I HAVEN'T TURNED MY AIR ON.... YET!

Can you believe it? I can't. This is Florida for criminy's sake .Average Temp is around 89-92 degrees with a humidity index around the same. But tis true. I have yet to turn my air on. And so can you!

At first I started doing the open the windows thang because of my parrots. Dust monsters. And not to healthy to inhale that stuff. Then because the air conditioner isn't the best and most clean air you can breathe either. Later on in time I started doing this because $250 electric bills were killing me. It is just something that I felt was a place to save some money. and it's working!

Firstly, The evenings are wonderful. Really they are. My house is all setup with some wonderful North/South cross breezes. Sorry to say I don't have but one window and the garage door that go East/West. In my office where I spend most of my day and have both breezes going. So open the darned windows. All of them.

Before 12:00pm and After 5:00pm there is really a non-issue with being uncomfortable.

I have to admit around noonish till around 3, if I am hyper and moving around alot, i will hit a heat slump. But what i've done to circumvent this is Stop. Take a rest. Go watch some tube. Or even better a nap. Heck its lunchtime for my clients too, so what's the big deal? None I say!

In this part of the country its raining daily. What a relief that is in so many ways. It immediately cools down the house, the air chills. And clouds do their part too! And the coast breezes are just wonderful. I do sit in between Lake Okeechobee and the Coast, I get the breezes from both directions sometimes.

Sleeping is not that big of an issue either. I'm still using a light cover. And I would estimate only 2 nights i've woken up with a light sweat in the middle of the night. BUT hey! I do have fans in every room. And they are on high. But this has not increased my bill. On the whole i'm very comfortable at night. At times, chilly.

But here's the best part. My electric bill.....

$82 this month. $76 last month.

Can you believe it?

Even though i hear this will be short and sweet FPL is planning to increase all usage by $25 in the coming months. What a crock, huh?

A few things I've done to help this "wholly unlike me" change! I wear nothing but cotton. This includes Pants, not shorts. T-shirts. And underthings. All cotton. Anything else will not cut it here.. I don't know why but pants seem to help keep you a tad cooler. And the whole cotton thing is true. Here are some other things I do:

Hose off periodically. I know. But I work from home so I can. keeping your hands and feet dry and cool will keep you cool.

Wear a bandana it will wick away any sweat. Sometimes I will even wet it. Wring it out. Put it on. It works!

Take your daily shower around noon. A coldish shower is wonderful.

Yes! it is!!!

Water! Up your water intake. It helps. Honest. I am a down and dirty 2 pot a day coffee drinker. Caffeine dehydrates. Dehydration makes you feel warmer. I don't know why. If i must have my caffeine jolt? I've been drinking the Iced tea's on the market that you can add powder to your water. But nothing beats Ice cold water.

Unplug all things unnecessary. Turn off all lights. This believe it or not will add heat to your room. Obviously, the computer needs to stay on, but i unplug the printer and the scanners all hardrives not being used. And clocks and lamps. TV's. All that stuff creates an ambient heat.

UNPLUG THEM!

Laundry, heck do it in the middle of the day. WHY? because it already generates alot of heat. Let it dissipate with the day. Don't make your evenings hotter by doing laundry or turning on the dishwasher... If you can, turn off the hot water heater circuit, too. That emits heat also. Though i use it so little and its in the garage, i don't.

Wash the dishes by hand. In cold water. Yep! i add a little bleach to all my washings, and then air dry. WHY? well i started this with all my milking supplies. I was washing dishes, pails, etc. 5 times a day. Same with the laundry. I wash in cold only. But, I just add some bleach to that too If you use the original Dawn or Palmolive soaps you will find there is no toxic mix odor. Original and bleach. Though I'm not a total wacko with saving energy, i still use the dryer. I tried the line drying... Takes too long. And if forgotten? its out there with the rain UGH!!

I have two ceiling fans on constantly. In my bedroom and in my office. Two things you can do. Either change the direction to have the flow go up or down. up removes the heat. Down circulates it. I still do down since both rooms have a nice breeze.

Snacks and lunch. Eat lite. Don't make your body work harder than you have to. Breakfast is pure protein. Fresh Eggs. And lunch? salads and sandwiches nothing heated. But I notice the more carbs eaten, the more i sweat and feel the heat. If you don't turn the stove on or microwave then all the better.

Lastly, I think our bodies get used to it. I noticed the other day in the truck with air on, I was enjoying my coolness, but then shut it off because it got a tad cold in there. And just opened the windows. And it all equaled out.

There is a learning curve. There are times i feel all sticky. But you adjust. You can do it. Air is not a necessity. It's a luxury. And with all the environmental issues we have going on, can you imaging what we could all save if we just turned the air off? I know many offices would probably stop losing people with colds constantly. We all lived with out air conditioning at one time. I remember my old high school didn't have central air. What they had were giant windows. Open.

Your body adjusts to what you need it to do. It really does. And I believe the more we create these inhospitable environments, the more our bodies weaken. Well, my take on it all. There are lots of great articles on the internet about this same topic. Google "living without air conditioning". And see what else you can do to avoid using it. You're helping the environment. You're helping yourself stay healthier too. It's almost like a challenge. I can beat the heat.

So... check back in August! Sept. and October to see if I can make it till then!