The Cost of Keeping Warm

I live in a large, 2400 sq ft, house. I'd like a smaller house, but this was the balance I struck with my husband. So when it comes to those cold winter days, that Michigan has so many, we use a lot of natural gas to heat our house.

I have always kept my house cool. I do not like warm houses in general, and I have been too cheap, errr frugal, to heat it above 68 max! My rule of thumb is the house is too warm if you do not have to wear a sweater/sweatshirt inside during the winter months. But, last year and this year I have made a conscious choice to reduce my thermostat setting to an even lower temperature. FM is oh so agreeable, since I seem to be saving us more and more money.

Last year I kept the house at 66 in the day and 63 at night. I had a few comments regarding the coolness of my house from friends and family, and my poor father always wore a thick sweatshirt over his two other layers when he visited. But, those of us living in the house rarely seemed uncomfortably cold.

So this year I have cranked the thermostat down to 65 or 64 during the day, and 62 at night. I have had a few times when I am sitting at the computer or otherwise not being active during the day and I will feel cold. And I mean bone chilled cold. So, I get up, put on a hat (yes, hat indoors) and do something active. Unfortunately there is ALWAYS cleaning to be done in my house. I quickly warm up.

I have never been cold during the night, and have contemplated turning the temp. down even more. But, Gherky's room is always at least 5 degrees cooler than any room in the house. We pile on the blankets, comforters and quilts. She sleeps in footed sleeper PJs. But she is an active 5 year old and tosses a lot in her sleep, so the covers are usually lost by midnight. And then she wakes up cold, and ends up in our bed to warm up. So I am not sure about cooler nights.

But, the good news: I just opened up my heating bill and found out that keeping our house just one to two degrees cooler has saved us about .057 MCF a day this past November, which, btw, has been much cooler this year than last year. (No idea what the MCF measurement is, but it equates to almost $.60 a day and just shy of $20 month. I'll take that! I can buy a new sweater soon. he he)

Still, our poor heating bill was $100. Ouch!

Recycling What My Curbside Vendor Dosen't

So, in my little neck of the woods there are very few options for recycling. I used to live outside San Francisco, CA and recycling was so simple it was brainless. In fact, everyone did it, to some degree. There were those who only recycled the "obvious" stuff like newspaper and plastic and glass. But if you were so inclined, and I was, you could recycle everything but tinfoil and construction waste right in the HUGE weekly curbside recycling bin. It was awesome.

Not so much here.

Here, I pay extra for recycling. (Lets not get into the fact that my family of 4 only use 1/4 of the smallest garbage bin/allotment we can subscribe to, while other neighbors with smaller families have overflowing bins each and every week!) But the best garbage and recycling company I found only takes certain #1 & #2 plastics, newspaper and white office paper, and cardboard. That is it. If you want to recycle anything else you have to figure out some other alternative.

Luckily there is an organization you can pay to drop off your recycling stuff. But lets face it, that is not convenient nor affordable! I store up my "non-recyclable recyclables" for a month or so, and then throw the bag into my car and drive the 20 miles to the recycling station. Sounds so convenient, environmentally pleasing and fun, right? I do try to take a few other family's stuff in my trip, but still it is not so convenient, and there are many times when I just want to throw my glass container in the garbage bin and be done with it. ...for now, I know .....

Why is being environmentally aware and conscience so difficult??!