Money Saving Wednesday…Utility Bills
For those of you who had trouble seeing the Pandemic post: a compromised immune system on July 3rd, I reposted it yesterday so please let me know if you can see that posting. Everyone I know could see the first so I have no way to check ewxcept through you.
It’s time to save money again and utilities can be one of the easiest areas to cut, really.
Many utility companies offer plans at reduced rates if you limit your use during peak hours. Check this out, you may have to sign up for a special plan. Then, limit your laundry and dish washer chores to the night time or early morning hours.
Keep your freezer full. Really full. If you can’t afford to stock it with meat them fill old juice bottles with water and freeze them. This is great in a power outage, they keep foods frozen longer and provide safe drinking water when they melt. The more full the freezer the less electricity it takes to keep the temperature below freezing.
Hang out the laundry. I don’t like to dry towels on a line because they are stiff but I love the smell and feel of other items that are line dried. This may be a necessity during a power outage so you should have a way to do this planned out just in case. Practice now and save money.
During the summer open your windows at night and leave them open all night. Close up the house about mid morning and you can delay turning on the air conditioner until much later in the day.
Close all blinds and drapes where the sun shines in.
Replace ceiling fixtures with fans. They are great! Most times you will not need the air conditioning at all, or at least very little of you keep your fans cranked up. Ceiling fans are also great for the patio as they allow you to spend more time outdoors during hot months. More time outdoors means less time needing an air conditioner.
Place a mylar blanket, the kind in your 72 hour kits, in windows receiving direct sun light. It will make a huge….difference in the heat that comes in. You will be amazed. The blankets are inexpensive and still allow you to look out but block the heat from coming in.
Cook outside during the summer and inside during the winter months. I love to use a crock pot but it does put off some heat. During the summer I love to fix a roast or chicken in the crock pot to use as pulled meat in tacos, barbecue or salads. I place my crock pot on the back porch and plug it in there. All the heat stays outside. During the winter if you are working in an office or need additional heat in only one room place your crock pot in that room. There is no rule that a crock pot can not work in a room other than the kitchen.
What are your tips for saving money on utilities?
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I could not see the post on compromised immune systems until you re-posted it.
I love the mylar idea on the window – I’m going to try that out! As always, such great ideas!
We also run our fans at night. In the summer I also do a lot of baking in the solar oven.
I also love to line dry all my clothes. I do the towels too. To make them soft, just stick them in the dryer for 5-10 minutes. It doesn’t kick out near the ammount of heat as a full cycle, but you still get great clothes and towels.
I love the idea of hanging mylar blankets in hot windows. I have been wanting to make window quilts for years but can’t seem to get to that project. At least I could use the mylar now and make it pretty later. How do you hang yours? Can you put grommets in them and then hang them on hooks? Where is the best place to get effective, yet inexpensive mylar blankets?
I do have a tip for saving on utilities that also improves nutrition, adds flexibility to your kitchen and a host of other advantages – cooking with a cookbox or haybox. These old time “appliances” function like crockpots only they require absolutely no energy to run. They cook so evenly and at such a low temperature that the food comes out cooked perfectly and with much more retained nutrition. We started using a makeshift one during the winter and became hooked! I got so excited about the results and the possibilities that I wrote a 50 page e-book on the subject. I would like to write a recipe book for cookbox cooking too someday.
I really appreciate your blog and am reading through it as I can.
Thank you,
Leslie
Mountains & Stars Farm
pocketsofthefuture.com
In the winter we put foam in our back windows and plastic in the front. It really helps cut down on the bill.