Now that we’re super-tight on money and we definitely have to watch every penny, I started to truly pay attention to the habits I have and it seems I have some silly ones, especially with regards to our utility bills. Granted, many of the following changes won’t amount to much besides a small difference in our overall bills but it never hurts to try and, besides, I feel better about myself already…
1. I stopped letting water running all the time
It doesn’t seem to matter what for, from washing dishes to washing my hands, shaving, and even letting the shower heat up to a nice, cozy temperature… “let the water flow,” I said! Now, I see fewer reasons to let the water run and more reasons just to stop up the sink.
Of course, I knew darn good and well that during an emergency (where power is out and utilities no longer function) that this practice would change. And, yes, I had a plan for that but I didn’t have a plan for just needing to be more frugal because we can’t afford NOT to be. Now, even though I’m aware of my water usage it’s a darn hard habit to break!
2. I instinctively reached for the hot water tap
This was something that I didn’t realize how often I did… and I did it a lot. In fact, more often than not I reached for the hot water lever even though I knew darn good and well that I wasn’t going to get any hot water at all for the simple fact that it wasn’t running long enough to reach me. How silly of me.
This alone is probably a significant long term waste because all I was doing was forcing the hot water heater to work harder. Again, it didn’t matter whether I was washing my hands, brushing my teeth, rinsing my razor blade when shaving… you name it. I reached for the hot water knob almost instinctively. Now, I try to remember to use the cold tap most times.
3. I stopped running a less than full dishwasher and washing machine
As I have a bit of OCD in me–and because I’m the stay-at-home caretaker–I tend to want to ensure our home is a “well oiled machine” and a part of that in my mind meant clean dishes and clean laundry, even if it meant running these appliances when less than full. Now they’re jamb-packed! Oh, and I tend to use less laundry and dish soap too without any obvious complaints from “the boss.”
4. I now use ONLY cold water for laundry, no static sheets in dryer
Although I had been better about it recently (and regardless of having been shit-canned) there are very few reasons why you need to use hot (or warm) water when doing the laundry. In fact, I remember reading somewhere that the hot water doesn’t actually get hot enough to kill germs, though, it may help with the soap to work better. I’m not honestly sure what the truth is about that one. In most cases, however, cold water works just fine and we haven’t seen any ill-effects because of it.
In addition, those wonderful static sheets (e.g., Bounce sheets) aren’t really necessary. Yes, they do help immensely to keep things from clinging together which is a nice benefit, especially in the winter, they’re truly not needed. Granted, static sheets don’t cost much but we’re penny-pinching here. Besides, I like to make my kids fold the laundry and watch them shock themselves on occasion… that’s my entertainment these days. 😉
5. I (and my family) were horrible about leaving on lights, tv, radios, etc
I’ve had a weird habit ever since I was a kid that I preferred to have something on–usually a television but it could be a radio–while I was doing homework and, these days, working from home. That’s just wasteful of resources I don’t need to consume.
Similarly, my kids are notorious for leaving lights (and more) on and then leaving a room for an extended period of time. (Gee, you’d think they know by now to turn lights off.) I’m nearly as forgetful… not anymore. In fact, I might be called the “light police” these days. Really, the same can be said for any electronics.
Final thoughts
Yeah, I know the above changes are not going to amount to a whole lot but it never hurts to try and save on what I can where I can, especially when it’s just me having to change my own habits. Maybe you can change your own too. And if you have any good tips I can employ I would love to hear them. Thank you.
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