How do you save on utilities?

We have dropped our bill to right at 60 dollars, but it takes some getting used to. ** We wash our dishes by hand instead of using a dish washer ** We have a timer or manual start on our hot water heater so that it does not run to much. Only about an hour a day. ** We set our AC to 80 and our heater to 55 ** We hang dry most our clothes inside.

We do all that and hang the laundry out to dry. I only wash when it is non peak times. We leave the windows on during the night to help cool off the house and once it gets to around 80 degrees we close up the house to keep the cool in. We use out air conditioner at 81 and have ceiling fans when we do not have ceiling fans we have standing fans. I also have the florescent light bulbs and turn off as much as possible. I have not started unplugging certain things but have put a lot of things on power bars and can turn them off.

I have all the lights off unless I'm using it. I have every thing that isn't being used unplugged too. I have fluorescent bulbs every whee too. I bought some heat reflecting covering for the patio and kitchen windows since they let in a lot of heat. Then when it starts to get hot I close the blinds. I have the AC set on 83 during the day and run it once on 79 before going to bed. I reuse and recycles every thing that I can

i am even cheaper, if i am in a room only for a short time, i dont even turn the light on! i open all the windows for the least little amount of breeze. we keep our heat low and wear sweaters around the house and if we are watching a movie, rather than turning on the lights, i light candles (sometimes i will read at night, so that requires a light on).

Well, I use candles at night time so as to create a more comfortable environment and use less electricity. I don't turn on AC unless it's intolerable. I don't turn on lights unless I have to read or too dark to see anything. I use cold water to wash hands and face. In summer, I even use cold water to shower.

I have night lights and night light reflectors in every room so I do not have to turn on the big lights at night. I can actually go from room to room and see enough to primarily do what I need and they use less electricity than turning on a light. I also use florescent lighting, shades on the hot sunny days, I put heavy window plastic on the outside of my windows in the winter time and I change to drapes on the inside windows. On a nice day I will hang out our clothes to dry instead of using the dryer. I will cook a little more food to create leftovers since it takes less time and energy to reheat than it does to cook. Nice weather and all year round, I will cook on charcoal/wood grill for taste and to save electric. My heat is turned down to 69 (unless hubbie turns it up, LOL)The air is not on unless to hot to handle, then it is set at 74. We recycle our aluminum and cash it in our selves and the township gets the rest of recyclables. The money is worth it and we put that towards the utility bills. Most of the glass (especially colored glass) I recycle into art such as garden stones, candle holders, wind chimes. (When I have the time.) They are fun and make good gifts. I think that is it.

I try and not to turn the lights on and keep the curtains open until it gets too dark and I have to. I only switch the lights on in rooms if Im going to be in there a while. I wash my clothes on the lowest setting but use a tumble dryer as havent got garden, but now that it is heading towards sunny summer I try and air dry my clothes. I open windows to let air in as I dont have AC and in winter I will wear loads of layers and have my comfy quilt on the sofa to snuggle and keep warm. All the little things add up.

I bought the plastic window sealing kits (big plastic sheets you tape to the windows) to keep the house warmer in the winter. Less cold air gets in and more hot air stays inside. It made a big difference. I had to fix the plastic on day after the cat tried to climb the windows as i noticed a cold draft which wasn't there all winter when the plastic was good. Making sure the taps are turned all the way off is a good water saver. As is collecting and using using rain water for watering plants. One family i know shares bathwater to conserve water. Someone showers but leaves the plug in and then the kids have a bath.

I always turn lights off, and as I'm an early bird I go to sleep when it is just getting dark- therefore avoiding having to use much light anyway. I air dry all clothes, and use the lowest setting needed for any washing. All the small things count and often add up to quite noticeable changes!

Much like you,in fact much like most of the population I try hard to be frugal with my gas and electric,the prices are on the up ,so we need to be wary of our usage.I have always turned the stand bys off,but now if the television is on during the day and then it gets turned off I will go and switch it all of at the plugs,I also have a thing about the amount of water that we boil for a cup of tea,and if there is more water in the kettle than it is ever going to takt to make two cups of tea then I pour some away,until I have just about the right amount.Dusters are unwanted clothes that have been cut up and many old household things have now developed a new use around the home.