Do you leave the stove light on at night?

[wonkwest]

This has, very weirdly, become a hot topic among my friends and boyfriend.

While growing up, my parents always left the stove light on. We lived in a split level, but the single stove bulb cast just enough light throughout the house to leave an ambient light around for all your middle of the night adventures. I carried this with me into adulthood. When I go to bed, I turn everything off, but I leave the stove light on, just in case there's a bathroom needing out of the blue. The bulb cut out recently, and it felt so strange that my place was so very dark at night. It actively bothered me.

However, the boyfriend thinks this is super strange. He doesn't understand or relate to the wonder that is stove light.

So, I'm a bit curious. Is this just me, or do others know the miracle that is stove light?

[bearsfootball516]

1. Huh. Interesting. I've never heard of that.

[MFM008]

2. I leave mine on

Constantly.

[wonkwest]

18. This makes me feel not so alone n/t

[Floyd R. Turbo]

3. Do you mean the oven light, or the range top exhaust light, or something else?

When we have overnight guests my wife leaves the range top exhaust lights on. I’d rather just give them a flashlight! 😏

[wonkwest]

19. I think it's the same thing

The light over the burners. It's placed right under the exhaust.

[Floyd R. Turbo]

26. Oh!

[underpants]

4. I tape a flashlight to the cat.

[Ligyron]

6. lol!

[Lochloosa]

11. Thread winner!

[RKP5637]

12. ...

[wonkwest]

20. That's tempting evil

I let my cat wander outside a bit when I get home. I got rewarded with dead baby possum in the middle of the living room. So cute. So very dead.

Arming that demon with a flashlight is just asking for it. I don't need a strobe effect as she blasts through bedroom blinds at 4 AM.

[underpants]

27. We close the door and he stays downstairs

But I put the flashlight on him just to f with him.

[wonkwest]

38. That's a bold move

I tried closing the bedroom door once.

Once.

[Demovictory9]

55. lol

[MFM008]

80. I tape my cat

To the lamp.
NOT....he runs the house....

[PJMcK]

5. No

We have several night lights strategically placed in the kitchen, hallway and bathroom. They're low wattage and provide enough light to get about at night without "waking up" one's eyes.

[wonkwest]

21. Bathroom nightlight is a thing

I have a color-changing, light detecting deal in the bathroom. But there's something about being able to dimly see things if I'm up and about that I'm just plain used to.

[rsdsharp]

46. We have a nightlight in the bathroom. Now.

We bought our house 15 years ago. About the second night in the house I got up at 3 AM to use the bathroom. I had been, shall we say, over served, and was half asleep anyway (or more than half). In our previous house the bathroom was at an angle to the left of the bed. In the new house it was across the bedroom in the far right corner.

I got up and kept angling left -- right into a dresser. The more I tried to get around it, the more I ran into it, and the more I had to pee. My wife woke up to me yelling obscenities. She turned on the light, and even though I now knew where the bathroom was, I was so mad (and so embarrassed) that I left the bedroom, and used the facilities down the hall.

We bought a nightlight in the morning.

[wonkwest]

50. At least you didn't pee in a closet

Wonkwest said. Very theoretically.

But, LOL. That's hilarious. I can relate.

[rsdsharp]

56. Well, there MAY have been a little wet spot

on the carpet.

[wonkwest]

57. When a man needs a piddle, a man needs a piddle

But, you know, a manly piddle.

[rsdsharp]

58. Especially with a prostate

the size of Cleveland!

[PJMcK]

51. Great story!

It takes a good man to poke fun at himself.

Enjoy your weekend!

[Fresh_Start]

7. same here...its a tiny bulb so low wattage

and we leave it on all the time.

In our case, the light is in the fan over the stovetop.

[wonkwest]

22. Yup, yup. Same n/t

[unblock]

8. i grew up with parents determined to have the lowest electric bill possible.

so, no. lights out meant lights out.

i'm not that fanatical, i pick my battles (air conditioning), but no on the stove light.

we do keep a dim light on in the bathroom for mini-unblock in case he needs it in the middle of the night.

[wonkwest]

24. Bathroom nightlight is a must

Putting on a glaring light in the middle of the night is the path to insomnia.

I'm also hyper conscious of the electric bill. I turn all of the things off. It's just this one thing . . .

[Freddie]

42. My hairdryer

Which hangs on the wall has a little night light in it. Just right.

[wonkwest]

71. That seems almost magical n/t

[Freddie]

91. At my age

I unfortunately visit that room at least once in the "wee" hours and the light is nice.

[wonkwest]

92. I'm getting there

I work out a lot and "hydrate".

It's French for "Let's pee all of the time."


Can one just be exhausted by their penis? I'm sort of there.

