Do you open your windows and shades?

amother

Sun, Jun 02 2024, 3:11 pm

Growing up, every morning my mother always opened many of the shades, and windows (weather permitting). I do the same. We let in the fresh air and sunlight. And yet I look around at my neighbors, and most of them, their windows/shades are never, ever open. They go straight from heat to A/C.
I'm not talking about ppl who live ground level, right off the street. But upstairs, in the back... nobody could look in, in middle of the day.

Besides for the benefit of saving money on electricity and A/C, an added bonus is, it also makes me think twice before yelling at my kids Wink

effess

Sun, Jun 02 2024, 3:16 pm

We open windows in breezy weather as well as window shades for sunlight every day.
It’s good for your brain and mental health

hodeez

Sun, Jun 02 2024, 3:28 pm

Yah I noticed the same thing. We open our windows until we absolutely need ac. And yes to the thinking twice before yelling 😂

LovesHashem

Sun, Jun 02 2024, 3:31 pm

Always open too!

amother

Winterberry

Sun, Jun 02 2024, 3:32 pm

I open shades every morning on my 1st floor.
Windows, weather permitting.
Yes, many of my neighbors don't.
I love the natural light. Makes the house feel brighter & airier

hello 1

Sun, Jun 02 2024, 3:32 pm

We don’t open our windows, since my children have seasonal allergies and the bring the pollen in.
But every morning - I open up all of the shades. That’s the first thing I do! I love the sunlight and bringing it into the house.

Ruchel

Sun, Jun 02 2024, 3:33 pm

I hate the sun
My kids do as they like so there's a range

zaq

Sun, Jun 02 2024, 3:41 pm

Always. One of the first songs my mother taught me was "let the merry sunshine in/ let the merry sunshine in/ open all the windows and open all the doors/ to let the merry sunshine in."

IME houses that have the HVAC running always and never use natural ventilation have this stale odor. You don't realize it after a little while but it's unpleasant when you first walk in. I'm a fresh-smell nut--not an air-"freshener" nut or a scented-air nut but one who believes that a house should have no perceptible smell except when someone is cooking or baking. The only way to get that is through letting in fresh air from outside, as much as possible.

ETA: In the early 1970s, oil prices started to climb, energy conservation became a value, and buildings were designed to be energy-efficient, which meant tightly-sealed windows, often of the fixed-sash type that doesn't open at all, and HVAC systems that recirculated most of the air and admitted only a small percentage--25% or less--outside air.

By the late 70s-early 80s, people living and working in such buildings began suffering from "tight building syndrome" or "sick building syndrome." Symptoms such as headache, nausea and fatigue were eventually attributed to a buildup of minute quantities of multiple indoor pollutants, ranging from tobacco smoke to ozone to formaldehyde offgassing from furnishings such as carpets, particle-board-and-laminate furniture, foam-upholstered couches and chairs, to carbon monoxide from poorly-maintained furnaces and on and on, including carbon dioxide exhaled by people occupying the spaces. People working and living in older structures with "leaky" windows and doors, steam heat and window-unit a/c as opposed to central HVAC did not suffer these effects. Apparently there was enough fresh air coming in through the leaky openings to dilute pollutants to a bearable level. Having windows that could be opened diluted pollutants that much more.

Last edited by zaq on Sun, Jun 02 2024, 5:48 pm; edited 1 time in total

oohlala

Sun, Jun 02 2024, 3:49 pm

I open the shades every day, we have a ton of natural light which I love. I grew up with no central air so we always had the windows open… but with central a/c I find that I don’t. My husband hates the windows open, so we generally don’t open them often enough to my linking.

giftedmom ↓

Sun, Jun 02 2024, 3:54 pm

My shades are always up when it’s light outside but opening the windows allows all sorts of insects in so I generally avoid it

amother

Lemonchiffon ↓

Sun, Jun 02 2024, 3:59 pm

giftedmom wrote:

My shades are always up when it’s light outside but opening the windows allows all sorts of insects in so I generally avoid it

No screens?

shabbatiscoming ↓

Sun, Jun 02 2024, 4:07 pm

Windows and trisim (in Israel) get opened every morning. I love the sunshine and day light and the fresh air.
And we are on the ground floor.
Grew up the same way. A house, closish to the road, everything was open in the morning. And closed again when it got dark.

amother

Sienna

Sun, Jun 02 2024, 4:07 pm

I used to open the curtains every morning, but our home is east facing and the curtains help keep out the heat. I open them later in the day when the sun has moved over.

Tzutzie

Sun, Jun 02 2024, 4:13 pm

We didn't have shades on the main floor till recently when our neigh ors put windows facing our house.
I don't open the basement shades (it's not really basement but ground level with a flower bed in front) unless I'm doing something downstairs.
The downstaurs playroom porch door, I open the curtains every morning.

Weather permitting all windows and doors that have screens are opened. Ahhhh the May breeze!!! Nothing like it!

amother

Scarlet

Sun, Jun 02 2024, 4:23 pm

Tzutzie wrote:

Weather permitting all windows and doors that have screens are opened. Ahhhh the May breeze!!! Nothing like it!

Especially during June!

Elfrida

Sun, Jun 02 2024, 4:54 pm

Windows are always open, at least partially. In the winter I leave them open a crack for the fresh air, and the same if the air conditioning is on in the summer. When it isn't hot enough to need air conditioning, or at night, the windows are wide open.

I close the trissim in the evening, so people can't see in, but open them before going to bed so the house can breathe. I like waking up to natural light as the sun comes up. (I don't always wake up that early, but my body is aware of the natural rhythm.)

amother

Hydrangea

Sun, Jun 02 2024, 4:55 pm

I like my shades open, DH likes them closed.

I've seen this dynamic among my friends as well.

↑ giftedmom ↓

Sun, Jun 02 2024, 4:55 pm

amother Lemonchiffon wrote:

No screens?

Not in the city lol. Only upstate.

amother

Aquamarine

Sun, Jun 02 2024, 5:33 pm

amother Hydrangea wrote:

I like my shades open, DH likes them closed.

I've seen this dynamic among my friends as well.

Same. I open them. Dh closes them.

amother

Navy ↓

Sun, Jun 02 2024, 5:58 pm

My mil never opened her shades or windows, ever. She preferred to light electric lights than have the sun come in. IDK, maybe she was afraid the sun would fade the upholstery and carpets. Well, it would, but it would take a long time, and at least they would smell fresh!

I open windows every day, but as soon as shadows lengthen and the sky starts to dim, I pull the shades down. Who needs the people outside looking in at us? You don't even realize it, because when you look at the dark window, you see only your own reflection, not what's outside. Now dh, who grew up in a house where the shades were never lifted even in the daytime, is stingy with the sunshine, lifting the shades only halfway when he lifts them at all, but at the same time he never remembers to pull the shades down at night. I have to remind him or do it myself, and I believe he wouldn't be bothered if he came out of the shower wrapped in a towel and walked into a room with the shades up and the lights on. I have no explanation for this.