As October marches on, it's becoming harder to deny that winter weather is on the way. While most of us have put away our summer clothes, placed our air conditioners in storage and replaced our bedding, many people wait as long as they can to turn up the heat, since that's the final admission of cold weather.
Growing up, my mom refused to turn up my family's manual thermostat until November 1 at the earliest. No matter how cold it got in October, my mom would always say that we were saving energy by not using the heat yet.
Whenever we would ask if we could turn the heat on, my mom would simply take my sister and I to the hall closet and get out a sweater and blanket for each of us. It was really amazing how warm this kept us, and it saved my family money too.
She even attempted to hold fast to her November deadline last year, when there was a giant snowstorm the weekend of Halloween. But according to my dad, even my mom gave up her crusade when the temperature in the house dropped below 50 degrees.
Whether it's a date or a temperature, most people seem to wait until mid-October before they turn up the thermostats in their home. My roommates and I haven't turned on the heat in our apartment yet, and so far, we've been making due with sweaters, blankets and the electric heater I have in my drafty bedroom.
One thing's for sure though, when it gets too cold, I'll turn up the heat no matter the date.
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