As the days our getting shorter, my energy crackdown at the house has begun. We have our checklist on the fridge, which is titled Did You Forget To? That’s the problem in living in a house with four housemates in total, things get forgotten. One person leaving a light on or forgetting to turn down the heat before bed can lead to a major hit to our utility bills, which will be going up whether we like it or not. At the peak of the winter daylight hours, we will only have full light until 2pm. By 3pm, the sunset will begin, and at 3:30 in the afternoon the sun is gone entirely. This means that on top of running space heaters to offset oil furnace use, we have to work very hard to keep our light usage to only what we actually need. If someone falls asleep in front of the TV and refuses to be moved, someone has to shut that TV off and all of the living room lights off. If someone is asleep with the light on in their room, someone else has to knock and make sure they’re passed out, then turn the light off for them. No one in this house has the money to pay for someone else’s laziness or forgetfulness. The last person awake has to walk their floor and make sure all of the lights are off, as well as check the garage to make sure no one left the light on on accident. It seems like a lot, but thats what it takes to manage our oil furnace and electric space heater bills.