enjoying mild winter temperatures here so that makes me nervous.
What will it be like when it’s really winter weather outside?
I took half a dozen photographs of the schoolroom to post today.
But I’m too distracted to take the time to edit them all.
I just adjusted the thermostat to 59 degrees.
That’s ridiculous – right?
I’ll probably put the schoolroom shots up tomorrow.
But for now, for today, any heat advice, my friends?
Keep Reading . . .
This Age.
notes from the burrow. not in any particular order.
32 Comments
Sunshine Leister
See if you can find a wood stove or insert to heat some with wood(freecycle). Plenty of free wood to be found.(free cycle). A fire just looks warm and cozy! I have always lived in old and drafty ( but full of character! Houses) see if you can block off bedrooms in the daytime (shut doors or close off entire section of house with a heavy blanket or quilt. Close the vents. Then do the opposite at night. On really cold nights when pipes may freeze either leave open or keep water running slightly in the sinks.(and don't forget to make sure drain is open!) and have plenty of fluffy sweaters and blankets on hand. If you get too cold, go on a mad cleaning spree! And remember, soon spring will arrive and you can throw off all the winter gear!
Cindy
When we received our first full month electric bill after moving into our old farmhouse, I cried and told Mark we were going to have to move, because we couldn't afford to pay the electric bills. This was for the month of November. Fortunately, we quickly discovered what part of our problem was. Most of the ducts under the house had been disconnected or had come loose from the vents in the house. The cats were staying quite warm, but the house not so much! Reconnecting the ducts to the vents helped a lot. In addition to some other things (most of which have already been mentioned), Mark placed plastic over the ground under the house (in our case, in the cellar) and it made quite a bit of difference. Also, if you want to stop the draft around the electrical outlets, don't just put the plastic safety plugs in. The foam insulation pieces made specifically for placement under the outlet covers pretty much stop the draft. We also use a wood stove in the one large room that doesn't have vents. Does your electricity provider have a payment plan which takes an average for the year and lets you pay that each month? That would help with the larger bills in the cold winter months.
Allie P
Flannel sheets make a huge difference. We have 2 doors that you can actually bend down and see outside, like a centimeter or two wide underneath. weather stripping works, or we put throw rugs down and shut them in the door. It's a fast and kind of sloppy solution, but it totally works. Call your electric co and make sure you're paying for usage and not on the plan that equalizes payment too. And cross your fingers that you don't have a problem keeping it cool in the summer! =)
Jane
Lacey, weatherstrip your doors…I think Mandy mentioned this. Plastic is good, which you already did. Keep doors closed to rooms so you can trap the heat. Space heaters are eating up your electricity. You need to get the oil heaters that turn themselves off when the room is warm and turn back on when is starts to get cold. I hate that your chimney's are all cut off, that would be a huge help. You can also put towels at the bottom of your doors to trap in heat or you can make those little cute draft things…just look on pinterest I'm sure if you type that in you will find it. 😉 Seriously, get rid of those space heaters. Welcome back to living in an old farmhouse.
Maggie
One more quick idea is go to ross, tuesday morning or tjmaxx type places… sometimes they have curtains with carbon lining discounted… which blocks the heat in the summer and cold in the winter. I have seen them as cheap as 5-10 bucks… now they all wont match… sooooo
Lisa Van Ek
Lacey – we actually got an outdoor woodstove (someones divorce was our gain) like your Dad had to heat the house so no more oil bill just lots of labor cutting wood, but at least we're warmer than past winters. As far as the plastic we've been doing it for years now, an I've actually gotten really good at it, so good that last week a friend was over, went to look out the window and hit her head on the plastic. really funny, she had no idea it was there. Being cold really stinks, heat is a blessing we don't appreciate fully until we don't have it.
Lots of snuggle time – Lisa
Sally
I second the flannel sheets. LOVE THEM. Our home is about 60 years old, so it's classified as Old Enough. All these are good ideas. Our crazy solution to not spending obsene amounts of money on oil for our furnace? woodstove. This beast puts out the heat and even the around-the-corner-upstairs is comfortable. Not sit-in-your-knickers comfy, but an extra layer and you're set.
But I'll take cold over hot any day!
Ben N.
haha, I'm right there with you guys. My little house has a propane heater and I ran it last year at about $600 a month, this year I gave up on it and use only a small space heater. When I woke up this morning there was frost on my hardwood floor. It sure makes my trips to columbia to visit family a welcome reprieve.
LaceyKeigley
Yikes! Frost on your floor?
You win!
Melissa
My house was built in 1880 and it's like 12 degrees in MD so I know exactly what you mean. This is our third winter here so we've learned a few things.
First, you could put that hideous plastic crap around your windows. The kind you have to shrink with a hairdryer. It's environmentally unfriendly but it's cheaper and more efficient than really heavy drapes, which can also keep out some of the draft. They are pretty nice if you can afford them and can deal with dark rooms. I only have them in one room and when they're open, I can feel that it's colder.
Second, do you have an attic? If so, see if you and your husband can roll out insulation on its floor so less heat will escape.
Third, bundle your kids in sweaters and warm socks. Flannel sheets and down comforters become essential.
Fourth, drink lots of hot tea.
That's all I've got.
LaceyKeigley
1880! You've got us beat buy about ten years. 🙂
We just put up the plastic stuff. It IS ugly – but I can tell a difference already. I guess I'll get over it.
We have some drapes but nothing super thick.
