Over the past 2 weeks, I went kinda nuts running around the house seeking out cold air drafts and plugging them up. This might sound like a stereotypical PF topic, but seriously, I found areas in my house I’d never even considered (and no, this isn’t a real post LOL – segue way into my weekly roundup). For instance, I re-caulked some windows that had little cracks around the corners (I could feel the cold air even with tiny little cracks!). I installed those little insulated cutouts behind outlets against outside walls. I even identified that our sliding door has a big channel at the top with nothing in the center but cold air coming through and plugged that up). Finally, I bought that cheesy looking yet effective plastic covering to blow-dry on our dining room windows. My wife hates how it looks but I reasoned that we’re NEVER in that room anyway, so who cares?
(doesn't look that bad does it?)
My only regret is that I waited until January to do all this stuff. At least we’ll get the benefit through March. I have some other ideas for sealing up leaks in our basement at bit and perhaps adding some more insulation myself in the attic (paying for the service is like a 15 year payback by my estimates).
Why the energy savings kick? Why not? I figure the ROI is quite high and the time required to do some of these little jobs is like 20 minutes here, 30 there, so not a huge time drain either.
With that, here are some reads from the week as well as a shout-out to sites hosting my content:
Great Reads from Around the Web:
Arbor Investment – Return on Enterprise Investing Model
Money Mamba – Warren Buffett Lies
Money Crashers – Asset Protection Strategies
The Burning Platform – Paychecks, Propoganda and Power
Invest It Wisely – The Tools of the Blogger
Retire By 40 – What we Spend on Coffee, Gas and More
Oblivious Investor – Tax Exemptions vs Allowances
101 Centavos – Kiss Real Estate Goodbye
Financial Uproar – Kiss Ethics Goodbye
Len Penzo – Making Ends Meet w Limited Income
Carnivals That Featured My Content Lately
Carnival of Personal Finance
Yakezie Carnival at Little House in the Valley
Carnival of Financial Camaraderie at Financial Success for Young Adults
Totally Money at Passive Income to Retire
Festival of Frugality at Squirrelers
Carnival of Wealth at Control Your Cash
Carnival of Financial Planning at Credit Cards Canada
Yakezie Carnival at Prairie Eco Thrifter
Carnival of Financial Camaraderie at My University Money
Totally Money at Family Money Values
Festival of Frugality at The Frugal Toad
Carnival of Wealth at Control Your Cash
Carnival of Financial Planning at Skilled Investor Blog
Carnival of Retirement at Retire By 40
Yakezie Carnival at Broke Professionals
Carnival of Wealth at Control Your Cash
Carnival of Financial Planning at Skilled Investor Blog
Carnival of Retirement at Passive Income to Retire
Self-Directed Investing Carnival
Carnival of Personal Finance
{ 6 comments… read them below or add one }
Thanks for the link, Darwin.
No problem!
[ hit submit too soon, dadgummit! ]
Amazing what a little time investment with a caulking gun and some weatherstripping will do to the power bill. With a little tracking, probably could track it by minutes spent vs. dollars saved on the power bill.
Totally forgot to add… I do have a whole thing of weatherstripping; just waiting for a day where it’s not pouring or like 10 degrees to actually put it on!
I didn’t even get a ping back, but just stopped by to see what’s new and noticed the inclusion; thanks! 🙂
I am a bit pissed that our builder went cheap on the windows in our condo. We are surrounded by a highway loop so it gets noisy, and too much cold comes in via diffusion through the glass, even though there are no drafts.
hah…yeah, keep this kind of stuff as a lead in. I saw the title and I thought “oh, great, someone is mimicking GRS…” His blog is excellent, don’t get me wrong, I’m just a little tired of hearing about the exterme examples people go to in order to save money. (As a quick note, I have only read GRS for about the last year, and I have looked into some previous posts, which has a lot of useful information.)
If you do the extra insulation, definently pick up the self-help guide at the box store. And if you do the blowin insulation, go with the Pink Stuff, not the enviro-green whatever-reused recycle office waste.
Great-Stuff Expanding foam works well, but only use it in area’s where you won’t care about that stuff staining something. And do a few bench tests so you understand how much that stuff really does expand.
And if you can’t fix all the drafts, get a woodstove (not a fireplace or insert). A house with a mild draft will fuel a woodstove very well. Its 28 degrees outside, and I’m sitting inside an 1100 sq/ft rancher at 79 degrees. No joke – and I didn’t burn all that many logs today. Maybe 60lb’s at the most. And of course my seven foot ceilings help as well. Buy HearthStone stoves and Duratech flue only! High initial cost but tons of savings and great performance in the long run!
Good luck Darwin!
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