Beating the Electric Company

Electricity is costly - and it's going to get worse, and if you lose your job that just throws another monkey wrench into the whole thing. Start getting into the habit of conserving now and watch your electric bill come down.

• turn off the lights if you're not in the room or if it's daytime (everyone needs this little reminder from time to time)
• unplug your electric appliances (mixer, toaster oven, coffee pot, hair dryer) when not in use because they actually do use little bits of electricity when they are not on (and if you have small children, they find a way to turn them on without your permission)
• hang some clothing to dry. If you do not have a clothes line, can't have a clothes line, or just don't want one, but have a spot somewhere then hang a few things up to dry. Thicker, harder to dry items like sweatshirts and jeans take the most dryer time to dry, so that's where you can get the most bang for your buck. It will take a little longer to dry than outside unless you put it over/under a heater vent. If you really want to be constructive, get a piece lof alundry line and a small bag of clothespins from the Dollar Tree and do like I did my first year - string a line up from window to window or around the posts of my spare bedrooms 4 post bed - or even your own bedroom (I wouldn't do it in the kids' room though). The string from the dollar tree is about 100 feet long, so you can furnish yourself with a few small clothes lines here or there.
• put ice in your freezer if it's not full. What I mean by that is, take empty plastic jugs and fill 4/5ths with water and put it in the freezer. This helps keep your food cold and reduces the amount of time your freezer runs. It'll also be there for when the electricty goes out and if you need the ice jugs to pack your sam's freezer bag for a trip
• If you're not home during the day, turn off your computer - this also helps prevent hackers into your system - it's not like you're using it when you're not there anyway
• turn down your hot water heater to 120 - you don't actually need to burn yourself silly to get a hot shower
• CHECK YOUR BILL for accuracy, and for extra charges. Just this month, dominion has added a $22 fuel charge for my area - call and complain about superfluous charges!

Happy Saving - and remember, why give your hard earned money to the electric company when you could be keeping it yourself.