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Are you old enough to remember being effected by the oil
crisis in the 70s? I was in high school, and I remember getting
stickers from school to put on the light switches at home to
remind everyone to turn off the lights. They were
orange and had the picture of a light bulb cartoon character on them.
(Funny, this must have been a pretty successful campaign if
I remember it to this day.) Even before the crisis, at
home we heard,"Turn off the lights". "Were you the
last one in this room?" "We don't need every light on in
the house." Well, it seems our parents were not just
being stingy, they were trying to teach us to save energy and
money. I, of course, over the years have repeated these same statements
that I heard so often to my husband and the kids.
In this edition of Living Orderly, Living Well, I am
passing along some money and energy saving tips.
Jill
Visit us at www.livingorderly.com to learn about more
things you can do to help save energy and cut costs in your home.
While you are there check out the "Holiday
Services" we offer. Let us take some of the stress
out of your holidays and bring the JOY back in!
Save Energy on Laundry
- Try to use
lower temperature settings on your washing machine. Use warm or cold
water for the wash cycle instead of hot (except for greasy stains).
The temperature of the rinse water doesn’t affect cleaning, so
always set the washing machine on cold water rinse. With heavily soiled clothes, you
may want to presoak.
- Load the washing machine
to capacity when possible. You do not want to overload, but washing
one large load will take less energy than washing two low or medium
loads.
- When drying, separate
your clothes and dry similar types of clothes together. Lightweight
synthetics, for example, dry much more quickly than bath towels and
natural fiber clothes. Our mother has always done this,
and clothes come out looking much better.
- Dryer Balls instead of
dryer sheets can save you money.
Depending how much wash you do, they could last more than a
year. You will save money and
your clothes stay soft and fluffy without the use of chemicals.
- Don’t overdry clothes.
Take clothes out while they are still slightly damp to reduce the
need for ironing - another big energy user. If your dryer has a
setting for auto-dry, be sure to use it instead of the timer to
avoid wasting energy.
- Dry two or more
loads in a row, taking advantage of the heat still in the dryer from
the first load.
- Clean the dryer
filter after each use. A clogged filter will restrict flow and
reduce dryer performance.
- Dry full loads when
possible, but you do not want to overfill the dryer. The clothes
should be able to tumble, so that air circulates freely around the
clothes.
- Check the outside dryer
exhaust vent. You want to make sure it is clean, so that the flapper
on the outside hood opens and closes freely.
- Of course, in good
weather, you can hang clothes outside. I remember my mother hanging
clothes outside, but you just don’t see that much anymore. To be
honest, I can't say that I'll be doing this one.
Use the Google Calculator to find more tips to
save money and energy.
The calculator can be found at:
www.google.com/hauntedhouse08/.
As you can tell by the name of the URL, there is a
Halloween theme. For example, "Ghosts: Hear that eerie moan? That's
the sound of warm air escaping up your chimney." or "Zombies:
Computers can feed on energy even when they're not in use."
Save 20% Or More on Fuel Costs
Below
are 10 tips from the Consumer Federation of America.
- Check
Your Air Filter - A
clean air filter can improve gas mileage by as much as 10%. (Cost
Savings: 28 cents a gallon)
- Straighten
Up - Poor alignment not only
causes tires to wear out more quickly, but also forces your engine
to work harder, which can reduce fuel economy by as much as 10%.
(Cost Savings: 28 cents per gallon)
- Tune
Up - A
properly tuned engine can improve mileage by 4%. (Cost Savings: 11
cents a gallon)
- Pump
'em Up - More
than one-quarter of vehicles have improperly inflated tires. The
average under-inflation of 7.5 pounds causes a loss of 2.8% in fuel
efficiency. (Cost Savings: 8 cents per gallon)
- Cap It - It is estimated that
nearly 17% of cars on the road have broken or missing gas caps,
which not only reduces gas mileage but may harm the environment.
(Cost Savings: 2 cents per gallon)
- Slow
Down - For
every 5 mph you reduce highway speed, you can reduce fuel
consumption by 7%. (Cost Savings: 19 cents, by reducing speed from
70 mph to 65 mph)
- Drive
More Smoothly - The
more smoothly you accelerate and decelerate, the better your gas
mileage, with potential gas savings of 33% on the highway and 5%
around town. (Cost Savings: 48 cents a gallon)
- Don't
Give Your Foot a Brake - Riding with your foot on the brake not only
wears out brakes but can also increase gas consumption by as much
as 35%.(Cost Savings: 96 cents per gallon)
- Lighten
Up - For
every 100 extra pounds carried around, your vehicle loses 1 to 2%
in fuel efficiency. (Cost Savings: 4 cents per gallon, per 100 pounds of weight
removed)
- Don't
Be Idle - Besides
causing pollution, idling wastes gas. If stopped for more than 30
seconds, turn off the engine, and
don't bother to 'warm up' your car before driving -- it is not
necessary.(Cost Savings: 1 cent per gallon, for every two minutes
you avoid idling)
For more
tips and information be sure to visit us at www.livingorderly.com.
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