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Friday, February 11, 2011

A Wood Stove is Good For . . .

1When we built our house we decided not to put a furnace in. Without a furnace, we wouldn't need to put in duct work (we don't have central air either) which would save money with building expenses.  Heating with wood would also save quite a bit on heating bills.
The stove is the black square in the middle.
So we did our research and purchased a wood burning stove.  It sits right in the middle of the house to help the heat be evenly distributed.  We also have ceiling fans in the living room, kitchen, and 3 bedrooms to help move heat around as well.

Our stove does a great job heating the house.  In fact, I am usually cold when I go visit other people's houses in the winter.

We have found that the wood stove is good for many other things though, especially when you live on a farm.  Here are just a few:
During the day it is clear in front of the stove - at night we put it to full use!

  • hanging clothes on a rack close by overnight to not have to use the dryer
  • thawing frozen hoses (see Ethan's blog)
  • thawing frozen food when placed in a pan on top
  • raising bread when placed on a rack on the "cooler" level on top
  • warming baby pigs born in the winter whose momma didn't take to them right away (the momma is not going to stay, by the way)
  • a cozy spot for a sleeping baby in a swing
  • stimulation for a baby who is awake (both of my farm babies have enjoyed the flicker of the fire and the contrast of the stove pipe going up to the ceiling)
  • a chance for young ones to have responsibilities - helping with the wood pile
  • a chance for some exercise - collecting and splitting the wood 
  • a place to hang and dry wet coveralls
  • a place to unwind in front of
  • a place to roast marshmellows for winter Smores.  (I haven't done this yet, but I do think about it!)
Like I said, those are just a few.

Although there are times when a furnace would be nice (when we are gone, have other things to attend to besides wood, or the coldest of nights when it should have a refill), we are quite happy with our wood burning stove.  After all, can you make a list like that with a furnace?

5 comments:

Jean said...

WAAAH! You just made me homesick for good old woodstove! I grew up with one on a small farm. That picture looked very very familar to me but without fence. The list you wrote is so right-on! We also often 'slow cook' supper on it.

Carmi Quillts said...

We have a wood insert and use it primarily for heat. We do have a heating oil furnace and only use that on the cold mornings before work to "take the chill off" when we get ready for work. I love wood heat, it is so much warmer.

More than Survival said...

We have one almost just like that.... only without the wonderful window. We haven't ran our furnace one single time this year (and we live in cold Indiana)!!!! Thanks for showing us yours.
Heather

Susanne said...

We have a wood stove and a pellet stove. Wood stove we use all the time, but we run the pellet stove at night or when we know we are going to be gone for a long period of time.
Keeps enough of the chill off.
I also agree when I go to other homes in the winter, I am cold.
We live in a 215 year old farm house that my husbands ancestors built. We have oil heat but have not used it in years, it just can't heat this house.
Where ever we live we are going to have to have a wood stove. Lol

corrinla said...

this is a wonderful blog. much information about family. Thanks for the wonderful post

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