How to save a few pennies this winter...

Weather.com says Sou' Phil be chillin' this morning at a dope 32 degrees.
It's cold baby, really cold.

The coming weather will be driving up costs this winter for everyone, especially me since it's the first time in my life I'm footing all my utility costs. So I'm going to share some random ways to save you juice (my enviro background kicking in here).

Next to just keeping the thermastat low (or the heater off) here are some ways to save:

- If you have forced air heating, close the vent near your refrigerator. Your fridge is a FREAKING HUGE heatsink and it doesn't need to be heated. With your fridge cooler it will run less (making it last longer too), though it will still produce a good amount of heat for your kitchen. Make sure you keep clean the radiator if it's underneath, especially if you have pets.

-Remove your hot air outtake on your dryer. Make sure you close up the exhaust pipe heading outside as this will bring cold air if you don't.
If you use fabric softner, you will have to put a sort of screen on the hose, you don't want that sticky stuff getting on anything. Last year I used an old t-shirt which I tied to the end. I attached the bottom of the shirt to the pipe, so when the dryer was on the shirt would puff up like someone was wearing it. This actually acts great as a humidifier too.

-Invite Hot Sexy people to sleep in your bed with you. If they are hesitant, mention how they can turn off their own heater, save money, and have some fun at your place for free. The more the merrier, as they say.

-Close vents/heaters in rooms you don't use (makes sense).

-Ride your trainer every other day for at least 30 minutes. A damn good way to heat your house and stay in shape this winter. Even better, invite your cycling posse to ride the trainers at your place a day or two a week together.

-Wear nice warm fuzzy socks to bed. It will keep you a ton warmer and it may keep you from waking up at night to pee. Nothing's worse than waking up and getting out of the bed to pee in the middle of night during winter.

-Change your air filter every few months if you have forced air, especially if you have pets.

-Stay active! People who are inactive have bad thermal control and are hotter when it's hot out and colder when it's cool out.

-Drink lots of hot stuff: tea, hot chocolate, coffee, and my favorite mulled cider.


That's it for now folks.