Turning down the thermostat in winter

I don't have a programmable thermostat in my home, but I know the benefits of turning down the temperature when your home is empty. It can mean more money in your bank account and is kinder to the environment. I can get behind that.

The challenge for me is remembering to make that adjustment each day before I head out the door to work. And when I do remember, quite often, my husband and I will walk around the house for days, bellyaching about how cold our house is, worrying that our heater has crapped out and wondering how we could afford to replace it. Then one of us will look at the thermostat and realize we never turned it back up.

But I want to have a few more dollars in my pocket each month. I want to do a little more to reduce my carbon footprint. So I've set my phone to alert me each day at the same time that I need to turn the thermostat down. If I forget to turn it back up later, so be it. It's for the best in the long run.

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