Try the lobster pot. 5 gallon, about $5 at old tyme pottery last time I looked. you can cut it up as you need. seal the lid down with wet bread. see above, don't know where.
We play/relax/read in one room in the evenings in order to not waste electricity. We drink lots of hot drinks. We pile the blankets on beds so we can turn the thermostat down. When we use the oven, we crack the door when we turn it off so the heat escapes into the kitchen.
I have noticed that a lot of people don't take their vacation days and end up losing it. Now Obama is proposing that people could bank their vacation days in their 401ks, and I expect a lot more people to do that instead of leaving work. My hubby and I always run out of vacation days since we do use all of them pretty much every year. Even corporations in China give employees more days off than America. I really don't know what it is that makes a lot of Americans afraid to take vacation especially when it is paid. The only exception I know of is that one of my friends is vacationing in India for a few months now, but he is vacationing on unemployment dole.
And this is why I'd like to end up self-employed. In a job that I love, doing something I can do anywhere.... So I don't have to worry about how much vacation time I'm deemed "entitled" to.
So far, I've worked at my job for nearly two years, and have gotten 26 hours of paid vacation time. I used 12 in September for a paid three-day weekend. Of course, I work part-time... So it's nearly a miracle in itself that I even get paid vacation time. But that weekend was my very first time ever getting paid to be off, and I take weekends off every month.
They only get like 6 weeks for Maternity leave in the US as well. Seriously! That's just cruel.
Of course, I'm sure the day care lobby wouldn't tolerate longer maternity leaves, just like the Health Insurance lobby won't tolerate universal health care.
Seriously, who's in charge down there? Obviously not the voters.
I shovel the driveway before bed even if it's still snowing; then in the morning, I don't have to get up extra early to dig out my driveway. Maybe just a quick pass with the snow shovel, or it might be low enough to just drive out if I'm in a hurry.
Before I had a garage, I would clear off my car at the same time. Less work in the morning = more time for coffee.
Of course, I enjoy being outside on a snowy night, so it's easy to convince myself to grab the shovel and get a head start.
Of all the possible horror stories that are probably out there, I do want to say there are some business that don't work in this "normal". A couple of years back I worked for a small business that prided itself on working (and playing) as a team. They would have everyone cut back to 4 days a week rather than fire in a downturn. They had company enforced vacation from Christmas to New Years (to make sure no one was sneaking in to work just to get paid extra). And they really encouraged people to use their vacation for vacation (not doctor's appointments and sick days). They also gave a fairly generous amount of sick days and vacation days. This made for a very happy work environment, ease among bosses and peons and an overall successful work environment. This also helped balance out the really busy times when people were asked to stay late or put in extra time to finish a project (although no one was punished if they couldn't). I think this is a great model if "regulated" well and done with a generous spirit. If only it were the prevailing attitude among companies, imagine the possibilities.
I wear a lot of sweaters and don't turn my heat up that high. I also like to spend time in other locations outside of my apartment (like a coffee shop or library) and "use" their heat. If I'm not at home, I won't notice that it's slightly chilly inside!
I am all for saving money on monthly bills, but I refuse to sit in my home with a hat on my head, and dressed for the outdoors. Living in MN, it gets cold, and having a hubby who is cold I try to make it comfortable for the both of us. He will use my heating pad for his feet, which helps warm the rest of his body up. He works outside and comes home frozen so he needs to come home to a warm house. Dinner is usually in the oven when he gets home, so it is even toastier. We are on the budget plan with our gas company, and gas prices are down, so this coming winter we will be paying $52 a month. Now, that is for a 3 bedroom, 2 bath house, that we keep at 70-72 degrees.That price also reflects our gas stove, water heater and dryer. I can't complain about the cost at all. I have been in friend's and family's homes that are freezing and it is no fun!
So a heating pad helps, cups of tea (warms the hands also!), I am going to make the rice filled bags someone wrote about this year (these can also be used as draft stoppers as well.) This summer we also recaulked all of our windows and added weather stripping as needed. We do our part, but refuse to be uncomfortable, and refuse to have our family and friends avoiding our home because it is so cold!
I'm surprised to see only a couple responses so far that include this really basic change: wear a sweater! (I like it cool, so sometimes I wear an old polyester fleece vest instead.)
In addition to keeping my feet warm, as several have noted, I sometimes wear a knit cap if I'm sitting for a while. It does quite a good job of keeping the heat in.
Of course they're up their year round anyways - but in winter I make them come on MY side.
Plus I married a man who always runs about 10 degrees warmer than me.
