More energy savers

[incheck4real]

Another way to save a lil cash on electricty and water if you don't have a well is to bathe kids together. If they aren't too old of course plus side is they normally have blast in there together. We also have a family game night once per week. Not only does this make us a closer knit family but it also forces us to turn off alll electronics. I make sure every electronic is off and on most unplugged (it does save you a little) before we evern even start to play. Plus we are all in the same room so all the other lights in the house are off.

[HSLINKS]

Get some long sleeve grubbies to do the dastardly killing of poison ivy, and plan on just chucking them in the garbages especially since you had such a bad reaction to it before.

Don't forget hair cover and tape all possible openings of clothing

If you put down the carpet in the spring when its little, you shouldn't have to trim/cut the plants. You could go ahead and dose the ground with vinegar or concentrated ROUND UP before laying carpet.

If you have to cut the plants you might want to consider wearing a mask just in case. I'd rather be hot and uncomfortable than breathe it in.

Usually if you post to FC you can get all the carpet you want. Since it sends out runners (like the Japanese Knotweed I knew eventually I'd remember it's real name) start at least 5-8 ft from the outside edge and work in. Otherwise it sends out runners to the edges, this way it sends back to center and eventually it will die (evil laughter). Lay carpet at least 3 layers thick do not have any seams on top of each other or the darn runners will creep out.

Since you have clay, you might want to just leave down the carpet and put new soil, compost etc on top and build from there. Raised beds etc

WARNING POISON IVY:
Be aware that, even after you kill poison ivy plants, they remain toxic. So be careful in disposing of the roots of the dead vines after pulling back the smothering agent (even if you've waited for years).

IDEAS FROM ONLINE:
You can stick the ends of the vines in bottles of weed killer; neater than spray, easier than painting.

Use a paint roller to apply the poison ivy “killer”. It only goes where you want it, doesn’t spray onto the veggies and is quite effective.

Another thing I have done is to cut down the vines on a HOT day, MID-DAY when the sun is high and hot. Apply the weed killer directly to the newly cut stem and the plant will suck it right up! Use a systemic killer for this and it will go no further than the Poison Ivy.

HOW TO GET RID OF POISON IVY PLANTS
How to Get Rid of Poison Ivy Plants - wikiHow

Ria

[brchbell]

Originally Posted by HSLINKS

WARNING POISON IVY:
Be aware that, even after you kill poison ivy plants, they remain toxic. So be careful in disposing of the roots of the dead vines after pulling back the smothering agent (even if you've waited for years).

Yes! It's very toxic even after you kill it! I killed off a huge patch years ago and then went out several days afterward to pull it all and bag it. I ended up in the hospital fighting for my life! I wasn't even allergic to it at this point. I had to overwhelm my system to become allergic!

The best solution to this so far is to cover the whole area in old carpet! You'll be recycling! Carpet is right up there with baby diapers and plastic bottles in the junk yard. It takes like 70 years to decompose! Cover the whole area with carpet and you can build your beds right on top of it! No muddy walk ways! If you don't like the look of the carpet you can put wood chips down to cover it. People in my area beg me to take their old carpet. The carpet layers will rip it out and lay the new carpet but you have to pay to get it hauled away! I cut it into 6' strips and ran a path all the way around our lake. We'd tried to clear a path before but the weeds always over take it. the carpet path lives on 2 years later! (Took a lot of carpet to do it though!)

Good luck on your project and be careful!

[ShellVera777]

Thanks for posting this. My daughter's room is really cold so I am going to try lining the curtains and seeing if that helps. I appreciate the info!

[HSLINKS]

KEEPING THE ROOM WARMER:
Some things you can't change - Heat travels to the south, so northern rooms are usually colder than southern. Its also harder to get heat to those rooms from other areas. Keep the door open to gain heat from the other parts of the house.

If the room is next to a set of stairs - cold air will be coming DOWN those stairs and it will cool down that area

If you move bed (couch) off the exterior wall it helps

CHECK THE HEAT SOURCE:
do you need to clean the vent? move furniture? If you have baseboard heat you can vac the fins and it helps.

