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Ever Ask Yourself What Goes Through The Minds of Your Children? |
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© 2003 Carole Moore |
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A couple of years ago we had our home reinsulated. We upgraded our storm windows and doors and put in a new heat pump. Our electric bill skyrocketed. |
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The electric bill inched even higher. I started shutting off the air conditioner and opening windows, leaving the blinds down during the hottest portion of the day to keep out the sun. We planted trees to shade the house. And I routinely went through the rooms shutting off lights, as well as buying the most energy efficient bulbs I could find. Our bill spiked again. We were flummoxed. How could we use more energy with all the cost-cutting changes? It seemed the only way I could lower our bill was to hit the circuit breaker and work by candlelight. But considering I use a computer, turning off the power was a bit impractical. So we did a little sleuthing. The electric meter appeared to be working fine. Our appliances, though aging and overworked, were functioning appropriately. Our electric demands were pretty much the same each day – wash a load of dishes, use the microwave a couple of times, do 12 loads of laundry… Okay. One thing jumped out – the laundry. Counting the pieces of clothing and towels used by each member of the family, I came up with this list: Husband, one towel, work clothes and one change of clothing. Son, one towel, school clothes and one change of clothing. Me, one towel, nightgown and one change of clothing. Daughter, seven towels, school clothes, dance clothes and 16 changes of clothing. I may not be Sam Spade, but it doesn't take a private investigator to figure out that my teenaged daughter was hogging the washer and dryer (since I can only hang out one load at a time and I'm washing much more, I still have to use my dryer). I confronted her with the problem: Me: You're using too many towels and wearing way too many clothes each day. The Queen of England doesn't run up this much laundry in a month. You need to use one towel and then hang it up to use again, and confine your after-school wardrobe to one outfit. Her: I can't hear you with my earphones on. Me: (After surgically removing her earphones) Stop emptying the linen closet when you shower and changing clothes every five minutes. Her: And your point is? Obviously that conversation went nowhere. But I finally forced her to cut back on the towel and clothing consumption. And you know what? My electric bill went up – which left the mystery still unsolved until last week. That's when I opened the windows because it was cool in the morning. And that's also when my daughter, home on a Saturday, decided it was too warm for her tastes. So she did what most people in that situation would do. She turned on the air conditioning full blast. And left the windows standing wide open. |
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