One

Although, there are many ways to cut back on our energy consumption, by doing our part within our own little circle not only helps us to save money, but also helps to save the earth. Below you will find 10 energy saving tips that are simple and easy to do and will help both you and our planet at the same time.

1. Hanging your clothes outside to dry instead of using an electric dryer. Some people don’t like the way their clothes feel when they dry on a line, if this is the case for you, try drying your clothes in an electric dryer for the last 10 minutes of drying time, it really does make a difference in the way the clothes feel and the way you feel when you receive your electric bill!

2. Preheating your oven is only necessary when you’re baking bread or other pastries. I have limited my oven usage by purchasing a toaster oven. You are able to cook just about everything that you put in a conventional oven in a toaster oven and honestly, I don’t know how I survived without one!

3. Hand wash your dishes. If you don’t trust your hand washing, and feel that the dishwasher does a better job, air dry your dishes after the rinse cycle. There really is no need to pay for the dishwasher to dry your dishes for you.

4. Keep all the doors to rooms that are not in use shut. The A/C or heater will have to work twice as hard trying to heat or cool all the rooms that aren’t in use. Close the vents off as well. This will save tremendously on your electric bill.

5. Keep your A/C or heater at the highest possible setting. During the summer months, I keep my thermostat on 78 degrees and during the winter months (keep in mind I live in Florida) I keep the setting on 72 degrees.

6. Thick curtains aid in keeping the sun from heating up your home, in turn causing your A/C to work harder at keeping the home cool during the summer months.

7. Fans also are an inexpensive aid to your A/C unit.

8. Taking all your vegetable waste, coffee grinds, tea bags and yard waste and creating a compost bin helps to save much needed space in our landfills. Compost also makes for a great healthy garden during the planting seasons.

9. Lower the thermostat on your hot water heater to 120 degrees. Water heating can be held accountable for 14%–25% of the energy consumed in your home. You can also shorten your showers and cut back on taking baths.

10. Combine errands into one trip. This will aid in saving on fuel and fuel costs. Starting your car over and over again, for several separate trips, can use twice as much gas as one trip that covers the same amount of distance while the engine is warm.

These tips may seem like a change in lifestyle and, in essence, they are! But not only will they pay off in the end, but they are all good habits to get into!

Keeping Green,

Wind

Trackback URI | Comments RSS