As others have mentioned . . . you can do a few things differently if you're looking for heat, but don't want to blow yourself out of your home . . .
Smaller loads . . . definitely helps . . . or use your "junk" wood -- wood that is not especially high in BTUs.
You may also not want to close the air control all the way . . . for example sometimes during this time of year I'll leave the air control open more than normal . . . this has the effect of allowing more of the heated air to go up the chimney . . . and the wood will burn up a bit quicker (I don't leave the air all the way open incidentally since that would waste too much wood and send too much heat up the chimney) . . . but this has the result of heating up the house enough to keep warm, it keeps the chimney warm enough to not produce creosote and the glass stays clean.
Burn when you need the heat . . . not hours before you need the heat. In other words, if it's cool in the morning this is when you should light your fire. Granted it may take a while to get the knack of lighting a fire, but in time you will learn how to get the stove up and cruising in less than an hour . . . it will take some time and practice though . . . which means right now it may be best to either get up a bit earlier to get the fire going . . . or bite the bullet like some folks and run the central heating system until you start the serious heating season . . . more than a few members do just that . . . run their central heating system until they begin heating 24/7.
Finally . . . lots of people will offer suggestions for cleaning the glass . . . and they work . . . but I still subscribe to the cheap and easy method . . . damp newspaper and wood ash . . . free and easy . . . and it works.
Smaller loads . . . definitely helps . . . or use your "junk" wood -- wood that is not especially high in BTUs.
You may also not want to close the air control all the way . . . for example sometimes during this time of year I'll leave the air control open more than normal . . . this has the effect of allowing more of the heated air to go up the chimney . . . and the wood will burn up a bit quicker (I don't leave the air all the way open incidentally since that would waste too much wood and send too much heat up the chimney) . . . but this has the result of heating up the house enough to keep warm, it keeps the chimney warm enough to not produce creosote and the glass stays clean.
Burn when you need the heat . . . not hours before you need the heat. In other words, if it's cool in the morning this is when you should light your fire. Granted it may take a while to get the knack of lighting a fire, but in time you will learn how to get the stove up and cruising in less than an hour . . . it will take some time and practice though . . . which means right now it may be best to either get up a bit earlier to get the fire going . . . or bite the bullet like some folks and run the central heating system until you start the serious heating season . . . more than a few members do just that . . . run their central heating system until they begin heating 24/7.
Finally . . . lots of people will offer suggestions for cleaning the glass . . . and they work . . . but I still subscribe to the cheap and easy method . . . damp newspaper and wood ash . . . free and easy . . . and it works.