I attended a wonderful summer camp north of Toronto as a kid. Best there ever was. When I showed up to be a counselor, the director gave me a button. (A rough replica -->). I am not a fan of games I don't win. (It took me about a week to figure out what the pin I wore every day meant, and I was mocked mercilessly). And, I resented the message. "You'll never have to tell a camper, 'I'll get around to it...' because now you have a round tuit." Try that out with your favorite teenager, and just see what happens.
Here's the thing. I've always remembered that button, and it came back to bite me in my... bathing suit this week. Here's how. I have another house. It's not really mine, and it's not skinny. It sits on a cliff overlooking a lake. We call it "the cottage," but it isn't very cottage-like. We spend some part of two months a year there. The rest of the year, it sits vacant - pipes drained, beds on end, furniture covered in sheets. We just keep one tiny heater on in the basement, at the builder's request, to prevent mold and cracks in the foundation. So you would imagine - right? that the electric bill for such a place would be miniscule. Tiny. Lilliputian.
Hardly. The electric bill is staggering. Has been for several years. And each quarter I say to myself: (brace yourself) "I really should get around to finding out why that bill is so high." And then I pay the bill, hating the cost. Gritting my teeth. This year, finally, I asked a contractor to visit the cottage in the off-season and try to figure out what the problem was. He's not a home energy auditor - that will come later. He's more like a handy man. Here's what he said:
"There is no insulation in the floor."
Pregnant pause. "You mean I have been heating this entire cottage all winter for six winters with a space heater in the basement?
"Yes."
Guess who is going to GET AROUND to insulating the floor this spring? It'll cost about $300.00. It will save me several (several) thousand every year. If you need me, leave a message. I'll be in the basement rummaging through my old camp stuff looking for a button.
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