Small Ways to Save

Yes, it has been ridiculously HOT lately, but our electric bill this month was outragous! I am determined to make this lower for next month. And in doing so, I will be helping our beautiful planet. God intended for us to take care of this place that He created for us. These are all simple and obvious things we can do, but it's always good to be reminded. I love finding ways to save money here and there, so I figured you would to, and I decided to share with this random post.

Simple tips on how to save on your electric bill:

 Try adjusting your thermostat by 1 or 2 degrees. I bet you won’t even be able to tell a difference. You can save 2-3% per each degree. We raised ours 2 degrees while we slept last night, and I surprisingly never woke up hot!

 Lighting accounts for about 15% of a home’s electric use. Replace lightbulbs with compact fluorescent ones, which use 65-85% less electricity and will last at least 8x longer.

 Keep your garage door closed. Heat and air easily escapes.

 Lower the heat on your water heater (gradually). Even a few degrees lower can add up fast.

 Turn off your computer when not in use. You can save between $25-$75 on your electric bill per computer, per year.

 Unplug all devices from outlets when not in use. Some things I continually (and unnecessarily) have plugged in are our cell phone chargers, nightlights, coffee pot, camera battery charger, hairdryer, stereos, toaster, children’s humidifier. Do a walk-thru around your home and unplug any unnecessary items, as they still use power even when not in use or turned off.

 Clean or replace air filter once a month.

 Seal up your home, around doorways, with caulk gun and weather stripping, especially late Spring and Fall.

 Install more attic insulation.

 Make sure to run only when the dishwasher is completely full. This uses tons of hot, hot water. Same goes with the washing machine and dyer.

 Make sure you have proper window coverings. The sun can really heat up a room fast.

Try to instill some of these simple ways in your children early on. Do a walk-thru at home with your children and involve them in ways we can save and help our Earth. And as always, recycle!

Something we are going to start doing as a family ... take just one hour each day to have ALL lights out throughout the house, plus turn off all tvs. We are going to also use this as quality time together. And I'm curious to see how much we save on our energy bill. I'll let you know!