I've posted about frugal living in the past, and in today's economy, it's probably time to resurrect that topic. After all, we're all in the same financial boat, so to speak, and we all love to find new ways to victory over overwhelming expenditures. Let me tell you, I get a real rush when I've saved money!
One of the things I did in the past few weeks was to move from the two-story house I was renting into a smaller, almost cottage-sized house. That may not be feasible for everyone, I know, but my rent is about half what it was and my utilities are amazingly lower.
While I was still in the larger house, though, I did some things that kept the electric bill down to a minimum. The owners were pretty amazed at how low my light bill was - they had lived in the house before and knew it could be high. One thing I did was replace all the incandescent light bulbs with CFLs (compact fluorescent lights). That reduced my overall electric bill by about $75 a month immediately. Also, I made sure that the thermostat for the central unit was set on 65 for winter and 75 for summer. It's really OK to wear a sweater in the house, you know! And using a well-placed box fan will cool you down pretty nicely during hot summer months.
The house had ceiling fans in every room, which always helps keep the air moving so it was more comfortable. The trick is to set them on reverse to push the warm air down during the winter. They use very little electricity compared to a different setting on the central unit. You can purchase ceiling fans for as little as $20 each, and they include the light attachment. They aren't terribly decorative but are still quite functional and last for years.
I also made certain that appliances and electronics that have a "stand by" mode were completely turned off or unplugged. Phone and laptop chargers still pull power when they're plugged in even if you're not charging the items. TVs and DVD players will also pull power in the stand by mode, so unless you are wanting to use them incessantly, just unplug them. Newer DVD players actually remember your settings anyway so it's OK to cut the power from them.
Electricity is probably one of my biggest bills in this area of the country, so getting it cut to a bare number is a challenge but it can be done. Turning off lights in rooms not being used works to reduce electrical consumption, of course. since I often come home from work after midnight, I don't like to enter a totally dark house. So, I keep one 13 watt CFL on to see my way in the door. That's the equivalent of about a 60 watt conventional bulb but at a huge saving.
Laundry can be a power hog, too. I only use cold water to wash clothes and I hang them out (or up on inclement days) to dry. The dryer can use a lot of power as can the water heater. (On another note, not running the hot water for long when getting your shower or dishwater up to temperature can reduce power usage and reduce wasting a precious resource - fresh water.) I have a wood rack for drying clothes and can put quite a few things on it. I stand it in the bathtub in case anything drips. Shirts, pants, and skirts can be put on plastic hangers to drip dry on bad weather days. Running a box fan to blow on them will hasten the drying time.
I use an electric stove, so I prepare double or triple amounts of food then freeze it for later. It takes the same amount of time and electricity to cook 12 baked potatoes as it does to cook 2, so cook more. Later, the surplus can be thawed in the fridge then reheated in the microwave for a fraction of the time and cost. Right now, I have 2 pounds of purple hull peas, seasoned with bacon and onion, cooking. It's way more than I'll need for a meal but I can put the leftovers in containers and freeze them for future meals! Same electricity used for cooking - a fraction for reheating.
Keeping your freezer well stocked actually reduces the amount of power it uses because it's not trying to freeze empty air space. Cooling food first before putting it in the freezer helps get it to the frozen state faster and your freezer isn't working hard to cool down things that are hot.
If the sun tends to heat up rooms, as it does in our house, keeping the windows covered in the summer will help keep the house cooler. The winter sun coming through those same windows will actually help to warm the rooms.
I'm sure you have frugal ways to save electricity, too, and I'd love to hear from you!
