Wednesday, September 10, 2008

Winter time's a comin'

The garden is winding down, with the cool nights we've been having. Locusts are quiet now and I think some of the birds have gone already. It's a different world outside my back door. Fall colors are already tinging the leaves and grasses!

It's early, isn't it? Please tell me that it is. Time goes so fast that I can't keep up with it anyway, but this is really pushing it.

I wouldn't mind at all (I'm not a hot weather person), but the thought of heating bills looms in the very near future if it keeps this up. And... the Farmer's Almanac says we're in for a colder, harder winter than usual!

I've done just about everything to this house that I can to keep it from leaking warm air when the temperatures fall. For almost every house,windows are the biggest problem. They're like having big holes in the wall and even the smallest window is still a big hole!

Even with caulking, storm windows or double paned glass, triple glazed glass or whatever you can do to upgrade your windows, they still, by their very nature, let in cold air.

Heavy draperies help if you keep them closed when it's cold, but open them when the sun shines in to take advantage of free solar warmth. My curtains are not heavy, so last year I bought fleece blankets at Big Lots for $3 each and cut them to fit behind the curtains. I tried several methods, but finally used straight pins to pin them to the backs of the curtains.

It seems like only so many things can be said about getting ready for winter and I've said them all at one time or another and I said a lot of it in this article:

It's Time to Winterize Your Home

Do what you can to seal off cracks or holes. Take a candle and go around every corner and joining wall, every window and door. Use caulking and weather stripping wherever it's needed. Decide how you're going to cover the windows, make sure you have plenty of blankets will keep you warm when you turn down the heat at night.

This year, maybe more than any other year in the past, it's important from a financial viewpoint, to prepare for cold weather. Prices on everything are going higher, and heating fuel will go up, too. People have less money to spend. If we really do have a longer and/or colder winter than usual, many can be in real trouble.

Don't be one of them; get ready now, while it's still warm.

3 comments:

  1. You are so right Pat. Several years ago we got a wood stove for the livingroom and heat the house with it. We go for wood and stack it in the shed, and spread the work over the spring and fall. Yes it really cuts our costs down, but it is also a lot of work, and dh isn't getting any younger.
    Our neighbour just went and bought a nes stove for his home, it will arrive in a week and because the home he bought already was set up with a proper chiminey he will get it in next week. Otherwise it would be mid October before he could get someone to install it for him. Also many of the stoves he looked at are just not available as there has been a rush on wood burning stoves. I'm glad we got our stove when we did, now wether or not we have power we have heat, and a way to cook, plus the glass front gives off some light. Oh, and one other thing we have an enviro fan ( one that works when the metal heats up from the stove) very handy and once you have it , no cost to run. When we had a couple of days with no power in winter we really found out home much help that fan was! It circulated the heat well. Not cheap, but we got it as a combine Christmas gift to each other.
    Another thing I have really noticed a big difference in my power since I started turning the computer off and pulling the plug each evening when I get off the computer for the night, and by turning the TV off as well, It is saving me 17 kil/hr off my total bill monthly! Just those 2 items different.
    T'Other Pat in Kitchener

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  2. Pulling plugs on "instant on" things really does make a difference, as you know. I think some people think we're nit picking when it comes to things like that. :)

    I'm glad you have a woodburning stove. I really miss mine. They can make all the difference in the world.

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  3. Pat thanks for the reminder. I have to do some caulking.

    I've been unplugging and shutting computer too now.

    I was taught that the computer should stay on .. more of a power surge to turn on and off.......but now I read (not true). So if I turn it off when I leave in the day to go to work and then again at night.

    Betty Ann

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