Rather than spring cleaning, I like to complete a thorough cleaning of my house during the winter.
The weather in my local area is especially brutal.
We deal with below-freezing temperatures for more than half the year. It’s not unusual to experience negative digits and require the furnace to operate for eight months straight. We also expect multiple feet of snow and dangerous wind chill. When I’m trapped inside, I like to be productive. I go through each room of the house and organize and clean. I strip the bedding, wash windows and curtains, move furniture and empty out closets and cupboards. I wipe down walls and baseboards. I set up a ladder so that I can get to the webs in the corners of the ceilings and clean the overhead light fixtures. Two years ago, when I stood on the top of the ladder, I noticed a significant increase in the temperature. Standing on the floor, I needed to wear a sweater and felt slightly chilly. Positioned on the top of the ladder, I started to sweat. This told me that the hot air provided by the furnace was rising straight up to the ceiling. The heating system was definitely running more often, working harder and using more energy than necessary. My home wasn’t as comfortable as it could be. I was paying high utility bills for no reason. I looked into the problem and discovered the benefits of ceiling fans. There are ceiling fans in all styles and sizes available. There are models that include LED lights, operate by remote control and offer multiple speed settings. On the majority of ceiling fans, there is a switch that allows the direction of the fan blades to be reversed. Running a ceiling fan during the winter can save as much as 15% on heating bills. Setting the blades to spin clockwise at low speed creates a gentle updraft and works to redistribute the warm air that tends to accumulate near the ceiling.
