Blowing Hot Air

It's in the upper 40's, windy, very fallish. In fact, it's cold.  Now, now, don't get all 'Are you kidding, just wait' on me, I've lived through 36 upper-midwest winters and I know what the real deal is.  But don't try to tell me that when your alarm goes off in the morning, in the dark, that it's anything close to easy to get out of your nice, warm, snuggly bed.
It's cold, ain' it?  You get the point.

Our heat is currently set to kick on at 62 degrees.  That's not a typo, let me repeat...sixty-two degrees.  YA, we're cheap.   That's all it comes down to.  But don't be alarmed, we handle it very well.

We've got this great wood-burning stove and a large supply of firewood (these trees just drop dead at our feet!), so we've got the stove fired up quite a bit.  Along with the electric blanket and down comforters, we're good.  In fact, when I go to other people's houses who are all 'nothing lower than a perfectly temperature controlled 72 degrees all year long', I absolutely die.  I'm sweating.  Hey look, that's me!

All this cold weather is actually VERY good for family togetherness.  Dog and cats, too.  Everybody piles on.

The other night, I woke up to use the bathroom and found myself so sweat-soaked I started to fear early menopause.  I returned to bed and laid down between my two little people, under the heated blanked, dog between my legs, and landlocked into not being able to expose my feet.  My feet are my thermostats, you see.  So when my shorties revolt and insist on bracketing me at night, my poor feet are trapped and the resulting overheating of this body is nothing short of a hazard.  How it is that I haven't shorted out that electric blanket with my hot body by now is a mystery.  Oh...and I sweat a lot, too.

The point is....wait, what is the point?

Do I tell you all the things you can do to conserve energy?  Turn down the thermostat at night, turn it down when you're at work, turn it down in general...?  Use weatherstripping, patch holes, get better insulation.  Make your home more energy efficient!  Well duh, this stuff is pretty common knowledge, kind of like turning off a light when you leave a room.  You don't need me to tell you this stuff.

Do we discuss how to keep your kids out of your bed?  Honestly I don't mind it that much as long as it's not all the time, nor do I as a parent really know how.  When the kids have a nightmare and come running in at 2 am, I feel bad for them that they're scared, but I also relish the snuggling and comforting and bonding.  As long as I can keep my feet liberated, that is.

So what do I prattle on about?  How about togetherness.  That's not a question.  What better way to inspire some snuggling than to turn down the thermostat and break out the blankets?  This certainly isn't a new concept, though it may be one that people don't typically think of.  Hmmm...snuggling and a lower electric bill?  Something for everyone!  Let's put that in the warm fuzzies category, right next to 'How many babies are born 9 months after cold weather sets in?'. 

There you have it people, more words of wisdom from your green friend.  Now go turn down the thermostat, get out the hot cocoa, get your blankie and a good movie and snuggle with the kids, then put them to bed. Then snuggle with the spouse, boyfriend, girlfriend, whoever you want to snuggle with and turn yourself into something right out of a Donna Summer song.  Who needs heat when you've got each other!!

A Dirt Cheap Solution

Lately, no matter what I look at, it looks expensive to me.  Food, clothes, utilities, you name it.  I know it's not just my imagination that the cost of things are going up, especially in the food department, but I can usually overlook it at the grocery store by just not buying certain things.  As an example, I refuse to pay over $1.29 for an avocado.  I just can't do it.

A couple months ago my husband sent me an article titled 'That's pricey: 13 items that cost more, or will soon'.  They talk about gas, airfare, furniture (?!), fast food (oh. darn.), FLIPPIN' CHOCOLATE!!!  I guess expensive chocolate is good motivation for me to NOT buy it, but I still like having the option...

One of the items on that list is household products.  Now that's interesting, isn't it? *wink wink*  According to the article,

'Diapers, soap, toilet paper, toothpaste, trash bags and many other everyday items all have been targeted for price hikes as companies from Kimberly-Clark to Procter & Gamble to Colgate-Palmolive respond to rising ingredient costs' 

- and -

'The Consumer Price Index has climbed 2.7% in the past 12 months, according to government statistics released Friday. That’s the largest rise since 2009.  Price increases will continue in the months ahead...'

Well that sucks. I doubt I am the only one feeling the repercussions of rising costs, but I can happily say that the rising cost of cleaning products will NOT affect me.  Don't fall victim to this baloney!  If you've read my blog before, I make it pretty well known that I love Shaklee products.  I usually go on talking about how wonderful and green and safe they are, but have I mentioned how much money they save me?  I know some of you don't give a rats ass how green they are...if I had a dime for every time I heard 'I just love my bleach, I'll never give it up!'...well, you know the rest. 

 I just got the sale papers for a couple grocery stores,and one has Windex on sale 2/$5.  That's a 26 oz bottle for $2.50, for the record.

When I mix up a bottle of Shaklee H2 windows and mirrors cleaner it costs me less than 1 cent.  Yes, less than $.01 for a 16 oz bottle.  Hmmm...2 cents (for 32 oz, not 26!) vs. $2.50 for 26 oz?  Not a hard choice.  Suck on that, Windex. 

Before I was enlightened I bought Fantastic and Clorox Clean-Up, at about $2.39 a bottle.  Then when I greened up I was buying Seventh Generation for $4.79 or even GreenWorks (which is total greenwashing, I now know) for about $2.50.  These days, when I mix up the equivalent Shaklee H2 all-purpose cleaner it costs me .22 cents...a gallon. If I was better at math I would figure out how much that is per bottle, but I really stink at it.  Feel free to jump in, math people.

I've got more, of course I do.  But I will not go on and on because I don't think it's necessary.  You want to save money where ever you can, and so do I.  This is one of the things I do that saves A LOT.  Total bonus...you don't have to walk down the cleaning product or laundry aisle at the grocery store...it stinks so bad!  I walk through there once in a great while, and every time I do I sneeze from all the perfumes and chemicals.  Yuck!  But, that's a whole other blog...

Did I also mention that you can use H2 on anything that can get wet?  Ask yourself a question:  Does this sound like you?  'But ohhh, waaahhh, I need a different cleaner for my kitchen and waaahhhh what am I supposed to use in the bathroom or on the floooooor?'.  H2 gets used on everything.  It dusts furniture, removes soap scum, cleans kitchen counters, mops floors, washes dogs, washes children, degreases grease, de-pests plants, de-wrinkles clothes, deters mosquitoes on you and fleas from your pets, etc etc.  You can clean anything with this stuff, and throw your dirty water outside and it will make your grass greener and your roses rosier.  I even shoot fruit flies right out of the air with it, and don't tell me that doesn't sound like fun.  Drink it, bathe in it, do what you gotta do...just don't forget to tell your friends about it.   

And to answer your next question, yes it works.  You couldn't put 'Always Works' in your motto if it didn't always work.  That's false advertising, and the green folks at Shaklee look down their squeaky clean noses at stuff like that.

So here it is, folks.  The solution to saving money with cheaper cleaners is at your fingertips.  All the cleaning products in the Get Clean line are concentrated out the wazoo.  You use less, you spend less, you save money and you can buy more shoes.  Want to buy more shoes save money?  Start here.  Come to the Light Side.  Do it now!!!