In preparation for the rising cost of heating bills, I am trying to live

[ScreamingMeemie]

with the furnace set for 66 degrees. I don't think I'm going to make it. Brrrrr.... Anyone else trying to live at lower temperatures in order to save a buck or two...or one hundred???

[kick-ass-bob]

1. Yes. Last year was god awful in our new place.

I wasn't expecting such bills from the gas company. Color me unprepared. :(

Not this year though - I am keeping it low...
and staying in the basement where it will be warmer!

[ScreamingMeemie]

8. Our basement is the coldest place on earth. It is also where my

office, and this computer are. :(

[kick-ass-bob]

19. I can't figure out how it stays so warm down there in winter

and cold in summer!

But I'm not complaining!!

[ScreamingMeemie]

21. Ours is cold in the summer....and then fricking freezing in the winter.

We live a block from the lake which probably has something to do with it. :hi:

[commander bunnypants]

2. yep

and I like to be warm

DDQM

[ScreamingMeemie]

9. Me too. This is some tough going.

But it could be worse. I have a roof and walls...and sweaters. :hi:

[notadmblnd]

3. yes, I turn it way down at night.

We all have plenty of blankets on our beds, so I turn the furnace down to about 60 at night. I get up in the morning and turn it up so everyone is cozy getting ready for work and school, then turn it down again when we leave the house for the day.

I think this winter, everyone is going to spend a lot of time in bed under the covers.

[ScreamingMeemie]

10. I think that's what we'll be doing too....I wonder if there will be a new

crop of baby boomers? :hi:

[notadmblnd]

12. it not likely to happen in my house

husband died last year and now it's just me my sister (two old bats in our 40's)and my kids 11 & 13.

[Burma Jones]

4. A Long Standing Tradition, handed down from Depression-era

Grandparents to my Parents to me. Daytime set at 66, night at 58. Been that way as long as I can remember. Where I have broken with tradition is that I blast the Air Conditioning from June to September..............

[ScreamingMeemie]

11. Heheheheheh. My Grandmother does that too. I couldn't handle 58

I don't think. But I bet I wouldn't wake up as stuffy headed in the morning. :hi:

[DenverDem]

5. I am buying a cord of wood and will be stoking the fireplace daily.

Two hundred bucks of wood will go further than 75 dollar a barrel oil.

My office in the basement is going to be pretty chilly in January, however.

[ScreamingMeemie]

14. I wish we had a fireplace. I keep seeing commercials for electric ones

I wonder how well they work and if they really suck up the electricity. My office is in the basement too. I feel for ya. :hi:

[BigMcLargehuge]

6. and our house leaks heat like a seive too

so we just re-insulated the laundry room which seemed to help alot... Here's what we discovered as the took the interior walls down to the studs.

Wall material - painted cardboard, a piece of particle board, a piece of paneling (about a 32nd of an inch thick)
Insulation - 1" insulation stapled to the clapboards behind the studs because the insulation was too narrow

What we put in

4" thermal/acoustical insulatation. Stapled to the studs (i.e. installed correctly).
.5" drywall

Has it mae a difference? Oh yes indeed. We can stand in the kitchen at night and not need parkas. With luck it will reduce our oil needs by one tankful this winter.

[ScreamingMeemie]

15. Amazing isn't it? We plan on redoing and reinsulating the basement

this year in the hopes of warming things up a bit. :hi:

[arwalden]

7. Same here... Sweatpants and sweatshirts Are The Norm Now...

instead of lounging around in tee-shirts and boxers. I've got a space-heater in the bathroom to take the chill off the morning shower (and that's on a 10 minute auto-timer shutoff switch).

Right now we've got 250 gallons of $1.19 per gallon fuel oil. (We were locked in at that May 2003 price all last year. Who knows WHAT it's going to be by the time we need a fill-up again???)

-- Allen

[ScreamingMeemie]

16. I'm thinking about getting a space heater for my office...it is way to

cold down here. My fingers are numb already this AM. :hi:

[MissMillie]

13. I'm locked in at $1.69/gallon

No matter how high the price goes, what I pay will be the same. I lock in every year, and it always works out in my favor.

[ScreamingMeemie]

17. We do a budget plan too, where they average it out over the year. But

they hike it up way past where it should be...and then we end up getting a credit...only to have them hike it way up again the next year. :hi:

[LDS Jock]

18. heating bills? its still in the 90s

I have the AC running as we speak.

[ScreamingMeemie]

20. AAAACCCCKKKK!!! Don't rub it in!

Go post in a baseball thread or something. ;) :hi:

[LDS Jock]

24. I'd rather be where you are

where there are seasons, its already colder, and I could snuggle up next to your dog and cat :P

[ScreamingMeemie]

26. If you are ever in town...the Grumpy house is your house.

:hi: I'll even make stew!

[LDS Jock]

27. hot stew on a cold day... YUMMY

Where in Michigan are you?

[ScreamingMeemie]

28. South Eastern. Right on the shores of the once beautiful, now PCPified

Lake St. Clair. I'm in St. Clair Shores.

[Bridget Burke]

25. Currently 77 degrees in Houston, 100% humidity....

Projected highs in the mid 90's for the next few days. Unusual even for Houston.

[redqueen]

33. Freaky weather, isn't it?

[bearfan454]

22. When I used to live in Chicago(20 years ago)

I kept our furnace on 66. We all wore long underwear. I would bump up the furnace to 72 for showers or a bath for the baby. I know what you mean.

[ScreamingMeemie]

23. Chicago. Definitely a very cold place. My brother lived there in the 90's

and said it was suicidal to stand and wait for the el. :hi:

[barb162]

34. lived here all my life. Got really good windows and insulation

and I don't ever want to see the winters of the late 70s and early 80s where it was going to 25 below and 80" of snow. Were you here then?

[bearfan454]

36. I moved from Chicago to Tx in 1984.

Reagan had let the imports shut down my steelmill.

[meow2u3]

29. I like a cool room at night

I keep my thermostat set at 66 degrees not only to save a few bucks, but also so I can be comfortable. I wear a sweater or a sweatshirt at home. I also reverse my ceiling fan and keep it on low to circulate the hot air.

[ScreamingMeemie]

31. We do the reverse ceiling fan thing too, but it makes our ceilings

really dusty...especially in the kitchen. :hi:

[barb162]

30. we are doing 68 or 69 degrees now. However, if it goes to 20 below

on a few days and the furnace is running constantly, I am sure we will put it down to what you are doing.

[ScreamingMeemie]

32. I'ts crazy how quickly the weather changed here this year. I can't

take it. :hi:

[barb162]

35. I am going from shorts to sweats the last few weeks. Tomorrow

looks like a shorts day; 70s. Also, when there is frost in the morning and it is 25 degrees then it goes up to 65. Sweats in the morning, shorts in the afternoon. I can't take it either

[put out]

37. Menopause can work for you.

Warmth from the inside out, plus the becoming blush. And, it gives you a glow that just won't quit. Ever.

Of course, there is still the unpleasant chill when the latest wave subsides. But don't worry, another will be along real soon to warm you right up. And in between, you have 3-5 minutes of comfort. Yep, menopause is just real hard to beat for staying warm.

Me, I'd prefer sweats and cozy socks, but...