Looking for Ways to Cut the Electric Bill

Turn off the lights!"

"Close the door!"

We all grew up knowing some basic ways to keep that electric bill down. But there are some other little known ways to cut that bill that perhaps many of us don't know about.

I say "us", because this is one area I'm always learning about. So I'll explore some of the ways that at least I'm familiar with that some of you may or may not be aware of.

What most of us know

We do know that things that are "on" are using electricity. So we grew up learning to turn out lights, turn off the TV and keep the doors closed. We need to keep practicing that - become even vigilant about it -- and include items like turning off our computers, printers, and monitors when not in use. Look around and see what else is on, not being used, and turn it off.

Today, we are also exposed to "energy-saving" appliances and gadgets that are supposed to help us to keep that electric bill down. Refrigerators are big draws on electric. If you have an old refrig, you might consider upgrading to a newer model.

About refrigerators: I learned that "empty" refrigerators draw more electricity. For some reason they work harder when the refrig is near empty. Listen to your refrig. Is it on a lot? It might be because there's not much food in there. My theory is that when there are many items in there and they are all cold, they help to keep each other cold - just like an ice chest.

We've also got the new fluorescent lights that cut our bills. I have found that they actually do cut the electric bill a bit. The biggest perk I like about these new bulbs is that I don't have to replace these bulbs for YEARS! I like that... But if you think about the cost of these bulbs vs. the old bulbs, they seem expensive. Over all, I do believe they save quite a bit of money. I've bought these bulbs for about $3 a piece, and if they last about five to ten years, that's quite a savings on buying regular bulbs which I find I'm replacing a couple every month. Add to that the bit of savings in your electric bill, and it can add up. So these bulbs are a "go" on my budget.

An obvious way to save on the electric bill is solar or wind energy. Get off the grid completely! But for some of us, that investment is out of reach. I'm still working on it here, and hope to some day realize that dream!

What some of you may not know

One of the biggest pieces of information that I've learned about is "phantom" loads on our electric. I found this out when I was researching solar electric and how to get off the grid.

Phantom loads are all those appliances and gadgets that are plugged in but not really being used.

Examples:
Clocks on appliances like the microwave, coffee pot, stove
Satellite box is always on
Clocks in general
Telephone answering machines
Battery chargers
Cordless phones that have to be kept in the cradle to be charged

By doing an inventory in your home of items such as these, and then unplugging these when not in use, can really lower that electric bill! For example, I unplug the microwave and coffee pot when not in use. Do I REALLY need them plugged in all the time? Yes, it's a hassle at first to unplug and then plug in when I need to use them, but after awhile it becomes a habit and I don't even notice it.

Habits are hard to break, especially when they are convenience habits. Learning new habits can help to save some money!

What some may or may not know

Aside from my daily continuous draws on my electric consumption that I try to keep down, I have one huge draw -- my clothes dryer. I have resorted to using it ONLY in an "emergency" -- like when I have to have something dry NOW, or it's so cold outside and I'm feeling miserable.

I use my clothesline. And as long as I do, I keep my electric bill under or right around the $100 mark every month. I figure that by using my clothesline, I'm saving at LEAST $50 a month or MORE! Yes, hard to believe, but true.

I had my son go out to the electric meter one year to try to map my electric usage, and we turned off all the electric to the house, and turned each appliance/gadget on one at a time to see how much each appliance was using. When the dryer came up, it was spinning fast! That's when I repaired the clothesline.

Using the clothesline I have found to be fabulous! Not only does it make the clothes feel so fresh, but I learned that sun drying also kills any germs that may be lingering (like flu!). Putting a little fabric softener or vinegar in the wash will help keep the clothes soft.

There is a science to using a clothesline. In another blog, I tell about what I learned growing up and hanging out clothes with my mom and grandmother. Most people think "what is there to it?" But there really is some cool tricks to doing it.

Blogs About What I'm Doing to Survive

How I Got to this Point
How to Use a Clothesline
What I Use for Cleaners
My Really Basic Bare Bones Kitchen
My Working Lists

How I Got To This Point

Being a single mom with an active 13-year old in this economic climate is tough. I was making enough money from online sales to support us, and now I find I'm out pounding the pavement looking for a job -- ANY job!

Jobs in my town are hard to come by -- and I don't mean a "good" job, I mean ANY job. Businesses are closing, employees are being let go and owners are now seen working behind counters in empty stores.

