Every time I hear the air kick on, I almost can see my hard-earned dollars being sucked into a pneumatic tube straight to the utility company.

I REALLY want to open the windows. Spendthrift REALLY wants to run the air. So I decided to do a little research on the simple technology of opening a window. Here are my findings:

He’s right — When the air outside is hot (even if it is windy) it feels cool to our body because the sweat on our bodies is evaporating (ooh). Furniture, walls, floors do not sweat so they are absorbing heat and becoming heat radiators.

I’m right — Opening the windows at night if it is cooler outside is the only time the house can be cooled.

Join the fan club!

Point your fan so it blows in and cool air will come in, but no warm air will be going out. Point it so that it blows out and warm air will blow out, but cool air won’t come in.

The solution — Either have two windows open and use one fan to blow out the warm air, or if you have two fans, have one blowing in and one blowing out. That must be a record. I’ve used a form of the word blow seven times.

Other things to consider to be a cool as Tightwad Granny:

Living in a tomb — Make sure you have all your windows covered with blinds and curtains (sunlight = radiation = heat) and lights turned off (you are heating up the room by the wattage of the bulb).

Check the direction of your ceiling fan — You should be able to feel the air coming down.

We did this one at the results were remarkable — Use a programmable thermostat to adjust air at night and when no one is home. Do not place a TV or lamp by your thermostat. It will make it run longer.

Go green — Plant trees on the south and west sides of your house. Use a trellis to grow vines to shade windows.

This is timely for us — Use light color shingles to reflect heat.

Stay cool, and take advantage of the cool fall nights!

My rounded front porch was one of the first things that caught my eye on our 100+ Victorian little lady. When it started sagging and cracking last summer, I couldn’t imagine what my house or my life would be like without our wonderful porch. This became reality when my husband backed his truck up to the house, slipped a chain around the posts and put it in overdrive. It came down in one final crash.

I quickly grabbed the antique columns and loaded the rest in a dump truck. The columns became bed posts and our curb appeal became barren.
We quickly learned the cost of materials, but what really shocked us was the rarity and the cost of carved posts. We needed at least 7 and at over $100 for each post, we were worried we’d go way over budget.

My scavenging mode kicked in. I began driving by old houses, waiting for the yellow caution tape to appear. It took about 2 months and jackpot – a Trak-hoe pulled up to the house across the street and, voila, I got 7 carved posts, complete with gingerbread trim just for asking.

Saving us over $700! Although they are not holding up a roof yet, they sure look pretty lying on our front porch!

But switching to Shakespeare. “”What’s in a post? That which we call a porch by no other support posts would only be a deck. Pardon my homage to Willy, “What’s in a name? That which we call a rose By any other name would smell as sweet.”