Live Well for Less: May 2012

I live in a very old house. It has the original wooden sash windows and, when we moved in, the 70s era aluminum storm windows were in need of replacement.
Of course everyone expected us to replace the windows with thermopane vinyl. I was very reluctant to do this for a number of reasons.
To start with, the windows are arched at the top, so any replacements would either need to be custom made or alterations would need to be made to the lines of the house, both inside and out, which I felt would be unacceptable. For another, the inside windows are actually in fairly good shape after nearly 150 years and the useful life of vinyl windows is estimated at about 15 years. Lastly, I have been told that, well fitted, old fashioned wooden storms are almost as energy efficient as thermal windows.
All this convinced us to keep our old sashes and get new wooden storms custom made. This we did for around the same cost as replacement windows, although we did glaze them, paint them and install them ourselves.
The only snag is the biannual installation and removal. We don't remove them all, we have a lot of windows and doors and can create a cross-breeze with just a few windows open. But there are three windows upstairs that simply have to come off.
Here I share with you my invention for easy removal of storm windows. It still takes three of us to do it, although I think that one could probably manage it with the right ladder. My problem is that I can't manage the 32 foot ladder on my own and would always need someone to move it for me, if nothing else. anyway, it is easier with two or three people.
I bought good-quality hardware designed for nautical use. I might have been able to get away with cheaper parts but I didn't want to take any chances. I had originally intended to clip the harness directly onto the crossbar of the ladder but couldn't find clips big enough. The rope loops I tied to the bar work OK though, they stay on the ladder all year so only the harness needs to be unclipped.