[CountAllVotes]

31. I can hear my late WWII father screaming ...

Turn off the lights!! Turn off the lights!!!

Kinda burns it into your brain doesn't it?

[irisblue]

36. "I don't own DETROIT EDISON" !!!! Turn off that light!

[wonkwest]

67. Are we siblings?

This was my father's go to as well, lol. "Do I look like I own Comm Ed?!" It stuck.

I dated/lived with someone for six years who'd light up our place like Rockefeller Christmas whenever I wasn't home. I could literally pick out my place from halfway down the street, because it was the one pouring yellow light onto the street like some kind of photon vomit.

I like dark.

Except for stove light. Stove light is love.

[CountAllVotes]

68. I am NOT the Horn of Plenty!

How could I ever forget that one?

RIP Dear old Dad!

[wonkwest]

72. D'aww

But you remember him and all his things. That's a good thing. Hug.

[CountAllVotes]

74. yeah I sure miss him

He's been gone awhile now (over 20 years) but it seems like yesterday.

He was a fine man and a life-long Democrat. That kind of says it all.

He'd be in his 90's if he was still around today, but no such luck sadly.

Thank you, I appreciate it as not a day passes that I don't think of him (and my mother as well).

Life is incredibly short, that is what I'm finding out a bit late in life.

[wonkwest]

75. Appreciation comes late sometimes

I don't mean that for you specifically. My parents are in their 80s. Lots of health problems. Every time my phone rings from their area code, my heart jumps. "Maybe they're gone . . ." I was so angry with my parents for many years. Gay thing. It was contentious. But now, I keep finding little things I subconsciously picked up from them. As I get older, I see the positive side of them.

Maybe as teenagers and young adults, we resent too much, want our independence too much. I'm not sure. I just saw them as a kind of opposition.

As I get older (late thirties) and just don't care, suddenly everything my parents do and have done I value. I posted this OP based on my parents. My dad was insistent. Stove light. It let him make coffee at 5 AM without waking anyone. My childhood was defined by waking early (as children frustratingly do), and crawling down to see dad making his coffee, cream, sugar, the sound of the stirring.

It's so easy and natural to hate one's parents. But when you realize you deeply love them, well, that's a special revelation all its own.

I'm sorry your dad is gone. From your post, I can tell how much you love him.

[CountAllVotes]

90. I had a fairly good relationship with my parents

They were set in their ways no doubt but we got along fairly well. I was there for both of them at the end of their lives which is a lot more than I can say about the siblings I had/have!

It sickened me the way they acted when/after they died. It was not good and no, I will never forgive one of them as it was so very shameful!

I don't care to ever forget as I know who I am dealing with since my parents have passed. It was absolutely awful, that's all I can really say about it.

I am glad you have found some solace in life given your situation. I realize how difficult it can be!

Take care & thank you!

[Sneederbunk]

9. OK for those afraid of the dark.

[Anon-C]

10. Yes...

[jberryhill]

13. No, but I do leave my chewing gum on the bedpost overnight

[wonkwest]

28. I almost want to ask

Almost.

[jberryhill]

32. No, it doesn't

It's bedpost-flavored.

[wonkwest]

35. I do enjoy ikea flavored things

I mean, mainly meatballs. But I'm open-minded enough to attempt the gum.

[Bok_Tukalo]

14. I have rope lights out of sight above the kitchen cabinets on a timer.

I guess it serves a similar function.

[wonkwest]

29. Do you have a pic

Rope lights above cabinets. I'm super curious.

[Bok_Tukalo]

45. I can get one later.

I will do so.

[RKP5637]

15. We leave a couple of 4w night lights on. n/t

[dem4decades]

16. My wife turns the light over the stove every night.

Funny thing the kitchen is downstairs from the bedrooms and she has a little battery powered motion light near the bed.


Old habits die hard.

[Iggo]

17. No kids: Dark.

With kids: We used to leave the stove light on, but now we have a dimmer switch on the hall light, and the lowest setting takes it way way down.

[CountAllVotes]

23. Two decorative LED bulbs in the range hood cover

and a few smaller LED lights (color) that flash as needed when dark in the living room & the bathroom as well. I bought all four of these LED "night light" mini-bulbs from a auction on ebay.com from a seller in China for $15!

I bought all of these LED lights in 2006 = 12 years ago (and NO they were not cheap (sans the ones from China that is)).

They light up the house all night long and I pay close to nothing to have them on all night!

[wonkwest]

33. "flash as needed"

Howso? I'm interested. I have an outlet between the bedroom and bathroom, and a small LED light there could usurp stove light. There would be a battle, but I think outlet LED would ultimately win out.