Wood stove probuly saves us hundreds a year. Im in canada though so it gets pretty cold here. I also put alot of time in the fall presurving food , I do it for fun but there is a money saving side effect of not having to buy over priced jam when berrys grow for free here. Cheers
My employer requires us to use our vacation every year and doesn't allow us to 'bank' the time. So its a 'use it or lose it' system. I always take all my vacation. I'm lucky to have 4 weeks paid vacation / year.
I change the temperature on my thermostat incrementally throughout the winter. So when it starts getting cold around October, I start with the thermostat on 68, and every 3-4 weeks, I turn the thremostat down another degree. That way my body has a chance to adjust its own internal thermostat to compensate.
I'm a gadget geek, so I have a digital thermostat. However when it gets cold, I reinstall my mechanical thermostat (the ones with the little bubbles of mercury inside).
When your furnace kicks on, it usually turns on both the heat pump and the emergency strips. When the emergency strips are turned on, THAT'S where you waste your money.
There are 2 ways to keep your strips from turning on:
1 - Only change your heat temperatures by 2-3 degrees at a time. That will keep your furnace from going into "emergency mode" and heating the strips.
2 - Do what I do and remove the faceplate from the thermostat and change the temperature so that ONLY ONE of the mercury bubbles touches the contact. If both bubbles touch then you're heating the strips.
Yeap. Its made from aluminum. I looked it up online and they are made from aluminum. I will have to look for something else. But, for now I will try the pot and bowl meathed.
Thanks
The sliding patio door in our apartment has seen better days, and since our family room is about two feet away, we were really feeling the effects of the worn out seal. My fiancé put some weather stripping and it really seemed to help keep the cold out.
I take advantage of the free radiant heating from the sun during the day. I open my blinds during the day, letting the radiant heat from the sun help to warm my living and bed room (south/west facing). At night, I close the blinds to help provide some extra insulation and keep the warmth in.
I also put extra thick blankets on the bed, keep a warm throw within arms reach of the couch and wear sweaters while I'm home. All of that helps me to be able to run the furnace a lot less.
I've sold stuff, given stuff away, found jobs and recently furnished my new apartment on the cheap using Craigslist.
Try the lobster pot. 5 gallon, about $5 at old tyme pottery last time I looked. you can cut it up as you need. seal the lid down with wet bread. see above, don't know where.
We play/relax/read in one room in the evenings in order to not waste electricity. We drink lots of hot drinks. We pile the blankets on beds so we can turn the thermostat down. When we use the oven, we crack the door when we turn it off so the heat escapes into the kitchen.
I have noticed that a lot of people don't take their vacation days and end up losing it. Now Obama is proposing that people could bank their vacation days in their 401ks, and I expect a lot more people to do that instead of leaving work. My hubby and I always run out of vacation days since we do use all of them pretty much every year. Even corporations in China give employees more days off than America. I really don't know what it is that makes a lot of Americans afraid to take vacation especially when it is paid. The only exception I know of is that one of my friends is vacationing in India for a few months now, but he is vacationing on unemployment dole.
Just got a new job 3 months ago after 3 months of being on unemployment...
Vacation and relaxation is the least of my worries!!
And this is why I'd like to end up self-employed. In a job that I love, doing something I can do anywhere.... So I don't have to worry about how much vacation time I'm deemed "entitled" to.
So far, I've worked at my job for nearly two years, and have gotten 26 hours of paid vacation time. I used 12 in September for a paid three-day weekend. Of course, I work part-time... So it's nearly a miracle in itself that I even get paid vacation time. But that weekend was my very first time ever getting paid to be off, and I take weekends off every month.
They only get like 6 weeks for Maternity leave in the US as well. Seriously! That's just cruel.
Of course, I'm sure the day care lobby wouldn't tolerate longer maternity leaves, just like the Health Insurance lobby won't tolerate universal health care.
Seriously, who's in charge down there? Obviously not the voters.
This doesn't save money, but it saves effort.
I shovel the driveway before bed even if it's still snowing; then in the morning, I don't have to get up extra early to dig out my driveway. Maybe just a quick pass with the snow shovel, or it might be low enough to just drive out if I'm in a hurry.
Before I had a garage, I would clear off my car at the same time. Less work in the morning = more time for coffee.
Of course, I enjoy being outside on a snowy night, so it's easy to convince myself to grab the shovel and get a head start.
Of all the possible horror stories that are probably out there, I do want to say there are some business that don't work in this "normal". A couple of years back I worked for a small business that prided itself on working (and playing) as a team. They would have everyone cut back to 4 days a week rather than fire in a downturn. They had company enforced vacation from Christmas to New Years (to make sure no one was sneaking in to work just to get paid extra). And they really encouraged people to use their vacation for vacation (not doctor's appointments and sick days). They also gave a fairly generous amount of sick days and vacation days. This made for a very happy work environment, ease among bosses and peons and an overall successful work environment. This also helped balance out the really busy times when people were asked to stay late or put in extra time to finish a project (although no one was punished if they couldn't). I think this is a great model if "regulated" well and done with a generous spirit. If only it were the prevailing attitude among companies, imagine the possibilities.
