Follow these money saving "green" tips!
1.Unplug – unplug electronics and appliances when you are not using them. There are certainly things that need to remain plugged in, such as your refrigerator, but many other things aren’t used daily, or can easily be plugged in and out. This really does save money. Ideas of things to unplug: can opener, toaster oven, microwave, computers, radios, fans, hair appliances, lamps, nightlights, and chargers.
2.Turn off lights when you leave a room. Wait until the last possible moment to turn the lights on. Turn off your TV if you are not watching it. You do not need it for background noise, you are just used to having it on for the background noise. In a week or two, you will be used to not having it on.
3.Be more conscience when using your heating. Keep the temperature as low as you can stand it. You will get used to not being at a constant 72 degrees. Turn your heat way down when you are not at home. There is no need to heat your house all day while you are at work. It won’t take that long to heat it up when you get home.
4.If you use paper towels, use less of them, and reuse them. If you are just using a paper towel to dry your hands, you can hang it up and let it dry out to dry your hands the next time you wash. Or this can be used to clean the counter.
5.When you are done with a dish, scrape the extra food off and rinse it. This will save you time, energy, and water later on when you go to load your dishwasher because you are not scrubbing off the dried on food.
6.When you are loading the dishwasher, don’t keep the water running, turn it on and off when a dish needs to be rinsed. If the dish needs to be scrubbed, then just scrub and wash it, then dry it and put it away. It does not need to go in the dishwasher if it was already washed.
7.Manually dry the dishes when the wash cycle is finished in your dishwasher.
8.Do all your laundry on the same day so that your dryer is running continually. Your dryer uses a lot of energy to heat up. If it is running continually it does not use the extra energy to heat up every time like it would if you did one load each day.
9.If you have a separate freezer, make sure that is full. The freezer uses more energy to keep things frozen when it is not full. If you don’t have the food to fill up the freezer, you can fill up used empty milk jugs and juice bottles with water and line the bottom of your freezer with them. (This is also a great way to reuse!) You can also fill up Ziploc freezer bags with ice that you make (and then use these ice bags when you have a party, instead of buying ice.)
10.If you are just buying one item at a store (such as a birthday card), tell the cashier that you don’t need a bag.
I have one to add! Run a clothes line outside to dry clothes, blankets, etc. Not only does it save on the electric bill but it also keeps clothes and especially bed linens from getting worn out too quickly.
ReplyDeleteWith regard to the dishwasher, we usually run it and before we go to sleep we open the drawers and leave it open to air dry all night!
ReplyDeleteDon't leave your exterior doors open when you're saying hello/goodbye to someone. ALL the heat escapes!