The Heat Is (Not Yet) On.

I have this arbitrary rule that says I can’t turn the heat on in the house until November 1. Every year I break the rule because it ends up getting really cold.

Determined to make it all the way to my goal date this year, I took out all the window air conditioners before the weather changed and wind started blowing in through them. I was quite proud of how responsibly proactive I was. Still, we had a weird October cold snap and it got down into the 30s one night making it unbearable in here. When I woke up to a 58 degree house, I knew that I had no choice but to turn on the heat. I got it up to a respectable 65 and turned it off. I had to do this a few times that week so that we wouldn’t all freeze to death.

Now it’s November 14. I woke up to a 58 degree house. I haven’t turned the heat on since that week in October and now I’m kind of wondering how long I can go without turning it on at all.

To be honest, I kind of felt like I should not turn it on until I’d made up for the time I had it on in October. There was no means for calculating this self-imposed punishment, so I decided one day for ever hour I had the heat on would be fair. I couldn’t remember exactly how long the heat had been on for so, after chastising myself for not writing it down in my planner, I decided four hours sounded about right.

So four days. No heat. It was fine; it’s been warm.

But then I got to thinking that since we have a dual zone eating system, and I didn’t turn both floors on for the full estimated four hours each, maybe I should keep the heat of for one day per hour per floor, so maybe it was more like seven days into November that I shouldn’t use the heat.

If only I’d kept proper records, all of this could ambiguity could have been avoided. Or, you know, if only I didn’t need to create such ridiculous rules and consequences for myself.

I do have a little electric space heater that I sit next to when I work. No one else in the house seems to really mind that it’s cold (my son is currently wearing shorts and a t-shirt) so there probably isn’t much need to turn on the full house heat.

I’m getting up momentarily to start cleaning and then we’re going out for a while. I’ll keep the heat off at least until we get home later. Maybe I’ll keep it off then, too. Who can say? MAYBE I’LL JUST GO ALL WINTER WITHOUT HEAT AND THEN SIT IN A PILE OF MONEY I DIDN’T SPEND ON OIL!

I’ll probably turn the heat on tonight.

This riveting tale of my battle of wills with, I don’t know, the elements I guess, is yeah write’s nomo day 14.

12 thoughts on “The Heat Is (Not Yet) On.

  1. Cyn K

    Peter’s the one who gets cold in our house. We even turned up the temp one degree today because his hands were so cold.
    We’re more stubborn when it comes to turning on the AC.

    1. michellelongo

      It’s my hands that are the problem too. A degree can make a difference! I hate the AC – it makes too much noise. I try not to turn that on either.

  2. reallygina

    We are going through a bit of a warm streak here in Chicago. This year. Last year was a beast. Then again, we moved to an apartment, and all we pay for is electric. Wait! The heat IS electric. Thank goodness the entire place faces south! I have to open the balcony door sometimes to cool the place off!

    1. michellelongo

      Electric heat can get expensive too. If we got more sun, that would help for sure. I hope we get another warm streak before winter fully sets in. I’m not ready for it.

  3. katydidknot

    Self-imposed rules no one else knows about are the most cruel rules.

    Not even close to having to turn the heat on yet here. The a/c in the Spring, well, that’s another matter entirely…

    1. michellelongo

      I am the queen of self-imposed rules! I could do without AC until June/July probably. We usually have it in by late May/early June though if we get an early heat wave. I need to live somewhere warmer.

  4. Jennifer G. Knoblock

    Who says you don’t use math in real life? Calendars, temperature, division, subtraction, charts, ratios… This is one of the best word problems I’ve ever read. 🙂

  5. Samantha Brinn Merel

    We used to play that “how long can we go” game with the heat too. Only this year we realized that we can’t freeze our baby, so we had to turn the heat on during that freezing October week, and we’ve had to keep it on pretty much ever since to keep the house at a respectable 68 degrees. We’re so used to keeping the house cold in the winter that 68 feels like a sauna.

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