Up here in Maine (New England) the old old houses did not have heat upstairs at all. I put in floor register on the landing so the heat went upstairs faster. Other than having little toys coming down on heads its worked well for 30 years. If anyone needs to know how to put in floor register and the metal walls let me know.

WINDOWS:
#1 what shape are your windows? gaps mean lots of air infiltration. If old windows and the caulk is missing more wind. They make a reusable rope insulation (sorta like clay). If its really cold caulk may not stick to the cold glass. Stop as much wind as possible before putting up plastic.

#2 do you have storms? if not try putting plastic on the outside of house, and inside too (double is best). If you have littles or have kids with mental health issues that can't have plastic inside put it on the outside at minimum. Cats will wipe out the plastic in no time - renenforce with duct tape or packing tape

#3 Pull the mouldings around the window and check for insulation - many times it doesn't have any .. Buy the super skinny mini rolls of insulation for door frames use a spatula or paint scraper to stuff it in the gaps around the window

Then use a caulk gun and caulk on top of it .. (wet finger to smooth it) use exterior grade caulk.. let dry then put the trim back up

ELECTRIC OUTLET/SWITCH HEAT LOSS:
Pull any electric outlets or switch plate covers on exterior walls .. Buy the foam insulation for them -- if you can't find it you can:

MYO SWITCH & ELECTRIC OULET PLATE INSULATION
Using foam trays from the grocery store trace out the plate (mark where the screws go). You will need to cut them about 1/4 inch smaller all the way around. I use a razor cause its easier to cut the curve of the electric plug. If you loose your screws local hardware will have them

CURTAIN LINERS:
These can help a lot. Make sure your curtains go above the window and all the way to the side walls. If no heaters below you can go all the way to the floor with the curtains

Ria

[wilbe95]

I have noticed for some reason in my boys bedrooms that the closets are a source of tremendous amounts of cold. Not exactly sure why-guess they are not insulted quite the same as the bedrooms themselves. If they leave their doors open a crack the room temp will drop about 10 degrees. We keep the doors closed and even have towles up against the bottom of the door to keep the col from blowing through.

To help find areas that cold is coming in your house we have walked around with a lighter and watch to see if the flame moves. Just be careful that you pay attention to the lighter while you are doing this or you could set the whole place on fire.

[HSLINKS]

Kim,
are the closets on the exterior wall?

Basement/attic? could cold be coming up inside the wall from basement or attic?

It might be worth pulling the drywall this summer and putting in insulation. While the closet is cleared you can always customize it for better utilization of space too <g>

Changes in temp like this can also cause mold to build up (*especially if kids have stuff leaning against the back wall). Camp had closet on exterior wall and we had this issue

Ria

[mos]

woo hoo! I so love it when my students give me gift cards! LOL! I was able to take all of my gift cards for Target and buy insulated drapes for my windows! they're ivory and go with the color scheme -- earth tones...greens, browns, beiges, tans, etc. so tomorrow I'll be hanging drapes over my blinds in every room and hopefully, my electric bill will go down a bit. the electric company does a free energy audit and I'm gonna call and arrange an appointment. on a side note, one student gave me a gift card for Penney's and I bought a lovely shower curtain -- green with with flowers on it for a splash of brighter colors

[mos]

thanks! I saw carpet and carpet scraps on FC so I'm gonna go back and see if I can find it and scoop it up!

[mos]

ya'll might not believe me, BUT the drapes that I put up MUST be having an affect! I hung all of them today and made sure they were open to let the sun in to do its job when the sun crested, I closed the blinds and drapes. it is currently 53 degrees outside and it must be a comfortable 70+ inside and the heat has yet to come on (still set at 61). I will update ya'll in the next few days as it is supposed to become really frigid at night. and yes, I'll be letting the bathtub faucet drip tomorrow and the following days -- just in case;-\