I love the warmth that the wood stove provides. Sitting in the glow of a crackling fire not only warms the body, it is for me, soothing to my soul and spirit. I love sitting in the wing chair next to the stove with a good book, a cozy blanket and a cat snuggled on my lap. Feels like luxury!!
However, heating with wood is not without its disadvantages.
1. There is a layer of dust everywhere! Those of you who know me well will know that I’m not that fussy of a housekeeper. Good thing! If I dusted every week (I don’t) it would be very, very annoying!
2. Wood chips get everywhere. In spite of constantly sweeping up around the stove, it seems like wood chips get tracked around a lot. There’s a lot of sweeping going on in our house this time of year.
3. It is a lot of work to ‘make wood’. I purchase cut and split firewood (here in the Kootenays it’s anywhere from $275 – $350 a cord). Even with that labour completed elsewhere, there’s still the stacking and the daily trips out to the pile to bring in enough to last through the day and night.
4. Not to mention, needing to pay some attention to what’s happening in the stove. While I’ve not had to start from scratch during the day, there have been a few occasions where I’ve been distracted by back-to-back online meetings and have come to the living room to only a few glowing coals left in the bottom.
All-in-all, I am grateful for wood heat. It is great when the electricity goes out and we can still have hot drinks, a hot meal and warmth. I also love that I’m not making the local hydro company quite so rich!!
And it is cozy to curl up on a cold winter night.