This is certainly not the first time this country has seen hard economic times. Probably the worst time, though, was the Great Depression. It was during this time that many people learned to live and do without, and to make do with whatever they could find. In today's economic climate, I find that many of the practices that these people employed could possibly help with my own dismal financial situation.

True, what those people had to go through was extreme -- and I hope we don't get to that point again -- but after many of us went through the "disposable and obsolete" '50s and then taught those practices to our children and now our grandchildren, I felt it would be good to review the techniques that people like my grandparents learned to use just to survive.

I was fortunate to know my grandparents well and many of the people in their generation. And I was a good listener, with some of the stories they told beginning to surface today to haunt me as I struggle to survive.

The basic tenet is to "live without" and "never throw anything away". If you can't grow it, raise it or make it, then you do without.

This can be harsh, but some of it really isn't hard at all. For me I'm finding that it's learning the value of everything I buy or find. Can I do without? If not, what can I use instead? Do I REALLY need the items advertised on TV?

It's a mindset. It isn't about living "green", it's a mindset about how to survive.

What I'm Doing to Survive

Cutting the Electric Bill
How to Use a Clothesline
What I Use for Cleaners
My Really Basic Bare Bones Kitchen
My Working Lists

Cutting Expenses

Gas prices are exceptionally high, and because of that, everything else has gone up.

I remember in the '70s, the same thing happened. I remember waiting in line to get gas at ridiculously high prices. "Ridiculously high" back then meant "nearing the dollar mark". The grocery store prices went up: fish went from 10 cents a pound to -- I forgot, but $1.29 sticks in my mind. Watermellon and bananas were both around 9 cents a pound, and they both went up to be out of my budget. Dairy products were also affordable.

For some reason, I easily adjusted my budget to accomodate those price raises back then. Of course, it meant that I didn't buy many of those items as often, either, because my income didn't increase enough to buy those items as often as I used to.

Today, however, I'm finding a different story. I almost feel as though I have been given the choice of either buy gas or buy food.

And I'm sitting here depressed thinking about it -- especially with a pre-teen in the house who is now hungry all the time and who has nearly doubled his intake of food.

Because the grocery prices have gone up so much this time, that even without driving, my income is not covering our food bill adequately now.

So, besides looking for another job just to pay for our gas expenses, I'm looking at other ways to cut our expenses.

The usual cutting of expenses in the food bill category is obvious: grow a garden. I am growing a garden, of course. But I'm looking to expand it. Not only the usual vegetables to be able to can and freeze, I'm looking at growing wheat this year, too. I've never done this, but thought I would try it.

The thought of growing wheat makes me think that I'm going backwards in time; you know, like making and growing everything from scratch like my great-great grandparents I presume did. I almost feel like I've truly joined the self-sustaining crowd out of necessity.

So what are other ways to cut my expenses? I've been looking hard at my buying habits.

Here's some ideas I've come up with:

1. I already reuse baggies. I'm thinking of adding some Tupperware type products to this list to freeze garden items in. Baggies only last through so many washings, but Tupperware type items can last decades.
2. Paper products, paper towels. I'm thinking of cutting them out completely. I barely use paper towels as it is, but I'm thinking of cutting out paper towels all together. My problem would be what do I do with the grease from cooking if I cut out paper towels. I've decided that I'll make my own soap. So I've got a can going by the stove to save the grease. Soap is also expensive now, if you haven't noticed.
3. Paper products, toilet paper. I'm thinking of starting the "family cloth". Look this up on Google. It sounds gross, I know, but women are probably the biggest users of tp. If I can cut out tp from just peeing, it would probably save lots of $$. And the cloth would be like diapers. So... I'm thinking along these lines. TP is outrageously expensive any more, I think, and this would definitely help with the budget.
4. Soap, hand and bar soap. See #2 above. I've noticed even before the gas prices have raised this again, that bar soap is very expensive. So is laundry soap and dish soap. Making my own soap would help in the bath and with laundry. I haven't looked into dish soap yet, but I plan to.
5. Medicines. I have always had an herb garden, and have expanded it this year. I made a list of all medicines we use (basically allergies and cold and flu), and got plants and seeds to switch over to herbals. This needs to be researched more to actually know the pharmacology of plants and how to use them, but it can be done.

So far, these are the areas I'm working on to cut expenses.