I wear a lot of sweaters and don't turn my heat up that high. I also like to spend time in other locations outside of my apartment (like a coffee shop or library) and "use" their heat. If I'm not at home, I won't notice that it's slightly chilly inside!
I am all for saving money on monthly bills, but I refuse to sit in my home with a hat on my head, and dressed for the outdoors. Living in MN, it gets cold, and having a hubby who is cold I try to make it comfortable for the both of us. He will use my heating pad for his feet, which helps warm the rest of his body up. He works outside and comes home frozen so he needs to come home to a warm house. Dinner is usually in the oven when he gets home, so it is even toastier. We are on the budget plan with our gas company, and gas prices are down, so this coming winter we will be paying $52 a month. Now, that is for a 3 bedroom, 2 bath house, that we keep at 70-72 degrees.That price also reflects our gas stove, water heater and dryer. I can't complain about the cost at all. I have been in friend's and family's homes that are freezing and it is no fun!
So a heating pad helps, cups of tea (warms the hands also!), I am going to make the rice filled bags someone wrote about this year (these can also be used as draft stoppers as well.) This summer we also recaulked all of our windows and added weather stripping as needed. We do our part, but refuse to be uncomfortable, and refuse to have our family and friends avoiding our home because it is so cold!
I'm surprised to see only a couple responses so far that include this really basic change: wear a sweater! (I like it cool, so sometimes I wear an old polyester fleece vest instead.)
In addition to keeping my feet warm, as several have noted, I sometimes wear a knit cap if I'm sitting for a while. It does quite a good job of keeping the heat in.
Of course they're up their year round anyways - but in winter I make them come on MY side.
Plus I married a man who always runs about 10 degrees warmer than me.
Wood stove probuly saves us hundreds a year. Im in canada though so it gets pretty cold here. I also put alot of time in the fall presurving food , I do it for fun but there is a money saving side effect of not having to buy over priced jam when berrys grow for free here. Cheers
an appropriate title would be "Don't Go to College JUST to Learn"
My employer requires us to use our vacation every year and doesn't allow us to 'bank' the time. So its a 'use it or lose it' system. I always take all my vacation. I'm lucky to have 4 weeks paid vacation / year.
I change the temperature on my thermostat incrementally throughout the winter. So when it starts getting cold around October, I start with the thermostat on 68, and every 3-4 weeks, I turn the thremostat down another degree. That way my body has a chance to adjust its own internal thermostat to compensate.
If I gave more than half my pay to Big Brother (as my UK relatives do), then I would demand to work only half the time, too.
I'm a gadget geek, so I have a digital thermostat. However when it gets cold, I reinstall my mechanical thermostat (the ones with the little bubbles of mercury inside).
When your furnace kicks on, it usually turns on both the heat pump and the emergency strips. When the emergency strips are turned on, THAT'S where you waste your money.
There are 2 ways to keep your strips from turning on:
1 - Only change your heat temperatures by 2-3 degrees at a time. That will keep your furnace from going into "emergency mode" and heating the strips.
2 - Do what I do and remove the faceplate from the thermostat and change the temperature so that ONLY ONE of the mercury bubbles touches the contact. If both bubbles touch then you're heating the strips.
We bought a door draft guard last year and it helped keep in the heat as well as keep the house cool in the summer.
Slippers and tons of blankets are essential- as is baking every day!
I find that as it gets colder my dogs seem to curl up on the bed more, keeping it nice and toasty. I have one who loves to sleep near my feet!
Yeap. Its made from aluminum. I looked it up online and they are made from aluminum. I will have to look for something else. But, for now I will try the pot and bowl meathed.
Thanks
The sliding patio door in our apartment has seen better days, and since our family room is about two feet away, we were really feeling the effects of the worn out seal. My fiancé put some weather stripping and it really seemed to help keep the cold out.
Wear socks. Wear layers - and the first layer needs to be tighter. Go to bed with mittens on. :-)
I take advantage of the free radiant heating from the sun during the day. I open my blinds during the day, letting the radiant heat from the sun help to warm my living and bed room (south/west facing). At night, I close the blinds to help provide some extra insulation and keep the warmth in.
I also put extra thick blankets on the bed, keep a warm throw within arms reach of the couch and wear sweaters while I'm home. All of that helps me to be able to run the furnace a lot less.