As much as we would love to heat our home solely on wood heat, it's just not feasible without a woodstove/insert (and that's not in the budget right now). We do try to rely on it as much as we can since the other source is oil heat and it can get VERY expensive. Our routine for the winter is to build a fire in the morning, keep it going during the day, if necessary, stock it up at night and let the furnace kick on if it gets below 61 after the fire goes out. Of course, this isn't fail-proof. Some days, in all honesty, we're running errands, get home late, or are lazy. Hey, just being honest! :) Our home is small enough that we can keep the main living areas quite comfortable with the wood heat. Our weather is fairly mild through the winter so that helps. Our goal is to use that oil furnace as little as possible!
We have been very blessed to get free wood the last couple years (this will be our 3rd winter here, 2nd using the fireplace). The 42-acre parcel we live on has several wooded acres. We have been allowed to help manage the forested area by removing dead trees, injured trees, etc. And this year, we've helped a friend who has a tree-removal business on the side in exchange for free wood! We'll probably end up with about 5 cords out of that. Not enough for the winter, but we haven't harvested any from the property here.
Do you use wood heat? If so, how many cords to use for the season? Winter is fast approaching. Stay warm, friends! :)
where did you get the rug in front of the FP? It looks just like one - maybe a little bigger - that my mother made and I have it in the laundry room! Love the fire.........I'd even settle for an electric one! I keep looking..........
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