[budgetmom]

When I was in my late teens and early twenties I kept having to move back home with my Dad (a story for a later date). He lived in an old farm house at the time that was not insulated very well. It had a root cellar under the living room. If you went down there and looked at the flooring you could see bits of the carpet pad in between the boards. We had a big propane tank (outside) to heat our house, but it could get real expensive sometimes. In order to cut back on costs we closed off (doors and vents) all non-essential rooms, like the spare bedroom, office sitting room and bathroom. We only opened them up if we had company and needed to use the room. The bathroom door stayed open only when we were showering (that also helped keep the winter dryness out of the air some). I cooked a lot and let the heat of the stove/oven help for warmth. We always layered our clothes (long underwear were are best friends!). I used an electric blanket only when it was well below 0 outside, the rest of the time I just doubled up on my blankets. My dad had a heated water bed and only turned it up if the temp fell well below 0.