[Desdemona]

Ditch heavy drapes and shades during the winter, unless the drapes are for insulation, and let natural light shine through the windows. White sheers will assure privacy. You won't need lamps during the day.

[cajungirl]

I ditched drapes years ago,,dust catchers. And I love the light. In summer, we have those light reduction shades from blindsgalore that cut down our ac bill. In iwnter we rarely turn on the heat {Louisiana doesn’t get that cold}.

It is hard to turn up the AC,,I like it cold but this summer we turned it to 73 and I was okay