What are some little everyday things i can change to save more money on bills (electricity, etc.)?

Question

My monthly bills cost more and more. My family is wasteful with energy. Are there any things that are not so obvious that i can do to improve my monthly bills?

Answer 1

Change all the light bulbs to those more expensive environmentally friendly sprial ones. you will save a lot on your electricity bills as my grandmother does. also turn off stuff when you aren't using it.

Answer 2

1) change all the light bulbs to energy savers
2) unplug cell phone chargers when not in use.
3) Bundle up with blankets during the winter.
4) Open windows in the summer.
5) Do laundry in cold water. They have cold water detergent for those fabrics that are normally washed in warm.
6) Turn off all lights and nightlights when not in use.
7) Turn off the computer monitor when not in use.
8) Turn up refrigerator temps to the minimum so that it wastes less energy trying to keep stuff cold.
9) Turn off the tv when not in use or limit the use and have everyone read or something instead.
10) shop at Costco or buy wholesale
11) hang dry clothing or use the lowest setting on your dryer
12) Cut down on the dry cleaning bill by using those clothes sparingly.
13) Iron as little as possible because that's a big energy waster
14) Let your hair air dry during summer. It cools you down and wastes less electricity.

Answer 3

Anything electrical that isn't being used should be turned off. Lights, televisions, game consoles, and such seem to be left on when no one is in the room or even home. This is especially bad when there are children in the house. Also setting thermostats for heat at 68 during the day and 60 at night when everyone is sleeping. For air conditioning set at 78-80 for daytime use and turn it off and open widows at night. During spring and fall when weather is warm enough but not real hot - don't use either heat or air conditioning.

Answer 4

Yes, get your family to quit wasting your energy! Go to compact bulbs, turn lights, tv, radios ect. off when nobody is in the room, turn the thermostat down even a few degrees, especially at night and dress warmer/cooler, only wash/dry full loads of clothes, decide what you want before you open the fridge so you don't keep the door open longer than need be.

Answer 5

Turn your thermostat a degree or two in the winter, and up a degree or two in the summer, or just open the windows and leave the A/C off. I keep mine at 17.5C in the winter and never really notice it and it takes a good deal off the utility bills. Turn your hot water boiler's temp down a bit (although not too low as you don't want bacteria to breed in there!). Get a fibreglass insulation wrapper for your hot water boiler. Turn off lights in rooms when you aren't using them. Put a brick in the water container in your toilet so it doesn't use so much water. Replace incandescent bulbs with the curly fluroescent ones; they last longer (like years longer) and use a fraction of the electricity.

Answer 6

Running toilets - fix them - they use mega gallons of water when 'running'

Insulate windows - stand in front of your window and see if you feel air around the perimeters...you lose heat/a/c if not properly insulated.

Run the dishwasher only when it fully loaded...let air dry, not heat dry.

Run the washer/dryer only with full loads - use warm or cold water instead of hot Dry on perm. press setting rather than hotter setting

Use smaller appliances for cooking whenever you can...such as a toaster oven, rotisserie, crockpot....When the weather is good, use outdoor grill

Keep your fridge on proper settings rather than coldest

Shut drapes, blinds on sunny summer days to avoid the sun heating up the rooms - open drapes, blinds on winter days when it very sunny, yet close them later to keep heat in.

To save money in other places which can help offset higher bills in anot her place...

Use coupons for shopping
READ the circulars in the mail so you can know where the best b uys are. Buy in bulk - it 's cheaper in the long run

Answer 7

Unplug everything you are not using and leave them unplugged till needed again. That's a big one. Also stick a brick in the holding tank of the toilet it will use that much less water when flushing. Limit showers to less than 10 minutes. Turn the furnace down at night and during the day when everyone is at work/school. Do laundry at odd hours to save on electric and water. They charge less when used during off peak hours.

Answer 8

You know all of those appliances with clocks? Turn them off at the power source. Don't run your computer unless you are on it. Rebooting takes less power than running unused even for 15 minutes or so. Make the family turn off lights when they leave the room. That one took lots of reminders at our house. Turn down the thermostat on the hot water heater and wrap it with an insulated cover.

Answer 9

Clothes dryers use a lot of electricity and they wear your clothes out much sooner and often ruin a lot of things. Buy one of those compact clothes drying racks from Walmart - I have one and you can get a full load of clothes on it and they are usually dry within a few hours. This will save a lot of money, even if you still use the dryer for some things.

Answer 10

You can switch to tide cold water soap when doing your laundry. Turn off the lights when you leave a room (and the TV). You can take shorter shower. Wear jackets in the winter, even inside.
Or try these web sites.
http://www.saskenergy.com/saving_energy/tips.asp
http://housewares.about.com/od/homeessentials/a/energysavetips.htm
http://www.frenchbroademc.com/energysavingtips.asp