A few things we will be doing or have already done to cut back on costs in these lean times.
1. Stay home.
We use our creativity and imagination to entertain ourselves. This means lots of family games, crafts/DIY, reading, gardening, and walks. Pinterest is a good place for free tutorials, ideas, and inspiration.
2. Using only two lights in the home at a time.
Using only two lights(CFL 13W) an average of four hours a day will cost only $4.18 per year.
3. Unplug all items that use standby power lights, or use power strips and switch off when not in use.
Cutting off standby lights saves us about :
Five watts for 5 surge protectors
Eight watts for router
Eight watts for garage door opener
9 watts for older PC
and probably another 8 watts for various electronic items.
Total savings: $36.61 a year.
4. Flush toilets only when necessary.
Flushing our newer toilets uses 1.6 gallons. The average person flushes about six times a day which equals 9.6 gallons per person per day. We have three people here most days, so we use at least 864 gallons a month to flush. This is about $12.00 a month. If we all flushed once a day only, we'd save $4 per month, or $48 a year.
5. Turn on hot water heater from 5pm - 8pm only.
6. Use low energy appliances to cook: such as a microwave, an electric skillet, and a table top oven.
7. Time showers to five minutes or less.
A shower uses on average 2.5 gallons a minute, so cutting back on the time saves many gallons of water.
In warmer months, we turn the water heater off all together and use tepid water to bathe. This cut our natural gas bill in half! We still pay for the pilot light that runs continuously. Heating water for only three hours a day, cuts the bill by a significant amount. I'll have to figure an exact amount, if I can, and add this here.
8. Map out and plan shopping trips to minimize gas useage.
9. Order online when prices match brick and mortar stores, or are less expensive.
I use discounted gift cards, online coupon codes, and shop through rebate sites(see sidebar).
10. Thermostat is set at 57 degrees, down from 59 degrees.
1. Stay home.
We use our creativity and imagination to entertain ourselves. This means lots of family games, crafts/DIY, reading, gardening, and walks. Pinterest is a good place for free tutorials, ideas, and inspiration.
2. Using only two lights in the home at a time.
Using only two lights(CFL 13W) an average of four hours a day will cost only $4.18 per year.
3. Unplug all items that use standby power lights, or use power strips and switch off when not in use.
Cutting off standby lights saves us about :
Five watts for 5 surge protectors
Eight watts for router
Eight watts for garage door opener
9 watts for older PC
and probably another 8 watts for various electronic items.
Total savings: $36.61 a year.4. Flush toilets only when necessary.
Flushing our newer toilets uses 1.6 gallons. The average person flushes about six times a day which equals 9.6 gallons per person per day. We have three people here most days, so we use at least 864 gallons a month to flush. This is about $12.00 a month. If we all flushed once a day only, we'd save $4 per month, or $48 a year.
5. Turn on hot water heater from 5pm - 8pm only.
6. Use low energy appliances to cook: such as a microwave, an electric skillet, and a table top oven.
7. Time showers to five minutes or less.
A shower uses on average 2.5 gallons a minute, so cutting back on the time saves many gallons of water.
In warmer months, we turn the water heater off all together and use tepid water to bathe. This cut our natural gas bill in half! We still pay for the pilot light that runs continuously. Heating water for only three hours a day, cuts the bill by a significant amount. I'll have to figure an exact amount, if I can, and add this here.
8. Map out and plan shopping trips to minimize gas useage.
9. Order online when prices match brick and mortar stores, or are less expensive.
I use discounted gift cards, online coupon codes, and shop through rebate sites(see sidebar).
10. Thermostat is set at 57 degrees, down from 59 degrees.
, on Amazon for my daughter's homeschool items. I store it in the corner when not in use, and pull it out to where we decide to do our work - it changes from day to day. I can even roll it outside on the concrete. The trays are deep enough to hold standard sized paper and workbooks, and wide enough to store paper and workbooks on the same shelf. I've got them going two different directions to fit(see picture).
See how the strings are looped and tied across at the end? This makes them last longer because they don't unravel and tangle. The string mops that are cut across tend to fray and disintegrate.
