Babyproofing, part one

We are far from fully baby-proofed (is there such a thing) but we made some progress this month, mostly in preparation for her birthday party, which would have a few other children in attendance. Installation is horrible and we're starting to understand why there are services to do this for a hefty fee.

In the strangest underhand compliment ever, we cursed our cabinetry for being made of such quality hardwood that it was time-consuming and frustrating to install locks. Our first attempt was the kind that we have to side together to lock each time. It was a favorite toy for the young 'un back in the summer when we bought it (she looked at it with what seemed like so much wisdom that I'm pretty sure she had it figured out before we did).

But the problem with locks like these is that they rely on us not being lazy and remembering to re-fasten it each time. Plus (and this is just a personal pet peeve for me) they look really ugly.

So we bought a magnetic kit that automatically locks and requires a key to unlock. And they are hidden from view. Perfect, we thought.

Stock photo

They work pretty well on our doors except that the wood is so dense that it cracked a little even when D drilled a pilot hole (apparently it wasn't deep enough). So we had to work very slowly and carefully.

The drawers are a problem. Only 3 of them have enough clearance for installation but the wood front piece is so thick that the more typical latches won't work either. So we installed them on the 3 we could and for the rest, well, we'll just have to watch to make sure little fingers don't get slammed. We moved the hazardous items out of reach, but the drawers themselves remain a risk until we can think of a solution.

We didn't get pictures of it, but we also installed anti-tip hardware to our TV (and plan to install it on some of our more precarious furniture). It was frustrating to purchase, because all the normal brands sell anti-tip straps complete with incredibly cheap and breakable plastic. This model, at least, uses metal.

Stock photo

Our last big project involved our first of two gates. This one is in hallway separating our living room/dining room/kitchen from the bathroom, guest bedroom, office, and, most importantly, the stairs to the basement (which we can't close with a door given the narrow hallway and abrupt incline down the stairs).

We wanted one that could open in both directions, stay open, and fit our doorway and bought this model:

We thought installation would be quick but it took all evening. Our floors aren't particularly level, it seems, and the tight pressure required to install it and align the swing door so that it would lock when it shut just wouldn't match up.

Three hours later, it was mostly up, but still is a bit finicky and doesn't always lock. But it was good enough for one day. And it's obviously pretty solid given that D almost broke his foot when he stubbed his toe on it - it didn't budge.

So that leaves more drawers, some anti-tip straps on the furniture, and a gate for the top of the stairs. Joy joy...

Heating woes, again....

Yesterday morning the house was 64 even though we have it set to be 68 by the time I wake up in the morning - and our good old Nest is usually smart enough to have the timing figured out. I thought maybe the cold front had it confused.

Then when I came home from work this evening the house was just shy of 60. But Nest said it was heating so I assumed it had really mis-estimated.

Until I realized the baseboards were cold...

Uh-oh...

Well it turns out there is a reset button:

I was afraid to hit it, but D was willing to take the chance.  Turns out, it worked better than this reset button at least. Unnerving, but at least it seemed to get everything running again.

We actually had already called our local heating guy, who lives nearby and was willing to come take a look. He fiddled with the pressure release valve which was leaking a little water. But otherwise, it seemed ok

I'm worried, though, because my super-sensitive nose has detected a smell of oil in the basement on and off for a few days. And finally D could just barely smell it too, today. We are going to call the person that serviced our furnace this year and ask if he had calibrated the burner because maybe it's not burning efficiently, or something.

I don't know, but it's definitely a scary sign as we begin the winter heating season.

The guy who came to look at our heater today didn't charge because, as D says, 1. he's nice and 2. he is trying to convince us to convert to natural gas (and have him do it). He mentioned today that converting to gas, which would include a water heater and furnace, would cost $11,300. D did the cost/benefit analysis a few years ago and decided it wasn't worth it with the savings in oil and electricity. We do use a lot more heat now, post-baby...Decisions decisions. Well at least when the heat is working, it works in every room of the house.

In other basement-related news, we took advantage of one long nap from the baby to rearrange our furniture. We really like it - it gives us some extra floor space that is more or less "baby-safe" and a good spot for taking photos. Our next goal for the room is to paint the accent wall and then buy new shelving. Maybe we can get it done before the New Year!

This is a really old "before" picture but it's the only one I could find - fast forward to where we have the extra storage shelving, a treadmill where that Nordic Track is, the Elliptical on the other side of the sofa, no TV, etc. But it gives you an idea of how we rearranged everything.

Still here, consuming power

Updates are pretty sparse this month because we've been spending all our free, non-baby time trying to baby-proof. And let me tell you I'm starting to see why some people hire professionals. It is hard and time-consuming! It took us all evening to sort-of install a gate (the sort-of is a long story for another post). I have pictures and stories ready, but I really want to get it done first.

In the meantime, a quick look at our energy consumption and how it (may have) changed post-baby. Our utility company has just started providing us with some stats and read-outs about our monthly energy usage. There's also a glimpse of our yearly use: it has definitely gone up this year, but that's no surprise. Without providing much by way of specifics, it says that we used about 4500 kWh between January and September of 2013, and almost 7000 kWh for the same time period this year. Of course that also included my maternity leave (staying home with the lights and heat on, how indulgent). And generally more time spent at home, more temperature control, more laundry, etc.

Nonetheless we got a "good" rating compared to similar homes for the month. We were not the most energy efficient but we were better than other similar, nearby dwellings. We used 744 kWh, 27% more than what they consider the 20% most "efficient" similar homes. Other similar homes used 1049 kWh.

What I found interesting was the graph charting our times of day (nope, no time to show it to you in pictures). Keeping in mind that the month being tracked was largely before our heat really cranked up, it seems our energy usage starts to go up around 4 or 5pm but really peaks from 9-11pm. Interesting, since I feel like most of our lights are on while baby is awake (but again, this is before Daylight Savings ended, so the need to have the lights on was not as great as it is now). Apparently, frantic laundry, dishes,cleaning, and some TV time (but I thought LED TVs were efficient!) seem to be gobbling up most of our power.

When do you use most of your energy? Do you get similar information from your power company? I'm not sure if this is going to become a regular report, but I like the information.