It’s about half way through winter, I think? And so I thought I’d reflect on my personal challenge this year: not to use artificial heating.

There are two levels to this. First, the idea that I can keep my electricity bill down by simply putting on an extra layer or two. Second, the idea that I might be able to do something small to “save the planet”. The second one is probably the greater for me, as living alone, my electricity bills, generally, aren’t too expensive.

And you know what? So far it’s going pretty well. Tracky dax, a pull over, and a doona over my knees in preference to sitting around in shorts, a t-shirt, and with the heater isn’t that hard to do. I’m lucky as my apartment is protected by those above and those below, and so it’s never usually too hot or too cold.

But even so, an extra layer of clothing is absolutely fine in the context of mild Sydney winters. Hey, I’ve walked on a glacier in Iceland. I’ve been in Sweden where it’s been minus 23 and I’ve been warned not to go out at night, in case my eyelashes freeze together. I’ve also been in Sweden in sub-zero conditions where the bottom of my jeans became damp with snow, and I’ve needed to go back to my apartment to warm up slowly to avoid frost-bite. In contrast, overnight temperatures of 5-10 degrees are pretty mild, and so putting on an extra layer is not that hard.