TranquilMind Posted October 2, 2012 Share Posted October 2, 2012 Every year I have this silly little game I play - I am determined to make it into October before turning on the heat. Last month, it was close, as it was in the 40's several nights in a row, but hey...that's what fleece is for. If you can't see your breath, it's not too cold, I tell the family!:tongue_smilie: Anyway...we made it! Still haven't turned on the heat yet, and probably won't, because the temperature is going to rise into the 70's again this week. Some years I don't make it, but I always feel a little better about our frugal ways when I do. Silly, I know. But I have to entertain myself somehow. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Parrothead Posted October 2, 2012 Share Posted October 2, 2012 I'm right there with you. Dd is reading with a lap rug and wearing a hat. I refuse to turn on the heat or open a bag of pellets. I'd love to make it to 1 November, but I don't think that will be possible. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laura Corin Posted October 2, 2012 Share Posted October 2, 2012 The thermostat is at 13 degrees C (55 degrees F) this year. We do have a small wood stove in the sitting room too, so we light that if we are sitting still and need more warmth (we have our own wood) but most of the time we are working on 13 degrees. Laura Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TranquilMind Posted October 2, 2012 Author Share Posted October 2, 2012 I'm right there with you. Dd is reading with a lap rug and wearing a hat. I refuse to turn on the heat or open a bag of pellets. I'd love to make it to 1 November, but I don't think that will be possible. Yeah, that would be awesome to make it into November! I've never accomplished that either, to my recollection. Let's celebrate if we do! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TranquilMind Posted October 2, 2012 Author Share Posted October 2, 2012 The thermostat is at 13 degrees C (55 degrees F) this year. We do have a small wood stove in the sitting room too, so we light that if we are sitting still and need more warmth (we have our own wood) but most of the time we are working on 13 degrees. Laura My hero!;) You win. Even I keep it in the 60's. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laura Corin Posted October 2, 2012 Share Posted October 2, 2012 My hero!;) You win. Even I keep it in the 60's. But this year Husband is down in London from Monday to Friday, so I have control of the thermostat. Hehehe... We have a tank of LPG in the garden, rather than piped gas. A full tank costs close to £1000 and we need at least three over the course of the year. That's worth saving. Laura Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
justamouse Posted October 2, 2012 Share Posted October 2, 2012 Our heat's not on, either. But, we have natural gas, and it costs us just about as much to heat this huge old house with gazillion year old windows as it did our tiny newer house with oil. We keep it at 68, and we wear sweaters and always wear slippers. I never quite had to dress for winter before this house. ;) But now I enjoy it. Heating oil is up to $3.59 here. It's going to be an expensive winter for many families. :( We do have 4 fireplaces, and I eventually want to get a Jotul and get some of them relined, but that's another year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trillian Posted October 2, 2012 Share Posted October 2, 2012 It's over 100 here today :glare: . Every year, I hope it's cold by the end of Oct. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TranquilMind Posted October 2, 2012 Author Share Posted October 2, 2012 But this year Husband is down in London from Monday to Friday, so I have control of the thermostat. Hehehe... We have a tank of LPG in the garden, rather than piped gas. A full tank costs close to £1000 and we need at least three over the course of the year. That's worth saving. Laura Ha. I always have control of the thermostat. My husband owns many fleece items. I just found fleece sheets at Costco, which I think I am going to buy for him. Yes, we used to have a huge oil tank that was refilled through the season. THat heat seemed hotter, somehow, than gas, so it really seemed to go far. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MindyD Posted October 2, 2012 Share Posted October 2, 2012 We still have our air conditioner on. It will cool off in the South eventually, right? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redsquirrel Posted October 2, 2012 Share Posted October 2, 2012 I don't declare victory unless I make it to November. I live in upstate NY. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TranquilMind Posted October 2, 2012 Author Share Posted October 2, 2012 I don't declare victory unless I make it to November. I live in upstate NY. Have you ever done that? That's kinda far north! