Living without a climate control system
Think small, people, I cannot stress this enough.
- In America we need everything to be big, to be powerful.
We are a nation of hoarders and collectors, who need bigger and bigger houses to hold all of the pointless stuff that we accumulate. After my divorce, I went through a major “purge” phase, but the funny thing is I never got out of it. After getting rid of 95% of my possessions, I felt no need to get new ones. I began a more spartan life, starting with the simple, austere cabin by the lake I moved into. I don’t have a central air conditioner, but I have learned that I don’t need one. Natural ventilation and the winds of the woods will keep my place temperate for most of the year. It may stay around 80 or 85 degrees for weeks on end, but once you get used to living without AC those temps aren’t so bad. For the winters I have a small wood burning furnace at the edge of my kitchen. I also have an electric stove for cooking, but this furnace is old enough that it can be used for cooking, for heating water, for doing laundry, as well as keeping the place warm. I also have a space heater, just in case, but I haven’t had to use that in a couple of years thanks to my old stove. The biggest adjustment to living without a climate control system is just getting over yourself and losing the habit of insisting on perfect comfort at all times.