[CountAllVotes]

86. These are small lights in different colors they flash

They go from red to blue to yellow, etc. They are abt. 2 inches long and 3/4 inch wide. The plug into a wall socket. I received 4 of them and one of them is still unused some 12 years later!

I've never seen these again btw. I hope you can find them somewhere.

Maybe check ebay?

The seller advertised them as being good for sex and such!

I guess ...

Hell I dunno abt. that one!

In any event, I strongly recommend them.

[sharedvalues]

85. Good plan.

While we’re on the LED topic,
I’m still upset that China took over LED manufacturing and design from the US (where Intel was founded and all semiconductor design used to happen), because we didn’t fund LED science and they did.

That’s a real threat to the American economy. Other nations want to take away our high tech industry. They work on it actively. And Republicans in America hurt that industry by destroying govt to cut taxes on the rich and hurting immigration (Andy Grove of Intel and the Google co founder we’re both immigrants.)

[CountAllVotes]

87. The other ones I have were locally made

I got the two in the range-hood that are still going and one small one that works as a night light and a larger one that is not very bright which was replaced with one of those squiggly things. I don't like the squiggly thing but the LED light they sold me is not adequate.

I paid close to $100 for these four LED lights in 2006; China ones $15.

I guess we can see why they grabbed up this business.

They sell them way cheaper and you get a lot more for your money so they win on this one anyway.

[sharedvalues]

89. They sell them cheaper because China subsidized their industry

10-20 years ago, the Chinese government put a TON of money into LEDs and optoelectronics.

That allowed them to build a huge LED industry there that never got started in the US. The economies of scale and concentration of talent in China now allows them to produce and sell Chinese LEDs much cheaper than America can.



(Ps it probably wasn’t preventable that manufacturing went to China. What the US could have prevented was the design talent all going to China. In any case, the Chinese spent money and took a whole industry away from the US. Meanwhile GOP billionaires were shrinking our government to benefit them, so our govt didn’t invest.)

[OregonBlue]

25. I also grew up with parents that always left the stove light on and yes I do it too. Our house isn't

big but we have our 2 grandsons living with us. We have a separate office that can function as a spare bedroom and a travel trailer for guests to stay in and I just figure with the porch light and the stove light, anyone coming into the house, or me now that I'm old and not so sharp, can find their way around at 2 in the morning. I thought everyone did.

[wonkwest]

30. Right?

I thought leaving a small light on at night was common. Don't get me wrong, I love dark. But stove light is really just, "Need to wander in the middle of the night and should be able to see vaguely" light.

[OregonBlue]

48. Right. Whether is me or hubby or one of the kids or someone visiting who just wants a glass

of water of a cup of tea or whatever, the stove light means they have just enough light to find their way around without crashing into things and waking everyone up. For me, when I do get up in the middle of the night (which happens more and more as I get older) it's nice to have that soft little light so I don't step on kitty or doggy or whatever so yes, seems perfectly normal to me.

[MaryMagdaline]

34. I always kept it on when we had guests in the house, so they can find their way to the kitchen

Works well as a night light. Not too bright

[Cirque du So-What]

37. I do

I'm of the age that I need all the help I can get while navigating the house after dark. I don't like stumbling around in the dark.

[matt819]

39. Gotta go with the BF

Never heard this one.

That said, there's no reason you shouldn't use the stove light as a nightlight, if you need a nightlight at all. After a relatively short while, you kind of know where stuff is and can avoid bumping into that stuff while roaming around the house (for some reason) in the middle of the night.

Well, ww, I hope this is your worst dispute with BF, and definitely not a deal breaker if things get serious.

Thanks for the chuckle, though, as I'm having a lousy day otherwise.

[wonkwest]

44. I can navigate

Outside of a weird layout that involves my bedroom having a step for some reason, I've lived here for almost a decade and can go from bed to bathroom without thinking. My place is all open space - I don't do clutter or furniture for the look of it. It's almost an aesthetic choice. It just feels off if it's totally dark.

Boyfriend is serious. We get on disturbingly well. All our "disputes" are utterly unserious.

I hope you have a better afternoon! If you ever want to unload, apparently there's a messaging feature here. Just figured it out this morning. Feel free. No one should have a poop day alone.

Shit days are shit. If I can make it slightly unshit, hit me up.

[GeorgeGist]

40. My mother always did ...

but alas I didn't carry on.

[MontanaMama]

41. I leave the stove light on

at the beach house that we rent every summer because I'm very sure the place is haunted and the light makes me feel better. At home, I have some tiny decorative LED lights placed around the house that give off just enough light so that I can get up and get some water etc when I'm wandering around at night without killing myself.