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beaners Posted October 2, 2012 Share Posted October 2, 2012 I'm very glad the temperature came up a little, and I hope the temperature stays up through next week at least. We're waiting for a chimney sweep to come out and check a couple things before we use our fireplace. We're also waiting to refill the propane until we sell our old house, so I'm only using it to cook. During that little cold snap I was waiting to run the washer and dryer when the house was getting chilly. We have a pair of space heaters somewhere, but I haven't convinced my husband to dig them out yet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarinesWife Posted October 2, 2012 Share Posted October 2, 2012 It's over 100 here today :glare: . Every year, I hope it's cold by the end of Oct. Same here! It's been cooling off more in the evenings and I love it. Course cooling off meaning in the 80's. LOL Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redsquirrel Posted October 2, 2012 Share Posted October 2, 2012 Have you ever done that? That's kinda far north! Not often, but it has happened. Last year we had snow for Halloween, so that was a bust. Every year I hold out hope that this year I will WIN! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChrissySC Posted October 2, 2012 Share Posted October 2, 2012 Ack, I'm still having to run the air conditioner! LOL Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChrissySC Posted October 2, 2012 Share Posted October 2, 2012 No. :( We still have our air conditioner on. It will cool off in the South eventually, right? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jpoy85 Posted October 2, 2012 Share Posted October 2, 2012 We live in an apartment with base board heat- not on yet but who knows when? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
*Michelle* Posted October 2, 2012 Share Posted October 2, 2012 We still have our air conditioner on. It will cool off in the South eventually, right? I fervently hope so. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jean in Newcastle Posted October 2, 2012 Share Posted October 2, 2012 We count our gas bill as "medical" around here. My muscles are in so much pain when they tense up from the cold. And no, huddling under a blanket wearing fleece would not be sufficient. But I admire your thriftiness! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TranquilMind Posted October 2, 2012 Author Share Posted October 2, 2012 Ack, I'm still having to run the air conditioner! LOL I did too....a couple of days ago. It changes constantly here. One day in the 80's. The next day in the 50's. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prairiewindmomma Posted October 2, 2012 Share Posted October 2, 2012 My ac is still on....we're hitting in the 80sF in the daytime and 40s-50s at night. I suspect sometime this month we'll switch over to the furnace though....it always seems to be a dramatic switch in weather here with no real time off of running either the ac or the furnace. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carrie12345 Posted October 2, 2012 Share Posted October 2, 2012 We have electric heat, and I try to put it off as long as possible. A few weeks ago, the kids and I smelled burning, but couldn't find a source. I evacuated the kids to the car, unplugged just about everything, felt every wall, and was about to call the FD and do a quick sweep for the cats when I caught a glimpse of the thermostat. One of the little boys had to have turned the dial all the way up. Dust and random crayons were cooking up a real funk! :glare: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kewb Posted October 2, 2012 Share Posted October 2, 2012 I don't declare victory unless I make it to November. I live in upstate NY. Same here, but I am in NJ. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lisamarie Posted October 3, 2012 Share Posted October 3, 2012 A few weeks ago, the kids and I smelled burning, but couldn't find a source. I evacuated the kids to the car, unplugged just about everything, felt every wall, and was about to call the FD and do a quick sweep for the cats when I caught a glimpse of the thermostat. One of the little boys had to have turned the dial all the way up. Dust and random crayons were cooking up a real funk! :glare: Ahhh...the linty smell of fall when you turn on the furnace for the first time. We made it this far without heat, I'm hoping to get through all of October here in MI, but that's unlikely. My power bill is always so much more pleasant in the fall when the house stays between 63-75 so we don't need heat or a/c. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amo_mea_filiis. Posted October 3, 2012 Share Posted October 3, 2012 I made it last year until November 1st because thats when the part for the heater came in! I'm aiming for Nov 1st again, but its hard in the early morning. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amo_mea_filiis. Posted October 3, 2012 Share Posted October 3, 2012 I made it last year until November 1st because thats when the part for the heater came in! I'm aiming for Nov 1st again, but its hard in the early morning. