Thermostat Wars: Him vs Me

When it gets warmer outside it gets warmer inside and when it gets warmer inside the AC goes on. And when the AC goes on so begins the AC wars. I'm always cold. He's always hot. So you can imagine the kind of battles we have in our household.   When we first moved into our house he thought it was cool to have the thermostat running on low all day long.  I was skeptical (and cold) but I didn't argue.  Some theory about your bill being lower if you just keep it cool so that the system doesn't have to work so hard cooling it down after it gets too warm.  Our electric bill told a different story so we don't do that anymore.  That theory is bunk as far as I'm concerned.
This is what Air Conditioning can do to you
But every year the minute the weather starts warming up his first instinct is to run to the thermostat and crank it down to arctic freeze.  I know it's warmer now, but do we really want our electric bill to double?  He literally wants to freeze me out of  house and home.  I complain and reach for my granny robe even though it's almost Summer and 90 degrees outside.  We take turns turning it up and down on each other.  In my book anything below 74 is ridiculous unless I'm working out and leaving it that low overnight is way too cold AND expensive when a fan can do the job.  Or an open window.  Either way, I often find myself going to bed in a cute nightie and waking up looking like a bag lady as I blindly reach for more clothes to put on throughout the night.  After a year of seasons in our house I figured out in general when it should come on and off and at what temperature.  We aren't always home on weekends so it's set really high or really low depending on the season so it doesn't come on unless we adjust it so it's not running all day in case we forget to turn it off.  He better not mess with my thermostat settings but I can't do anything about him sneaking over there before bed and putting it on whatever he wants to.  

He does the same thing but in reverse when it starts to get cold.  As soon as it starts getting chilly in the house he goes for broke and starts cranking up the heat except this time he's the one complaining about being too cold.   I tell him to put on more clothes.  If you can put on some pants and a robe and not be cold then do that first before costing us money by running over to the thermostat says the bag lady.  I mean, that's what I do.  If I have to be a bag lady then he can be a bag man every now and then.

My dad is the exact same way only 10x worse and he absolutely refuses to listen to reason.  He turns on the heat full blast until the house is a sauna and my mom is always the one who has to turn it off.  What is it with men and their thermostat?  Or is it just that I'm cheap?  Probably a little bit of both.  When I lived alone in my condo I had one of those built in Electric AC Units that sit right below the window.  There were times I'd literally be sitting up in my house sweating because I didn't want to use it.  Mj does not believe in suffering when he doesn't have to so he places comfort over budget every time.  I on the other hand am a glutton for punishment.  If it will save me money I'm willing to suffer a little bit.

The good news is that once we settle into the new climate he tends to back off a little and let my strategically planned thermostat settings do it's thing.  I'm cold, he's hot, I put on more clothes, he has to take some off.  We figure it out.  It's just one more training exercise in compromise.

Linking up with Shanna for Random Wednesday.
 photo SignaturececePink.png


20 comments

  1. HAHA! I am the same way; fortunately we don't have air conditioning and so I can blame it on gusts of wind (and then close the windows). I have had many a cute, flirty nights destroyed by having to add pajama pants too!

    ReplyDelete
  2. OMG, my husband and I are exactly the same. He thinks I'm bonkers for sitting on the couch with a blanket on me when it is 110 outside. Um, if you are going to turn the AC down to arctic temps and then have a ceiling fan on, guess what, I'm going to need a blanket!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Another reason why I'm loving living alone! :)

    ReplyDelete
  4. I have the same dispute with my boyfriend. He always has the fan on and windows open, then can't understand Why I'm cold, then of I insist he hugs me because I'm cold he tells me I make him too warm. I just don't get Why men are so warm..

    ReplyDelete
  5. my husband and i just had this discussion last night! I actually told Eric that the purpose of the AC is not to make the house an icebox but to keep it comfortable enough so that we're not sweating. He wants it at like 65! I got so mad at him. Plus it doubles our electric bill. The rule is now 75 only when it is SUPER hot.

    ReplyDelete
  6. The thermostat war is an ongoing battle in the Mauritz household too. I am a warm blooded African who is always too cold and he is a cold blooded Swede who is always too warm. Our genetic predispositions will forever be at war so it is a true exercise in compromise to help us get through a night without sneaking to the thermostat to secretly adjust the temp. lol.

    ReplyDelete
  7. just read a few of your posts and I love your blog!! new follower!

    ReplyDelete
  8. You've described my house to a T. I am always cold and my hubby is always warm. Dude I am sleeping in a sweater and this guy only has boxer shorts on. Huh, are you kidding me. Never ending war I tell you.

    ReplyDelete
  9. I like the cute&flirty one :) I love the colour of your skin!

    xx San
    owlspassion.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
  10. Lol this post made me giggle. Garrett and I never ave any conflict over the thermostat because he lets me do whatever I want with it. I like it cold at night, we sleep with it on 71 which is perfect. During the day we keep it around 74. I'm like MJ, I'll give in and crank the AC or heat before suffering. We aren't much of heater people though so those months are usually cheaper!

    ReplyDelete
  11. Lol, judging from the comments it sounds like there is a consensus. We don't usually have the wars in summer cause my hubby would rather live through what ever temps than turn down the AC. He doesn't think African winter's warrant turning the heat up...and there starts the war :)

    ReplyDelete
  12. we are pretty even when it comes to the house temperature...but i can imagine how this would be a battle....glad you are able to compromise! i love the cute and flirty vs. bag lady:-)

    ReplyDelete
  13. Lol. Thats how me and my boo are. I am always cold. I wear a robe all the time. I even run the heater in the office during the summer months. People think I am crazy. I am just cold. Plus, cold puts me to sleept

    ReplyDelete
  14. haha I love this. It has been hitting the 110's here, and I have to admit- I am the one willing to pay a little more to be comfortable. But I usually keep it at 75. My Mom NEVER used the A/C, even when we were dying... so I feel like this is my rebellion of using it when I want it! :) haha

    ReplyDelete
  15. Somedays, I swear, it's like we're the same person. Just before logging on to check my blogroll this morning, I texted my SO and said "oh no... I just left the house with the AC still running!". No biggie, he says. But I am already scheming a way to break for lunch a little early in order to race home and turn it off. I too, am always cold--he's always hot--and will rarely reach for the AC! I swear, it's like looking through a mirror at us. Love it! Although, you do have me beat on the bedtime ensemble. I always look like a bag lady, even from the very beginning! ;)

    ReplyDelete
  16. Precioso sitio, con tu permiso me quedo para seguirte!
    Abrazos desde Uruguay!
    http://perfumederosas-cristina.blogspot.com/

    ReplyDelete
  17. this post made me laugh out loud because it is the same way in our house.

    in the winter Sean is so cold and the heat has to be ridiculously high .. i hate it! and then in the summer the AC has to be on full blast ... it's like he does it to annoy me, haha ... and the amount of money spent is so annoying too.

    ReplyDelete
  18. LOL @ the pics... I am on team #fullblastairconditioning I get so hot all the time & if its not freezing I can't sleep. I so hate being hot, or warm for that matter :)

    ReplyDelete
  19. Thankfully, I'm usually the only one who touches the thermostat in the house. On a very rare occasion, my hubby will turn it up or down. He'd rather sit around and bitch and wait for me to do it.

    ReplyDelete
  20. We don't have AC, so don't have this problem in the summer. Although, in the winter Will is always like "Why do you have to wear so much clothes?" Ummm...because it's COLD in here! It's both of our fault, though. We both like to keep the Gas Bill lower.

    ReplyDelete

I really appreciate your comments! Thanks for being part of my blog.