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Experimenting with 50

December 31st, 2009 at 01:47 am

The temperature that is. Big Grin

I know others do the no-heat challenge, but for me, having no heat when it drops below 50 is passing that point where I can not sleep well. And if I can not sleep well, everything else in my life is going to suffer. So, that's why I don't personally do the no-heat challenge. For the rest of you that do, you're better than me!

However, what I do do is the 50 degrees experiment. I don't call it a challenge because, to me, a challenge would basically boil down to sheer willpower. While I could do that, I'd much rather figure out a way to live comfortably while staying at the lower temperature.

50 degrees is kind of pushing it though. You know it's borderline when even your eyeballs are a little bit sore due to cold....

But it's been an interesting experiment nontheless. I bought a sleeping bag from Walmart a while back. It's nothing fancy or expensive, and I use it more like a comforter. Rated for 40 degrees though, this alone has been enough to keep me warm at night!

My face has been a particularly interesting challenge. My nose, eyes, and ears get uncomfortably cold when I am trying sleep. I've tried several different things, but eventually settled on putting a toboggan over my face. Yeah, you know I'm nutty like that. The fabric is quite breathable though, and the toboggan also helps to trap some of the warmth from the breath and spread it around my face.

As for when I am up and about, I double up on the sweat pants and hoodies. The outer layer is extra large so that it can also cover over my hands and feet if necessary.

Overall, I have to say that this is actually... quite workable! There's no way I'm going to impress any woman with this, but nevermind that. Have you seen my gas bills recently? Well, they're still climbing because I still have them on to maintain 50 degrees, but the cost so far seems to be roughly the same as when I was sleeping in the closet. Except this way, I can go all over the house and even go outside! Big Grin

Another peculiar benefit is that I've actually been sleeping slightly better? Because it's cold to be up and about, I'm not as tempted to stay up late. In fact, I've actually been looking forward to going to bed early just to get warm. Big Grin

Ah, but even my frugal mother is starting to voice her concerns that I should turn the heat up. I don't know though. I'll bet I can do this the entire winter. I do turn the heat up when the kids are with me though. It's amazing how much of a luxury and joy that something as simple as heat can be when you normally go without it....

20 Responses to “Experimenting with 50”

  1. monkeymama Says:
    1262225526

    Interesting.

    I's consider myself a cold weather wimp and draw the line around 60 during the day. (Usually my home is much warmer than 60!) But at night - 50 doesn't bother me in the least. Though it does suck to get out of bed when it is that cold. Big Grin Anyway - not that it matters - I just found it interesting that maybe I am not such a whimp at night. I suppose my face doesn't get very cold.

  2. zetta Says:
    1262229144

    Brrrr! I draw the line when my nose gets cold -- sad to say, that's 70 degrees!

  3. Broken Arrow Says:
    1262229697

    MM, methinks it may have something to do with having a warm hubby to snuggle up to BUT I'm just guessing. Big Grin

    Zetta, it's alright. Gotta keep the babies warm and toasty!

  4. cptacek Says:
    1262233767

    When I was growing up, we didn't have heat upstairs, and the door was closed on the stairs at night. Babies and mom and dad slept downstairs, big kids up. We actually had water freeze in cups we had brought up the night before. We did have electric blankets, but man, your face got cold!

  5. Broken Arrow Says:
    1262236228

    That's too cold for me there, cptacek! I'm spoiled that I demand my drinks be liquid! Big Grin

  6. Waterfall Says:
    1262237385

    Toboggan over your face! That is one funny image. Could you please, please, please post a photo of the setup. Ha, ha, ha.

  7. Petunia Says:
    1262265637

    Wow!

    You are hardy.

    I am a wimp.

    When I saw the title for this post I thought "50 what?" Like, $50, 50 years, etc. Now I know.

  8. fern Says:
    1262268990

    I can't really live comfortably in my house with temps any lower than 58, though one time when a storm knocked the power lines down, the indoor temps dropped to 55 and i must say it was bone-chilling. It's a lot different if you're outside and walking around, but indoors, you don't expend much energy and the cold really settles in.

  9. Caoineag Says:
    1262269060

    Yeah I wuss out at 60, that's when the heat goes on. I left my heat at 68 this year because new windows meant no more massive drafts and I have someone staying in my basement (which is already cold) who couldn't handle 65.

  10. DeniseNTexas Says:
    1262273322

    Good luck with the experiment and I hope you manage to keep it up and post about it! I'm happy to keep the heat way down and wear layers but the man person wears shorts and not a lot else around the house, even in winter, so he wants the heat up. Of course, I get hot and sneak the thermostat down then he turns it back up. It's a battle here in the winter. Wink

  11. Ima saver Says:
    1262274878

    I keep my temp. set on 63. Much colder than that, and the dogs start shivering. The older dog, Holly sleeps on a heating pad, but the puppy, Molly, still chews on everything, so we can't give her a heating pad.

  12. Broken Arrow Says:
    1262278325

    Waterfall, it's just like wearing a toboggan normally, except instead of the flap up, you don't and pull it all the way down your face.

    I've looked into ski masks, balaclavas, and similar gear, but they were not really suitable for me because um I guess they were made with what I had in mind.

    Yeah, I know I'm goofy. What can I say?

  13. princessperky Says:
    1262291586

    So I was told long ago, that the coldest one could keep a house was 55 cause any colder the pipes freeze, I guess that was wrong.

    Oh and I thought a toboggan was kind of a sled, you can imagine the picture I had in my head of you sleeping with one on!

  14. HouseHopeful Says:
    1262294204

    To me, the No Heat Challange was more about seeing how long before we had to turn on the heat. No way I'd go below 55 without the heat in my house Smile Good luck with 50, but be careful Smile

  15. Broken Arrow Says:
    1262307114

    Hahah, that made me laugh, PP. Although, that's actually the correct name for it. There's also the toboggan hat, or toboggan for short. I don't know if that's the official name or what, but that's how I remember them being called....

    And no, the pipes indoors anyways won't freeze. It's the pipes that run through the crawlspace without any heating that's be the problem....

  16. baselle Says:
    1262323159

    When I saw the title, I thought
    Text is 50 of these and Link is http://icanhascheezburger.com/2009/12/31/funny-pictures-on-would-you/
    50 of these. Big Grin

  17. Petunia Says:
    1262356668

    baselle - ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!

  18. Broken Arrow Says:
    1262362119

    Furtastic. Big Grin

  19. frugaltexan Says:
    1262418685

    I have no idea what the temp has gotten down to in my room ... But as long as I have a pile of blankets and gloves and warm socks and slippers ... I can be comfortable. Smile ( until I have to get up!)

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