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mallory Posted October 3, 2012 Share Posted October 3, 2012 Admittedly, I only live in Northern Arkansas, but I had the propane company take the tank away last spring. So this year there is no heat to turn on. I just can't afford it. In fact last year we had the electric company do an energy audit on our house and we had the leakiest house they've ever tested, but since we aren't all electric, they can't help us. We do have a very ineffecient wood stove (it's a fireplace insert so we are still losing a lot of heat up the chimney) and I moved the two little kids beds out to the living room so at least two of us have a warm room. I imagine the older boys will sleep out there often too. And school will be done out there. Dh and I have an electric blanket, but our room is often cold enough you can see your breath. So far it has been okay, but everyone is saying it is going to be a hard winter. Guess I'm going to need more heat tape. So far it hasn't been cold enough here, but I'll admit when it gets a little colder we'll start a fire. At the beginning is the only time we can actually warm up our house. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laura Corin Posted October 3, 2012 Share Posted October 3, 2012 Admittedly, I only live in Northern Arkansas, but I had the propane company take the tank away last spring. Our heat has gone out a couple of times in winter before, and the house really chilled down after a bit, even with a wood stove in the living room. I hope your winter isn't too cold. Laura Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Desert Rat Posted October 3, 2012 Share Posted October 3, 2012 It's over 100 here today :glare: . Every year, I hope it's cold by the end of Oct. I'm with ya, in Southern Nevada. It's still 100 here, too. I usually try to wait until Thanksgiving to turn on the heat. And it's set at 66-68 in the winter. I know that seems high for some of you but when you live at 110-115 for 3-4 months a year, 65 is a 45 degree difference. Like other places going from 80 to 35. At least that's how I justify it. :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
---- Posted October 3, 2012 Share Posted October 3, 2012 . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Annie G Posted October 3, 2012 Share Posted October 3, 2012 I'm with ya, in Southern Nevada. It's still 100 here, too. I usually try to wait until Thanksgiving to turn on the heat. And it's set at 66-68 in the winter. I know that seems high for some of you but when you live at 110-115 for 3-4 months a year, 65 is a 45 degree difference. Like other places going from 80 to 35. At least that's how I justify it. :lol: It makes sense. Our average low in February is 10, so if my thermostat is set at 60 at night (and a balmy 63 during the day), I feel plenty warm. Yet when we lived in Atlanta, we would FREEZE with the thermostat that low. Weird. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
********* Posted October 3, 2012 Share Posted October 3, 2012 You sound lik you'd get along fabulously with my dh, lol. He gave me this huge pep talk/lecture about two weeks ago about how now that it's cooled off here in Michigan, we should try to see how long we can go without using the air OR the furnace. You know, to save money. I gave him one of these :glare:. HE'S the one EVERY winter trying to turn the heat UP all the time!! :tongue_smilie: I keep the thermostate at a bone chilling 58f to save money!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jennifer in MI Posted October 3, 2012 Share Posted October 3, 2012 You sound lik you'd get along fabulously with my dh, lol. He gave me this huge pep talk/lecture about two weeks ago about how now that it's cooled off here in Michigan, we should try to see how long we can go without using the air OR the furnace. You know, to save money. I gave him one of these :glare:. HE'S the one EVERY winter trying to turn the heat UP all the time!! :tongue_smilie: I keep the thermostate at a bone chilling 58f to save money!! HA! It's easy to save money in theory - right? LOL! Then reality/winter hits. Suddenly it's harder! You are the only other family I know that keeps their thermostat that low! We do that too - and wear lots of layers and blankets. We are hoping to hold off until November this year. This weekend will be hard though. If there is a warm up next week, I think we'll go for it!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lailasmum Posted October 3, 2012 Share Posted October 3, 2012 Some years we make it to December but I don't think it will be possible this time around. It's got cold quickly this year. We don't normally get those cold crisp smokey smelling nights until the beginning of November but they started a few weeks ago. I think we might be in for a cold hard winter like we had a couple of years ago. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
---- Posted October 3, 2012 Share Posted October 3, 2012 . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
