Taking the bad with the good, part 2: my A/C addiction

Happy Friday, all!
Nov. 5 is my 25th birthday, so I have all sorts of fun plans for the weekend... and the Nashville weather is cooperating so well.
This is definitely my favorite time of year... the slant of the sunlight, the chilly nights that call for a jacket, the changing leaves...

But by far my favorite part lately is that I have been A/C free for three weeks now! The windows are thrown open, the door is open with a gate up to keep the dogs from wandering off, and I am looking forward to my electric bill.

It feels so good to have it turned off. The air is cold, which I love (I would be happy to have life at 40 degrees all year round), but it's fresh, too. Yes, I live in the city, but even the city-dirt has a tang to it that the A/C doesn't provide.

Colin over at No Impact Man talked about changing social norms a while back, and it got me thinking about having my front door open. I really like it - I like saying hello to the neighbors as they walk by, and the dogs love it, too, laying on the door mat and watching the squirrels and birds and people. This morning, because my door was open, my neighbor Sarah and her new roommate came by to say hi and we talked for 15 minutes or so.

I wish more people had their doors open around here - I'm not a social butterfly, but it did feel good to get to talk to Sarah for a bit. But thinking about it has got me apprehensive about summer - yes, it's far away, but I'm enjoying my open door and windows so much that I'll hate to see it end.

And at this point, I know I will see it end, because I haven't been able to live without cold air. In the summer, the A/C has to be below 73 at night or I can't sleep! I've tried (the penny-pincher in me had me turning it off to try it out), but i just ended up tossing and turning. Growing up (and now) my family keeps the house around 69 degrees, and we've never used the heat. We did have space heaters for the frigid winter months, but in general, our house was cold year round. Thinking about giving up the A/C, for me, is akin to thinking about not driving - it is so ingrained in my ritmo de vida that I am actually afraid to give it up! Changing this social norm, for me, is a scary proposition.

So I'm going to use these next cold months to think about how I can reduce my A/C consumption come spring. Maybe I'll just end up being a really sweaty person? Or maybe I'll give in and hope that by not using the heat for as long as I can this winter, when I turn down the thermostat this coming spring, I'll have been able to balance out my footprint a little.