Cooling Weather

So, I just spent a large chuck of our household budget this month on winter clothes. 

We tend to be pretty frugal with the heat in the house - guests sometimes drop not so subtle hints about how you save money setting the thermostat at blah blah blah, higher temperature than mine is set, and how landlords are legally required to keep the heat at a minimum temperature that is higher than my apartment. Well, sorry. I don't mean to make anyone uncomfortable, and no, I'm really not trying to make a point about us being "vikings." I just don't like to run the heater; it's my personal preference to keep it chilly, and bundle up. We also like to spend a lot of time outside, and don't stop enjoying the outdoors just because the seasons change. We don't wish we lived somewhere else, we actually like it here, we live in Chicago by choice. 

So... we wear woolens all the time. All day everyday we have an under layer of wool. At night we air out the daytime woolens and snuggle under wool blankets in nighttime woolens. No, they are not hard to care for. No, they do not itch. But they are expensive in the sense that they cost more than cotton long-johns, which makes sense, they are better than cotton in every way, including longevity. (Bebe outgrows hers, I figure I need to replace her long-johns and wool union suit PJs every other year, on alternate years. I'm getting myself some new ones to replace the lovely silk ones my Grandma Madge gave me close to 15 years ago. I'm sure they would have lasted longer if I had taken better care of them too!) Over the long run I know woolens cost much less, even before you figure in the house-heating costs, and the value of being outside in the wonderful winter time. But in the short run, it's a large chunk of cash out of my pocket. 

I'm sure the Finns who raise the organic sheep and craft the garments deserve every penny, as do the little family-run eco-friendly shops that I get them from but all the same it's hard for me to enjoy spending money on myself when we are getting so close to toy buying season - boy do I love to buy my baby toys!!! I think I inherited this trait from my Dad, man did he love to go nuts on Christmas when we were kids, stacking the gifts up higher than the kids. :)