********* Posted October 3, 2012 Share Posted October 3, 2012 Ahhh...the linty smell of fall when you turn on the furnace for the first time. We made it this far without heat, I'm hoping to get through all of October here in MI, but that's unlikely. My power bill is always so much more pleasant in the fall when the house stays between 63-75 so we don't need heat or a/c. Bite your tongue Lisa! :D We can do it! (You're probably right though; one never knows when it's gonna turn ugly cold here in MI.) HA! It's easy to save money in theory - right? LOL! Then reality/winter hits. Suddenly it's harder! You are the only other family I know that keeps their thermostat that low! We do that too - and wear lots of layers and blankets. We are hoping to hold off until November this year. This weekend will be hard though. If there is a warm up next week, I think we'll go for it!!!! I posted last winter on FB asking what temp everyone keeps their thermostat at, because dh was nagging me to turn it up and I kept trying to keep it down. Yeah, that was a bad idea; everyone else here in Michigan kept it WAY warmer than I tried to. :tongue_smilie: I must admit though, there is the occasional day when I break down and turn it up a few degerees for a while 'cause even I can't take the cold. And I'm wondering if this winter will be harder for me; I lost 43 pounds in the last five months, so I've got less insulation on me than I did last winter. :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TKDmom Posted October 3, 2012 Share Posted October 3, 2012 We have electric heat, and I try to put it off as long as possible. A few weeks ago, the kids and I smelled burning, but couldn't find a source. I evacuated the kids to the car, unplugged just about everything, felt every wall, and was about to call the FD and do a quick sweep for the cats when I caught a glimpse of the thermostat. One of the little boys had to have turned the dial all the way up. Dust and random crayons were cooking up a real funk! :glare: See, it's posts like this that make me wish we had a like button. :D I am determined that I will clean out our air intake valve before the heater kicks in (we have electric heat too). But I still have two or three months before I have to worry about that. ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mallory Posted October 4, 2012 Share Posted October 4, 2012 Our heat has gone out a couple of times in winter before, and the house really chilled down after a bit, even with a wood stove in the living room. I hope your winter isn't too cold. I really dislike our propane co. I didn't realize the first winter we lived here that we didn't own our tank and the other company filled it. Then one time they said they couldn't any more it wasn't thier tank. So the next winter we dealt with the other company. It is more expensive, charges huge rental fees, delivery fees (as well as really prefering you only get deliveries on the right delivery day), and requires a much bigger order (I think $500). Which brings us to last year, when we tried really hard not to use propane. Since we didn't use much, and only got it delivered once (after a huge arguement about not wanting that much and finally talking them into a smaller delivery), they wanted to charge us an even higher rental fee. That was the point when I said just come get it out of here. It is cold in our house. The living room is often in the 70's but not the rest of the house (no one wants to go to the bathroom). We kept the thermostat in the middle 50's even when we had central heat (and yeah, no one does that). We did get one of those tall portable propane tanks for an emergency back up. I think it holds about 20 gallons and we made it through last winter on less then 100 (cause that was what I fought the propane company to bring and there was still a little bit left when they took it away- the week before they came when I was trying to use it all up was the warmest our house was all winter!) This thread is making me want to buy more caulk. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KatieJ Posted October 4, 2012 Share Posted October 4, 2012 No heat on here yet, altho the afghans on the sofas have been put to use a couple of times. This weekend is supposed to be cold, but since my DH choppped lots and lots of wood this summer, I think we will be having a fire in the fireplace. Grandsons are coming over Friday night and I they will get a kick out of smores inside the house in stead of outside around the firepit. (We put down new grass seed as our lawn did not survive the drought and can't quite use the back yard yet.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laura Corin Posted October 4, 2012 Share Posted October 4, 2012 It is cold in our house. The living room is often in the 70's but not the rest of the house (no one wants to go to the bathroom). We kept the thermostat in the middle 50's even when we had central heat (and yeah, no one does that). We've had big problems with our gas tank too - delivery, maintenance, contracts, etc. Good luck Laura Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.