[Freddie]

43. My Keurig

Has a soft blue glow at night so the kitchen isn't totally dark. Fridge has a night light you can switch on. Modern appliances think of everything.

[iscooterliberally]

47. I used to do that, but I changed to a different strategy.

Both my stove light and the oven light burned out. I went out and got some cheap rope light and put is over the top of my kitchen cabinets. I also bought some cheap LED night lights and put them around the house in the dark areas. They only come on when all the other lights are out. It's still dark, but there's enough ambient light to see. I have since replaced the bulbs in my oven and stove, but I only use them for cooking now.

[KatyMan]

49. Every night.

Ours even has a "Night" setting, so it's dimmer than the normal setting. Our kitchen is in the center of the house, so it helps folks maneuver around at night. Even though no one really does, and I could walk through our house with my eyes closed! Old habits

[nocoincidences]

52. Yep.

Works for me.

I also have motion activated lights under the bed so that I don't step on one of the fur children (who wouldn't move for a charging rhinoceros and will punish me in multiple vicious kitty ways if I disturb them).

[samnsara]

53. no but when i stay with my parents i always do...

...its kinda dark and spooky there.

I just bought a Samsung smart fridge with the family hub screen and i can run it like a digital picture album so i have photos running all night and its a softer light.

[Demovictory9]

54. no.

[dameatball]

59. Yes. I do.

[woodsprite]

60. Actually, we leave our fridge/ice dispenser light on. It's closer to the stairs and

less bright than the stove light. But I grew up with my parents and grandparents leaving the stove light on as well.

[Croney]

61. Yes. We leave the stove light on for the dog,

who sleeps in the kitchen. The dog might prefer the dark. We have no way of knowing.

[LibinMo]

62. I leave mine on all the time

The switch is broken. I'm too cheap to call a repairman.

[Phentex]

63. Downstairs and wouldn't do any good but

I like to leave it on (or the light above the kitchen sink) at night when we are still awake. I have some under counter lighting too.

We have a night light that comes on in the upstairs hallway.

[Laffy Kat]

64. Always.

It stays on 24/7.

[mnhtnbb]

65. I use decorative night lights in the kitchen. Much cheaper to replace a night light bulb

plugged in to one of the outlets on the wall behind the kitchen counter than a halogen bulb in the hood vent over the cooktop.

[kacekwl]

66. I did until my wife yelled

at me enough to shut it off.

[becca da bakkah]

69. I Don't. But My Mom Did When I Was A Kid....

.....Usually when she'd just cleaned the stove, and wanted to show off. About twice a year! It was one of those O'Keefe & Merritt stoves from the 50's, with the top that covered the burners and the griddle. The light gave the whole kitchen kind of an eerie porcelain glow.

[wonkwest]

70. This is super endearing n/t

[sakabatou]

73. No

No, it's turned off when the door is closed.

[dewsgirl]

76. Yes, most of my life.

[saidsimplesimon]

77. I have night lights

in many places at home. It is painful bumping my legs on unseen objects. The bruises are not a bonus.

[tazkcmo]

78. Yes

For the reason you do.

[AJT]

79. Was never in the position to need feel the need to do that.

[onecaliberal]

81. We have little night light that knows when it's dusk and dawn. They turn on and off by themselves.

[padfun]

82. I have about 10 LED night lights...

plugged into the sockets around the house. It's not very bright but you can see where you are walking. It is a decent sized house (2006 sqft) so those come in handy for the night wanders.

[sharedvalues]

83. Stove light is one of the hardest to find a replacement for

And it’s also hard to find good LED (energy efficient bulbs for it.)

So no. We leave another light on - a small LED that draws about 12 cents of electricity per month.

[csziggy]

84. We always had a nightlight in the hall so we could find the bathroom

For many years as an adult I didn't have nightlights in the house. Since my series of operations began in 2001 (13 major operations) we keep lights or nightlights on throughout the house as a safety measure.

Because my sleep schedule is irregular I often sleep in my recliner the other side of the house so we keep under cabinet lights on in the kitchen and laundry, a built in nightlight in the hall, and one in the bathroom. When you are still woozy from anesthesia, on opioids for pain, and wobbly on your feet, extra lights are a very good idea.

[avebury]

88. I use motion sensor night lights. I have

one in my living room, one in the bathroom, one in the kitchen and one in my laundry room. I got the idea from a friend who had the all over her house. You can move around the house at night and not worry about turning a light on. They go out after a minute or so.

[Callmecrazy]

93. I have a Tiffany Lamp hanging in the dining area...

I keep it on a low dimmer setting. It's been on for seven years.
Perfect for my little condo. Just enough light to move about the whole place without stubbing a toe.

[hack89]

94. We have always left ours on. nt