A post from one of our fans in Michigan talking about two home improvements she made and one behavior change.

I love the environment and I love saving energy, but I also love not choking over my Michigan apartment energy bills. Last winter I came up with some crafty ways to save money.

I made draft dodgers for all my outside doors - these cloth snakes sit at the bottom of your door and keep the cold from creeping in. I made mine from the sleeves of a thrift store sweater stuffed with old T-shirts and rags. (If you’re not a sewer, search “draft dodger” on etsy.com for some cute ones.) The only problem was, when I closed the door to leave the house, I couldn’t keep the dodger (which is on the inside of the apartment) up against the door. Enter the double-sided draft dodger. I made mine with cardboard poster tubes sewn into fabric (foam would work well too), then slipped it under the door. They work like a charm.

Next, I installed a programmable thermostat. My apartment is old and my thermostat was relying on a rather unreliable mercury tube to assess the temperature. For about $20 I bought a programmable thermostat so that my heat would automatically turn off during the day when I’m at work, and go down low overnight when I’m snuggled in bed. It was a little challenging to install, but with some help from the Internet and the instructions provided, it was ready to go within an hour.

And finally, the ultimate test of courage. I’m the kind of person that gets cold when it’s breezy and 75 degrees outside. So, instead of cranking the heat in the winter, I play a little game with myself that goes like this: if I’m cold at home, I put on one more layer - another sweater or a fleece, a pair of long underwear etc. If I’m still cold after 10 minutes, then I allow myself to turn up the heat a couple degrees. But usually, within 10 minutes, I’ve forgotten that I was cold.

Isabella Weber is a graduate student at the University of Michigan
School of Public Health. Her research focuses on the intersection of
human health and the natural environment.