1)  Check with your local utility company to see if they offer a free energy use assessment.  Some companies provide inspectors to poke around your home from top to bottom, looking for ways it can be made more efficient.

 2)  Install a programmable thermostat.  Have your thermostat drop down a few degrees while you’re away at work.

 3)  Keep your thermostat at 68 or below.  Put on a sweatshirt if you have to.

 4)  Open blinds during the winter.  This allows the heat from the sun to come in and warm up your house. Close blinds or curtains at night.

 5)  Change filters every month.  Dirty filters can increase your bills by 20% each month. 

 6)  Don’t block vents or radiators with furniture or window coverings.

 7)  Make sure your fireplace damper fits properly and close it when not in use.  Install a glass door fireplace screen.

 8)  Put caulking and weather strips around doors and windows.  Put plastic sheeting around older windows or windows that have a draft.

 9)  Consider replacing some things in your home that are not energy efficient.  Homeowners have until the end of 2007 to take advantage of a one time $500 energy conservation tax credit.  Check out the IRS website for more information. 

10)  Close the vents and the door to unused rooms. 

11)  Remove window air conditioner units during the winter.  These let a lot of cold air into your home.

12)  Seal your heating and cooling ducts.  Click here for more info.

13)  Consider taking on bigger projects such as adding insulation in areas where it is missing.  Many homes are lacking sufficient insulation in their attics.

14)  Get a tune-up for your furnace to make sure it is working properly and not using more energy.

Check out these federal tax credits for energy efficiency.

Can you help add to this list?  What ways help you save on your winter utilities?

Post from: Thrifty Mommy

Well, it’s blazing hot outside.  If you’re like me, you try not to turn on the stove if you can help it.  Here are some tips to keep you out of the kitchen and keep your house cooler.

 1.  When it’s time to cook something that will freeze well (such as lasagnas, spaghetti sauce, casseroles, chili, etc.) make a double or triple batch for future meals.  These are also great for days when you’re in a hurry.  It will prevent you from spending money on eating out.  Check out my 25 freezing tips.

 2. Prepare larger quantities of meat in advance for future meals and freeze it.  I’ve done this before with hamburger.  When hamburger or ground chuck goes on sale, cook it and drain the fat, then freeze it into the portion sizes you need.  These will come in handy when making spaghetti, lasagna, tacos, shepherd’s pie, etc. 

 3.  Put the crock pot to use.  Toss the ingredients in the crock pot and come back in 6-8 hours for a nice hot meal.  Here are my favorite crock pot recipes or here’s a link to a carnival of crock pot recipes.

 4.  Try simple meals.  Eggs, omelets, cottage cheese with fruit, etc.  You don’t have to spend an hour cooking to enjoy dinner.

 5.  Turn on the grill (or get the charcoal started).  You can prepare your entire meal on the grill.  Grill chicken, potatoes, and vegetables all at once.  Here is the carnival of the recipes, grill edition that I hosted.  You’ll probably find some good recipe ideas there.  Sometimes I grill extra food for lunch the next day.  I also like to grill extra chicken so that we can have salads the next night.  Grilled chicken is yummy on salad! 

 6.  Take time to try new recipes for salads and sandwiches.  Salads and sandwiches don’t have to be boring.  Try this one for oriental ramen noodle salad.  It’s a great side dish and has been a top read at Thrifty Mommy for a while. 

 7.  Try canned foods.  Why spend hours cooking beans (and heating up your house) when you can buy them in a can?   

 8.  Look for frozen foods that you can use for meals.  Sometimes when I’m in a rush, I use the Delimex frozen taquitos.  Add some Mexican rice and canned refried beans and you have an easy meal that doesn’t heat up the house too much.

 9.  Share with friends.  When I lived in Virginia I had a really great friend to share with.  Sometimes she called me on the way home from work to see if I had anything good to eat.  I’d share my pot of chili or give her half a cake (we couldn’t eat it all, nor did we need to).  She would have us over for dinner regularly or she’d share with us.  Neither of us had children and it kept us from slaving over a stove and it was also a nice treat to try new things.

10.   Try convenience foods, within reason.  I’m not big on convenience foods because of the price, but sometimes they’re worth it.  This week I needed some cole slaw mix.  I decided it was worth paying $1.99 for the 1 lb package of pre-cut cole slaw rather than buying the cabbage and carrots and cutting it up.  It didn’t cost me much extra to buy it pre-cut.  Watch out for pre-cut produce or marinated meats.  They’re pretty costly.

11.  Enjoy fresh vegetables.  You can make a lot of different foods that don’t require much or any cooking.  Try making a pasta salad.  You just cook the rotini noodles and then you can add fresh cucumbers, tomatoes, and other fresh vegetables, then drizzle with Italian dressing.  Try sliced vegetables with a cold ranch dip.  Have a tomato sandwich to go with your pasta salad or add some ham if you need to have some meat.

