I think I might have hit on something with my wife and kids.
I’m not sure and it’s still far too early to call it.
But I think they may actually be onboard with a collective effort to lessen the air conditioning costs in our home. I took a different approach to this challenge and perhaps, it paid off. Usually, I end up taking on household challenges either alone or whining because I’m dealing with it alone. When it came to the air conditioning, the costs we were paying to the utility company during the long summer were extraordinary. When we first moved here, we were so glad not to have any heating costs. So we sort of blew off the fact that we were paying through the nose for cooling during the summer. But as the years have progressed, the air conditioning seems to be on far too much for like 8 months of the year. So this year, I just went to my family with a heartfelt invitation to help come up with a plan to stop the bleeding when it comes to air conditioning costs. Instead of just throwing down a mandate that this had to be a certain way or the thermostat setting had to be here, I wanted their input. I honestly think this made a difference because I’ve actually gotten some feedback from every member of the family. We are actually coming together to produce a bit of an air conditioning strategy. We decided to start by not reaching for the thermostat so much this Spring. That should make a big difference alone. But we’re also going to commit to a thermostat setting that’s no more than 15 degrees cooler than the outside temperature. I’m so impressed with my awesome family and I’m looking forward to the savings.