I had been keeping the thermostat at 65. Beloved turned it back up to 68 (where the utility company suggests you keep it no higher than) last month. Our electric bill went up near $70!!! Now true, two of those days we had no windows (windows were being replaced), and we did have a space heater going in the garage for a few days while the dog was sleeping out there. But WOW, an increase of $70 is quite a bit!!!
After getting the bill, beloved turned the thermostat back down to 65. :) I try to get him (and the girls) to dress WARMLY. Wear those stockings and bloomers. Wear sweatpants on top of your bloomers. Hubby wears sweatpants under his jeans (skinny man!!!). We will see how much it helps cutting back those extra three degrees.
But still, sometimes we get cold. I am wondering about lowering the thermostat even more at night and then up during the day while we are here and moving around. I have been doing some research and came across a great article on how to make a cherry stone bed warmer. I must admit that I am pretty excited about this!!! :)
Cherry pits are supposed to retain heat longer and release it more slowly than grains usually used in heating packs. A dear friend of mine, Brenda mentioned that she is not sure if they are or are not a moist heat (which grains are) which is really good for penetrating. But what she has read so far it seems like they are. So cherry pits might be a good way to keep warm and to help a hurting back. I have not been able to find information on the moist heat of cherry pits. Might check on her blog in the future to see if she does. She is a whiz with this kind of stuff. :D
Oh check this out! There is a great little post on Crunchy Chicken about it. I have read this article, but if you decide to wander from this page, read with a discerning heart, as I would hope you do with all blogs (even mine). :)
As to where to buy cherry pits, you can buy them from The Cherry Pit Store. You can also do it yourself, but one article said it takes 30-40 pounds of cherries to make one pillow. THAT'S SOME SERIOUS CHERRY PICKIN and eatin!!! LOL!!! You might also see if there is a cannery nearby that you might be able to get them really cheap or possibly even free (Dave Ramsey says bargain EVERYTHING!) :) SO who knows! :) Keep me updated if you do this or if you have experience with making one yourself. :)
I know I am thinking of making some cute small ones for boo-boo's to keep in the fridge. They are supposed to stay cold longer than grains too. :)
Eastering
4 hours ago
2 comments:
Hi Paula!
We keep our thermostat set at 70, but when it's really cold, the house doesn't GET warmer than 68-69. I wish I could keep it that low, but my elderly grandmother lives with us,and complains as it is.
My last electric bill was $274!!! Yikes! I'm constantly looking for ways to lower it.
I know what you mean about the heating bills. We live in a really large house (that came with Matt's previous employer) that we rent and so heating KILLS us. We are stoking hot in summer and frigid in winter.
We only keep the thermostat at 55-58 degrees in the whole house. One suggestion you *might* like if you have room to room heat is to keep the rooms you use MOST warmer and the ones you are infrequently in. For example: we don't have any heat on at all in the bathroom. Nor do I in my craft room. We rarely use the dining room outside of dinner time, so that too is low. When we are using the room, then we turn it up while we are there and turn it back down.
Actually, the only three rooms we most heat are the bedrooms (at night) and the basement during the day. If the kitchen gets cold-I bake something! :-)
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