Frugal tip of the week...

Good morning! It is chilly here in central Illinois today. It's not raining today and that's a plus! It rained all day yesterday. :( Being chilly is what sparked today's Frugal Tip of the Week.

Tip # 4 Heating with a wood stove

We heat our house with a wood stove. It keeps the house very warm, around 76 degrees. We do not use a furnace. This cuts down our bill tremendously in the winter. We also do not buy firewood. We get it free from friends or strangers. :) My husband then splits the logs into pieces that will fit in the stove. My son and I stack as much as we can. It is fun family time and we are working together for warmth and saving money. The heat from it is so relaxing and toasty.

We had an ice storm a couple years back and lost power for 7 days. We did not have to leave our home. We got to stay in our own beds and be warm! I cooked meals on top of that stove. We had a wonderful roast one day. We had soups and stews also. The only difference between the power outage and now is that during the power outage we used oil lamps at night. Now we use regular lights. :) The rest of the time we lived our lives like usual. It was a good quiet time that ice storm. lol. If you do not have a wood stove and wouldn't mind burning wood, I would suggest looking into it. I realize some people just don't want the hassle. But if you don't mind hard work and dust, it's a wonderful savings. :)