Grab an extra blanket

By Heather

To save energy this winter, it could be as simple as wearing cozy slippers and grabbing an extra blanket. If you can turn your thermostat down a few degrees, you will save energy and money.

My husband, Alec, talked me into nudging down the thermostat last November in an effort to save $1,000 in 30 days (that’s a fun rookie mom challenge by the way!).

To see some real savings, try to move your thermostat down by three degrees. If that’s too cold, you can inch it back up.

We went from our toasty warm “we just had a baby” overnight temperature (68° F) down to the slightly chilly “grab an extra blanket” temperature (62° F) and found out it wasn’t that bad. (And by not that bad, I’m usually complaining before bed most nights but I’m fine once the sheets warm up!)

Another great trick is to use a programmable thermostat. Once you’ve installed it, you can tinker with the times when your heat is on full blast. Can you keep the temperature colder during the daytimes when everyone is at work or at school? Can you bump it down while you’re watching TV huddled under a blanket?

Yes, you may need to snuggle a bit more.

Let us know how your chilly challenge works!

One Response to “Grab an extra blanket”

Cari Dayello says:

March 2, 2010 at 7:57 pm

Thanks for sharing your thoughts…I’m a work at home mom who i guess has a lot of time to kill. So keep the posts coming, I want more Who know maybe I finally figure this stuff out.