Electricity diet

If you are going on a diet, you spend a lot of time thinking about food. You analyze every choice. You train yourself to get by on less. Ultimately, you want to get to a point where these choices are merely habits. Reducing your electricity usage is the same mental process. We are accustomed to doing things a certain way and when you make a change, you initially have to think about it, a lot. Over time, it becomes habit - like turning out lights. Here are some other new habits I have developed that are reducing my electricity bill.

Unplug electronics that are not in use. Appliances use electricity even when they are not turned on. Some things I leave plugged in, like the alarm clock in the bedroom. It is used so frequently that it just doesn't make sense to reset it continually. However, there are many items with limited use that I keep unplugged. Here are some examples: the bedside lamp, the coffee pot, the TV upstairs (rarely used), nightlights, phone chargers, battery chargers and many others. These things we plug in only when we use them.

A big one for me is the computer. In the past, I left it running all day. I would periodically check for e-mails or check on the news. Now, I turn it on twice a day, take care of what is needed and shut it computer down completely and turn off the power strip. It actually has been a benefit. I am not sitting down for a quick check and getting tied up answering e-mails and chatting on facebook. I am getting more done around the house. This is one of those lifestyle choices. This works for me based on my lifestyle. This wouldn't work in all situations.

For me, the jury is still out on another item - the TV. The power strip has the TV, a game system, the DVR and the DVD player plugged in to it. Even when none of these items are on, the whole cabinet is glowing. This is not a good thing! However, it is a bit of a hassle to reset things if I unplug the strip. I definitely do it if I am not going to be home for more than 24 hours. I don't do it evernight, although I probably should. This is one of those habits I am still working on.

Ok, you are going to read this next sentence and want to skip to the bottom of the post - STICK WITH ME! Running a clothes dryer is a big energy consumer. The more you can hang to dry, the more money you will save. This didn't go over well with the family initially, but they have adjusted. Here is what I do. For a clothes line, I strung a piece of green plastic coated electrical wire (left at the house from the previous owner - thus no cost to me - yeah!) from two trees in my backyard. Unless there are clothes on it, the green line blends in the surroundings and is camoflouged. The two trees, oh so conviently, also have several eye level horizontal branches that hangers will hang on easily. I put ALL shirts on hangers - this maximizes space. Other items I hang with regular clothespins. If the weather is nice, a load drys in about 4-6 hours. I do not hang out underwear or socks. I dry these items in the dryer and they are done in 10-15 minutes. My husband doesn't like the stiff feel of line dried clothing, especially for work clothes. If you hang them in the house, they dry slower (about 24 hours), but they don't have that stiff feel. I put his things on hangers and hang them from the door frames or the shower rod. Honestly, it is a bit of a hassle to haul everything outside, hang it up and then have to haul it back in later. However, I am expecting big returns from this practice. I have only been doing this about 3 weeks. I will let you know when I have some actual numbers to back this up. There are still times I have to use the dryer, like when it rains or when I discover at 10pm that no one has clean jeans to wear in the morning.

As I have said before, each of these things alone won't make that much difference. However, all combined, I am saving money in this area. I don't think about these things much anymore. They have just become new habits.