12.  Try instant foods.  I use these very sparingly because of preservatives.  If you’re in a hurry though, you can open a can of spaghetti sauce, try some of the precooked rice, or mix up some Hamburger Helper.

13.  Cook your food at night.  It’s too hot during the day to try and cool my house while cooking.  Sometimes I will wait until the evening to do my baking.  Last week I waited until evening to make my husband’s birthday cake and the pasta salad and cucumber salad for his party.  It saved me some stress too!

14.  Try smoothies.  Just writing this makes me crave something cold and refreshing.  Take advantage of the fresh fruit we’re having and make a smoothie for breakfast or lunch.  Making smoothies also enables you to try fruits that maybe you normally wouldn’t buy.  Sounds like a great trick way for me to get my kids to eat their fruit!

15. Try using a toaster oven or small convection oven.  I grew up with my mom using a toaster oven and I love it!  I can use it to cook muffins, little pizzas, baked fries, chicken nuggets, and more.  Try these toaster oven recipes.  A great way to cook without turning on the stove.

I know I didn’t cover all the ways to keep from heating up the stove or working hard in the hot kitchen.  Please share your summer cooking tips in the comment section.  Thanks!

image from sxc.hu

Post from: Thrifty Mommy

A few weeks ago, I gave you some tips on saving money on your summer electric bill.  There are more ways to save throughout the year that you might want to consider.  Here are some ways to cut back on the expense of water usage.

1.  Put an approved insulation jacket/blanket on your electric hot water heater.

2.  Insulate hot water pipes.

3.  Wash clothes in cold water, if possible.  Always rinse clothes in cold water.

4.  Clean and maintain hot water heater.  Drain water from bottom of water heater to remove sediment, at least once a year.  This one definitely needs to be done at my house.

5.  Take showers instead of baths.

6.  Make sure your shower head is one that is designed to reduce water usage.

7.  Try not to stay in the shower more than 5 minutes.

8.  Fix leaky faucets.

9.  Use your dishwasher.

10.  Shut off faucet when shaving, brushing your teeth, and doing dishes.

11.  Only use washing machine and dishwasher when you have a full load.

12.  Adjust washing machine water levels to match your load.

13.  Use cold water in the garbage disposal.

14.  Check water efficiency ratings before buying new appliances.  Some washing machines use a few gallons less per load.

15.  Avoid using sprinklers and water soakers to water your grass.  Instead, collect rain water in buckets.  You may even want to invest in a rain barrel.  These can also be attached to your gutters to help collect the most water.  We considered purchasing one of these a few years ago because of water restrictions. 

16.  Check toilets for leaks.  The inside plumbing for a toilet is only a few dollars.  A few years ago, our water bill kept rising every month.  The water dept suggested that we put a packet of unsweetened Kool-Aid in the tank to see if it drained into the bowl.  The color immediately drained into the bowl and we got our toilet fixed, which saved us a lot of money.

17.  Chill water in refrigerator, rather than running faucet for water to cool down before filling a glass.

18.  Consider getting an on-demand hot water heater.

19.  If you have a gas hot water heater, make sure your pilot light is adjusted and working properly.  Make sure your flu pipe is clear with no bird or insect nests inside.

20.  To reduce water usage from your toilet, fill a small water bottle with sand or water and place inside the tank.  Do not use a brick because the brick can dissolve and cause future problems.

21.  Reduce your water heater temperature to 120 degrees.  If your dishwasher does not have a booster heater, you may need to set it higher.

22.  Install aerators on your faucets, which will reduce the flow of water.

23.  Cover swimming pools when not in use to help keep the water from evaporating.

24.  Avoid using the toilet as a trashcan.  Throw away cotton swabs, tissues, and other items rather than flushing them.

25.  If you need to water your plants, try to water them in the early morning or evening.  Watering them during the heat of the day will cause the water to evaporate quickly.

Ok, I’ve racked my brain for too long.  Do you have any tips to share?

Picture from sirrusshowers.com.

Post from: Thrifty Mommy

According to Consumer Reports, prerinsing your dishes can waste 20 gallons of heated water a day.  They suggest switching to an enzyme-based detergent so that you can simply scrape off the big chunks and throw the dishes in the machine.  The enzymes get off the stuck on food, so that you don’t have to scrub your dishes before putting them in the dishwasher.

You know what product Consumer Reports recommends? They recommend the Great Value Wal-Mart brand or Kirkland Signature from Costco!!!!  Can you believe it?  The generic, store brands are the ones they recommend?!?!

So, I decided to put it to the test.  Last month I bought the Great Value Wal-Mart brand dishwashing detergent.  I quit prerinsing and prewashing my dishes and it the product has worked!  I’m so excited.

This tip has saved me time, money on detergent, and money on energy and water.  It has also kept my eczema from flaring up.  What a thrifty tip!

Post from: Thrifty Mommy