No attic really. Well, one we are turning into a bedroom.
Flannel sheets – that's a good idea.
And we've been overdosing on hot cocoa – it really does help to be warm inside your belly!
Lisa J
If the attic isn't insulated, it's worth the cost to do so. If you have ceiling fans, run them on low speed (I think in a clock-wise direction) to push the warm air back down. Definitely weather strip doors and windows. You can also buy kits for your electric plugs on outside walls – or at least those plastic plugs (you'd be surprised at the cold air that can enter that way). Welcome to the joy of living in an older home 🙂
LaceyKeigley
I never thought about air entering through the outlets. We have tons of those plastic ones from child safety days. I can get on that one tomorrow.
This house feels like our house growing up – and Dad was always cutting off the heat. Now I know why!!
Abbey
We feel your coldness. Living in NH one would think they have good heating ways but interestingly enough most of the houses are not only old but most have terrible heat…usually a gas unit in one room for the whole house. Anyway. We seal most of our windows with the window wrap. I leave a few normal so i can see out a few clearly. We use a space heater to keep the room we are in warm. The space heater is cheaper than turning up the thermostat. Scarves are great. We wear stocking caps inside..you get used to being cold for months on end. Warm wool socks too….
LaceyKeigley
We have been using a space heater but we were using it with the heat set low – I don't know about this turning it off completely idea. Not sure I can handle that yet.
Sock hats in the house – yes. Although not every kid is down with that. I wear fingerless gloves all day long too. And tights -oh, the tights. I've taught the kids all about the importance of the base layer! 🙂
We need to buy more socks though – I just hate paying money for socks – isn't that silly?
Sarah Finnigan
Move to Florida or better yet…Hawaii ! A couple of mornings here, we had temperatures in the teens. I am very ready for warm weather again. By the way, also heard this evening that electricity prices were going up…again.
LaceyKeigley
That's depressing news.
But Florida would mean no mountains and a high price for heat is actually something I'm willing to struggle with if it means I still can see a mountain or two!! 🙂
Jenny P.
When we moved into a new (older) house last year (though not as old as yours) we had a major problem with the windows. I think they are the originals from when the house was built in the '80s, single pane and very drafty. Of course new windows was out of the question and after suffering through last winter with high heat bills this year we put plastic over the windows. It was fairly cheap and I've noticed that the heat pump doesn't run as much at night. This month will be the first to see if it made a dent in the bill.
LaceyKeigley
Let us know how it turns out.
We are putting plastic up – it isn't pretty but I'm trying to get over that! 🙂
The heat pump does run so much more at night – of course. I feel like I am listening to money fly away when I hear it crank on.
ourextraordinarylife
I guess it depends on what you consider absurdly high (I do not want to know your bill). Your house is an old farm house which means lots of windows and doors that do not seal well. I would start with plugging any leaks with weather stripping or caulk. Unplug appliances that use electricity even when you have the power off. Use a toaster oven instead of your oven when you can. Wash laundry in cold water. Change out your lightbulbs for compact fluorescent bulbs. It takes lots of little things. Here are some links to some useful articles on the subject. Good Luck!! http://www.mlgw.com/images/10ways.pdf http://www.10money.com/electric.htm http://www.smartmoney.com/spend/family-money/13-s…
LaceyKeigley
Thanks.
We are doing some of those and will do more more more.
I always forget about unplugging things.
@treadingwater
I know it. We are keeping ours at 62, and at that temp, I have to keep busy and dress well to keep myself from hibernating during the day. So 59… brr! We insulated under our house (it had none) and added some in the attic space, plus sealed some windows and doorways to keep the breeze out. I realize you shouldn't have a breeze when windows and doors are closed, but you know, old house. Also, insulated curtains can help for old windows. For us, that just meant I sewed a lining on some of ours so they would be thicker, but there are fancier ones out there. I want to follow your comments so I can hear any good tips!
LaceyKeigley
The lining idea on curtains is a good once. I saw a pinterest idea where they made curtains out of wool army blankets and yet made it look so cool. I checked Hobby Lobby but they don't sell wool. I wonder if fleece would work alright or if i could scour some old wool blankets from goodwill.
And a breeze is no lie – it's a genuine breeze in some places here.
Lisa J
You could check a military surplus store for new/used army blankets.
Andrea
We have a very cold house. My best advice is, electric blankets, and space heaters in kids rooms. We normally turn our heat off at night. And we almost always wear shoes and socks
LaceyKeigley
You turn OFF your heat at night? Uh. I don't know if I can do that yet.
But we did get fleece lined slippers for the kids and the funny thing is – they have not complained once about the cold. It's just me I think.
hannaH
the window plastic covering stuff that helps keep cold out and heat in. that makes a pretty big difference i think.
LaceyKeigley
which you and I applied tonight.
perfect!
Maggie
Welcome to "This Old House"… Mike and I keep the thermostat on 60. Sometimes we crank it up to 62 when we feel like big spenders. It isn't fun when the February bill hits $400+… we eat alot of ramen and pbj in March.
LaceyKeigley
Haha. This makes me laugh and makes me feel slightly better.
We joked about ramen noodles tonight. They are not my favorite – but we're talking 19 cents. Who can beat that??
Margie Mason
SoEveryDay: baby, it's cold inside. http://t.co/Ooj5nrKk
I know the feeling
Kirsten Lavinder
3M insulatr kits! They work great to keep out the cold from windows.