Thanks to a power bill over $400, I had NO reservations about marching straight to our thermostat and turning our central heat OFF last weekend! We were shocked to pay over $300 last month, and so we turned our heat down to 63 – and I thought that was drastic. So yes, I was completely caught off guard when Alabama Power hit us this month. We’re nearly tripled what we’re used to.

Being the fun, exciting little wife that I am (ha ha), I laid out my plan to my husband…. “Let’s turn off the heat, move all of our beds into the living room, close off the doorways with blankets/ tarps (held with tacks), and we’ll just live in there until it warms up.” Good idea, huh? :)

I was all excited about it, and DH didn’t say a word… I could see the wheels starting to turn in his head not too much later. I really didn’t think he’d go for it, but before long, he started closing vents in the back of the house and closing the doors off – then I knew we were about to go back in time!

I can remember going to my great grandmother’s house as a child. It was FRIGID as you walked in the front door. But as soon as you opened the door into her den, it was nice and toasty. Before long you would forget how cold it was, until you had to go to the bathroom – LOL.

Another thought was to Little House on the Prairie – we would be in a one room house in a way, close quarters just like they were. We’d be spending our evenings together, in a much closer sense.

Our children were excited, to say the least, as we began bringing their mattresses into the room – lining them up side by side. (And what child wouldn’t come up with the bright idea of jumping across said mattresses??) I kinda hated to have to scold them, since I could see myself doing the same thing as a child.

Well, it’s been an interesting 8 days so far. Yes, 8 DAYS! We’ve used only 5% of our gas tank, using the logs only as needed. The good news is we’ve only used about $55 of power in 12 days too – 4 of which the heat was on. Whew, this month is going to be much easier to deal with.

Part of this reminds me of trips when I was a child – when my whole extended family would stay in a chalet at a state park over the weekend. Sleeping bags all lined up, fire blazing, time to spend with one another. This is the part of our week that has been nice, this is what I will miss should the weather ever decide to warm up above high 40’s and low 20’s! (Not this next week…)

We’ve pulled out one or two big toys to play with each day. We’ve had meals in here, played music, jumped around, snuggled up… All in all, it has been like going back in time, and it’s been kinda nice. We don’t need a lot of the stuff we ‘think’ we need. We can enjoy one another, though the length of the closeness sometimes has us ‘not’ enjoying one another, ha ha (I must be honest).

It’s been fun, it’s been hard – but roughin’ it to save a little cash has definitely been worth it, and the memories we’ll have for a long time. But I wouldn’t recommend asking me about these ‘fond’ memories as we start our 2nd full week in here… ever heard of cabin fever? Wait until spring.

It’s about time to put the fire out – ’til next time,

Mrs. Candace

Candace @ Sonbeams.com

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