I am one of those people who was under the false impression that I was doing a decent job of being environmentally conscious.
I recycle; donate usable items that I no longer want instead of throwing them away; I have greatly reduced my gas use by planning trips, walking, biking, or just staying home; reduce my water consumption; compost; grow my own vegetables; and have planted a couple of fruit trees this spring in hopes of having my own canning fruit within the next 5 years. And, although I have air conditioning, I use it as little as possible and instead open the windows to take advantage of Mother Nature’s air conditioning, the breeze.
I was feeling pretty smug and confident that I was doing my part.
Then I took an ecological footprint quiz on myfootprint.org and discovered that even with my efforts, it would still take 7.46 planets to support life if everyone lived like me. It was a wake-up call for me to do much more.
So I decided to focus on one area at a time, with my electricity usage being the first thing I’m focusing on because I know my home uses too much.
My efforts are working. After a month, my electric bill is down 40 percent even though I’ve had my air conditioner (which uses electricity) part of the time.
Here is everything I did to reduce my electricity consumption. Check if there are things on the list that you are not doing. If not, implement them to lower your electric bill. It’s good for your wallet and good for the environment.
TURN OFF THE LIGHTS
I no longer leave the porch light on at night and always turn off the lights when I leave a room. I thought he was pretty good at turning off the lights, but he really wasn’t. It is easy to forget if a person is not diligent about it.
TURN OFF THE TV
I used to have a habit of leaving the TV on even though I wasn’t watching it, because of the noise. Now I am learning to enjoy the quiet. And now I’m less likely to sit down and watch TV. I read more and spend more time outdoors.
DISCONNECT CHARGERS
I didn’t realize my cell phone and battery chargers were using electricity even when I wasn’t charging my phones and recharging batteries. Now I turn them off when I’m not using them.
NO MORE SLEEP MODE
I no longer put my home copier, laptop, printer, or desktop computer and monitor into sleep or power saving mode. When I’m not using them I turn them off.
DISCONNECT THE WHOLE HOUSE
Any outlet that feels warm to the touch is consuming electricity even if the item is not being used, such as small appliances and space heaters. I now make liberal use of power strips for items I don’t want to have to unplug all the time, like my blender, computer, and TV, as they still draw a small amount of electricity even when they’re turned off. It’s much easier to turn a power strip off and on than it is to walk around unplugging things and then plugging them back in later. Yeah, maybe it’s laziness, but I know I won’t be crawling behind the TV every day to unplug it or under the computer desk to unplug the computer every day, but rather flip the switch on a conveniently located power strip.
GET RID OF THE CLOTHES DRYER
Clothes will last longer if they are air dried, plus it is much easier to treat stains that regular washing may have missed on clothes that have been air dried compared to those that have been dried in a tumble dryer. I am lucky enough to have an outdoor clothesline that I use in the summer, but I also plan on drying clothes outside during the winter. My sister in law has been doing it for 20 years and has 6 children as well as a full time job. As a bonus, the drying racks double as hangers when there’s no time to fold and put away clothes. That doesn’t work on clothes left in the dryer. They quickly become a wrinkled mess if not folded or hung.
UNPLUG THE ADDITIONAL FRIDGE
We’ve always had a second fridge just to keep drinks cold, mostly beer. Now, instead of constantly keeping an entire box cold, which we only need once a year, we just keep a couple of cans cold in our regular fridge.
The things listed above are steps I’ve already taken, but I know I can do more and want to do more. I like to have a small electricity bill! Below is a list of more steps I plan to take.
CHANGE TO COMPACT FLUORESCENT BULBS
I currently only have a few CFLs due to their large size, but manufacturers offer a larger selection of sizes, so I no longer have an excuse not to change all of my bulbs. But I’m doing it slowly and only change them when the old bulbs burn out. I think it’s a waste to change out perfectly good light bulbs and throw them in a landfill, no matter what type of light bulb it is.
BUY ENERGY EFFICIENT APPLIANCES
However, don’t throw away appliances in perfect condition because that creates a landfill problem.
USE LOW-FLOW SHOWERHEADS AND TOILETS
WASH CLOTHES IN COLD WATER
I already do this, but I have a gas water heater and not an electric one, so this doesn’t save me money on my electric bill, but I’ve found that my clothes get just as clean with cold water as they do with warm or hot water. The only change I have made is to switch to a detergent formulated for cold water washing.
USE THE MICROWAVE INSTEAD OF THE OVEN OR STOVE
CLEAN AND REPLACE FILTERS REGULARLY
This includes filters, humidifiers, vacuum cleaners, furnaces, air cleaners, dryers, and range hoods.
RUN THE CLOTHES WASHER AND DISHWASHER ONLY WHEN FULL