Day 135 of our Green Year: Keeping Warm At Night

The nights are cooling down, and the mornings are pretty cool as well. Hence, it comes to the time when Layla and I can begin finding ways to stay warm as we sleep. Many people will have their furnaces running through the night, but in reality this is a big waste.

What Layla and I have committed to doing, is turning off the furnace at night while we sleep. Sure it gets cold, but it is worth it. We are able to save a lot of heat and energy by turning our thermostat down to as much as five degrees. You want to keep your furnace just hot enough that it does not cost the pipes to freeze.

There are many ways to stay warm at night, and all are free. Do not use a heater because it is just as bad as using the furnace. Energy is energy, no matter how you use it, or how much you use it.

Try these tips:

1. Put an extra blanket on the bed. This can do wonders to keep you warm.
2. Wear socks to bed. Much of our heat is lost through the head and feet, so keep the feet covered.
3. Put blinds down on windows to keep cold air from going out.
4. Make sure all windows are closed and sealed well.
5. Cuddle.

If you have animals you worry about, you can put blankets down for them. Dogs and cats are able to get into tight positions to conserve their heat and they will be fine. If you worry still, have them on the bed with you. With that many living things in the room, the temperature of the room will actually increase, making it warmer.

Update: Layla and I are making good progress on giving away our items and selling them. We have put a poster up in our town advertising that we are giving away and selling things, and we have put items up on Freecycle.org. Our vacuum is going tomorrow, and other items should be leaving next week.