, I
Recently I spent a couple hours
one night going through the
schedule of calsses which my son
attends at the Middle School. We
parents marched down one shiny
hall after another and up and
down stairs five times to attend
seven classes.
We “sorta” got the feel* of their
days at school. As one mother
said, “It’s been a long time since
we were underlings.” With a
different teacher for French,
Looking for ways to cut household operating ex
penses? Trimming heating costs is probably the
most important single thing you can do. What's
more, there’s no better time than now to prepare
your home and heating system for winter.
Here are some ideas. They not only can result in
year-after-year savings, but make your home more
comfortable, too. _
Are you sure you have enough insulation?—
Adequate insulation in your home can reduce heat
ing costs by as much as one-third. Even in homes
thought adequately insulated a few years ago, some
additional insulation, particularly in the ceiling,
may produce substantial savings. And, as shown
below, it's an investment that pays for itself quickly.
ANNUAL DOLLAR SAVINGS
WITH THE ADDITION OF
ATTIC INSULATION
(Based on 1,000 square-feet of attic space and a fossil-fuel heating
system)
YOU ADD
THIS—
You'll
Save...
hygiene, history, music, science,
English and algebra, (here are
just so many more personalities
to adjust to. As one of the
teachers told us, “We aren’t
always approachable.”
There certainly are advantages
to modern education but I really
don’t envy him his day at school.
I’ve been looking over a record
book which a young farmer kept
in the year 1908. It is very in-
PLAN
HOME-HEATING
SAVINGS NOW
IF YOU HAVE-
NO 01/ // art
Insulation q
$9B $l3 $7
$lO7 $l9 $lO
Over 8/2 ''
$ll3 $23 not
Practical
IVi"
AND
4"
0
,
vl£
Ida Risser
XXX
teresting to compare prices then
and now.
Here are a few examples - • two
bushel corn at 54 cents; 40V&
pound chickens at nine cents; 25
pieces lumber 8x484 at three
cents per square foot; 10 pound
lard at five cents; eight pound
puddings at eight cents; 17 pound
pork shoulder at 12 cents, and 10
duck eggs for 32 cents.
Some of the labor is listed as
follows - - four hours mowing
wheat for 60 cents; one-half day
cutting logs for«7o cents; one-half
day shocking oats for 50 cents,
and one day hauling stone cost
$3.75 for two men and two horses.
Prices go up and prices go
down but I’d suppose folks those
days were as happy or unhappy
as we are in 1973.
The other day I mentioned to
Philip, our son, that a new
building was going up near the
antique shoppe. He asked me
where the shop was and I said
surely you know where the
nearest antique shop is around
APPROXIMATE COST
OF INSULATING MATERIAL
(Dollars per 1 fiOO square-feet)
iw
$7O
In addition to reducing fuel bills with a well in
sulated home, you can also reduce your electric
bill. Don't forget, electricity runs the blowers or
pumps common to most all heating systems. When
they don't have to work as hard or operate as long,
you're saving both energy and maintenance costs.
Storm windows and doors can cut in half heat
losses through existing single glass windows If
any glass panes are broken, now's the time to fix
them. If you don't already have storm windows
and doors, an investment in them should pay for
itself in less than 10 years.
Caulking and weatherstripplng Seal around
doors and windows while the weather is pleasant.
Remember attic doors, too. A y A " crack under a
3-foot door loses heat through 9 square inches.
Believe-it-or-not, just this small space can cost you
several dollars each winter.
HEATING SYSTEM EFFICIENCY TIPS
Warm air heating system filters should be clean for
good heat circulation. Clean or replace dirty filters
at least once a month during the heating season.
XXX
4"
$l6O
$9O
Lancaster Farming, Saturday, October 13, 1973
Buy Correct
Since you can’t return bed
sheets you buy on sale, be sure to
size them up before you take
them home, says Mrs. Helen
Puskar, Extension home fur
nishings specialist at The Penn
sylvania State University.
To get the correct fit, you must
know your mattress size before
going to the store. You might
v want to invest in fitted sheets.
Size is especially important here.
If they are too small, they will
give you more work and less
wear. Too large a size takes away
their advantage of giving a
smooth fitting surface.
If there’s a possibility of
here. He looked me square in the
eye and said “Sure, right here.”
It was an overstatement but I
don’t know whether to be insulted
or flattered. You put old things in
an old house and I guess that’s
what it looks like to a child.
Blower motors on warm-air heaters or circulators
on hot water systems should be given a couple of
drops of oil unless the motors are the newer,
permanently sealed and lubricated types Be care
ful not to over-oil and use only the "oil" lubrication
holes. Refer to the manufacturer’s instructions.
Belts should be checked on warm-air sys
tem blowers and adjusted if needed.
Heating ducts in unheated areas such as attics
and crawl spaces should be examined for leaks
and insulated with at least one inch of insulation.
Vents in attics or crawl spaces should be open.
Don’t block them: your home could suffer damag
ing condensation.
Clean registers, baseboard units or radiators. A
thin layer of dust can impair heat radiating
ability . . vacuum cleaning can eliminate the
problem
Call your serviceman early for any burner clean
ing or tune-up work needed.
Set thermostats bearing in mind you can reduce
heating costs by about3%for each degree you can
lower the setting. Adjust or turn heat off in rooms
you don't regularly use.
Remove furniture or obstacles from in front of
heating outlets.
Each of these tips can make a difference in
dollars to you. You can also add comfort to your
home and assure better performance of your heat
ing system as well. Moreover, you'll be performing
another service. You'll be conserving fuel and
helping our nation achieve energy conservation
goals.
Plan for tomorrow... start saving now l
Size Sheets
considerable shrinkage in the
sheet you buy, choose a longer
than usual size. Check the label to
see if there is good shrinkage
control.
When you’re buying flat sheets,
the size is given in “torn” length.
With the hems in, they become
five inches shorter. Shrinkage
may shorten them even more.
You’ll be smart if you subtract a
few inches from the size on the
label.
One last point on sizes, says
Mrs. Puskar, is that the unusual
sizes, such as extra long sheets,
are not often on sale. You may
find that it would be to your best
advantage to buy some regular
size sale sheets and use one to
lengthen all the others. If you add
a piece where you tuck the sheet
under the mattress, you’ll have
stretched your sheet and your
dollar.
29