We were talking about the rise in utility bills and I thought I'd let you know about the few things we did to ease the pain of heating our house in the winter. We have propane. We have a gas fireplace and my husband left the pilot on, not knowing how much fuel it used. Soon, way too soon, we were down to half a tank. The fill-up was $800.00. That hurt.
Let me tell you about propane companies...at least our experience. When we bought the home, propane was $3 something a gallon. The next summer I got a card from a different company offering $2 something a gallon. I called the original company to cancel. They matched the price. Great...right? Didn't have to mess up the yard moving the tank and still getting the best rate. Yes....untill the next summer when I got a bill for $108.00. I call and ask what is this? It's the fee we charge to hold the best price for you. Nope. I haven't paid it...will not pay it. That was never said to me before. In the meantime, I tell them I will use the remaining fuel...do not fill it up and don't touch the tank. I get a card from another company offering $1.79 a gallon. We signed, they filled my tank and I call the high price, add money on me people to tell them to come and get their tank. Oh, no. I haven't paid the bill yet. I informed them they can leave said tank to sit and rot. I'm not trying to come off like I'm tough or the B bad word...I'm saying you can't let yourself be cheated.
Ok....so we got smarter. We only light the pilot to run the fireplace, then off it goes.
We needed a couple of windows, but due to cash flow, couldn't get them. My husband made storm windows from plexiglass. Before he installed them, he put a sheet of plastic between, for added help. There was no cold air coming in.
Make draft dodgers for your doors. They truly help. Measure the width of the door, plus 3 inches. A 36" door will use 39". Cut a piece of heavy fabric 39" x 6 or 7". Fold in half, right sides of fabric facing...longways...and sew, leaving one end open for filling. Turn. Fill with raw rice, kitty litter or even unpopped popcorn. You can put in dry herbs and essential oil, if you wish. Sew closed and lay in front of door. You will soon notice how much they help.
If you have an upstairs where the bedrooms are, hang a quilt at the foot of the stairs. It keeps the heat downstairs. If you need upstairs warm, at night, tie the quilt to the side and untie in the morning.
We don't have small children, so we can fill and use kerosene heaters for the rooms we are in the most.
We have electric heaters in the bathrooms that we turn on to get ready for work, or to shower. We turn them off when we leave the room.
We have extra socks and sweaters around and instead of turning up the heat, we try to warm up dressed properly. If that doesn't work, we bump the thermostat a little.
We have a mattress pad that has heaters in it. It's a queen, so each side has a control. We go upstairs a half hour before bed and turn the pad on low. We are then, able to turn the thermostat down a little, and if we get warm or cold, we each have a control. If you are afraid to buy one of these for a child's bed, start now, buying super warm pajamas and extra blankets and quilts. They may even like sleeping bags.
If everyone is out of the house for the day, turn the thermostat down before you leave...but don't turn it off. 65 to 67 should be good. If you turn it off, the furnace has to heat the entire house when you get home....colder longer and more cost. Turn it back to your temperature when you get home. It saves a lot of money. Put a note on the front door to remind you.
My basement is cold. I have a door that leads to the garage that stays closed in the winter, but leaks air. I cut an old, stiff blanket into long pieces about 4-5" wide. I rolled them, longways, into flat tubes and nailed them all around the door, where it closes. It stopped the drafts.
If I can make something for dinner in the oven, it helps with heating. We eat a lot of roasts and cake!
Does anyone have any ideas to help? We're in this together.
Let me tell you about propane companies...at least our experience. When we bought the home, propane was $3 something a gallon. The next summer I got a card from a different company offering $2 something a gallon. I called the original company to cancel. They matched the price. Great...right? Didn't have to mess up the yard moving the tank and still getting the best rate. Yes....untill the next summer when I got a bill for $108.00. I call and ask what is this? It's the fee we charge to hold the best price for you. Nope. I haven't paid it...will not pay it. That was never said to me before. In the meantime, I tell them I will use the remaining fuel...do not fill it up and don't touch the tank. I get a card from another company offering $1.79 a gallon. We signed, they filled my tank and I call the high price, add money on me people to tell them to come and get their tank. Oh, no. I haven't paid the bill yet. I informed them they can leave said tank to sit and rot. I'm not trying to come off like I'm tough or the B bad word...I'm saying you can't let yourself be cheated.
Ok....so we got smarter. We only light the pilot to run the fireplace, then off it goes.
We needed a couple of windows, but due to cash flow, couldn't get them. My husband made storm windows from plexiglass. Before he installed them, he put a sheet of plastic between, for added help. There was no cold air coming in.
Make draft dodgers for your doors. They truly help. Measure the width of the door, plus 3 inches. A 36" door will use 39". Cut a piece of heavy fabric 39" x 6 or 7". Fold in half, right sides of fabric facing...longways...and sew, leaving one end open for filling. Turn. Fill with raw rice, kitty litter or even unpopped popcorn. You can put in dry herbs and essential oil, if you wish. Sew closed and lay in front of door. You will soon notice how much they help.
If you have an upstairs where the bedrooms are, hang a quilt at the foot of the stairs. It keeps the heat downstairs. If you need upstairs warm, at night, tie the quilt to the side and untie in the morning.
We don't have small children, so we can fill and use kerosene heaters for the rooms we are in the most.
We have electric heaters in the bathrooms that we turn on to get ready for work, or to shower. We turn them off when we leave the room.
We have extra socks and sweaters around and instead of turning up the heat, we try to warm up dressed properly. If that doesn't work, we bump the thermostat a little.
We have a mattress pad that has heaters in it. It's a queen, so each side has a control. We go upstairs a half hour before bed and turn the pad on low. We are then, able to turn the thermostat down a little, and if we get warm or cold, we each have a control. If you are afraid to buy one of these for a child's bed, start now, buying super warm pajamas and extra blankets and quilts. They may even like sleeping bags.
If everyone is out of the house for the day, turn the thermostat down before you leave...but don't turn it off. 65 to 67 should be good. If you turn it off, the furnace has to heat the entire house when you get home....colder longer and more cost. Turn it back to your temperature when you get home. It saves a lot of money. Put a note on the front door to remind you.
My basement is cold. I have a door that leads to the garage that stays closed in the winter, but leaks air. I cut an old, stiff blanket into long pieces about 4-5" wide. I rolled them, longways, into flat tubes and nailed them all around the door, where it closes. It stopped the drafts.
If I can make something for dinner in the oven, it helps with heating. We eat a lot of roasts and cake!
Does anyone have any ideas to help? We're in this together.
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