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

The recent heat wave has me thinking of ways to keep us cool.  Here are some thrifty tips to help stay cool and safe:

 1.  Avoid the hottest times of the day.  If at all possible, work, exercise, or play outside in the early morning or evening.

 2.  Wear light-weight white or lighter colored clothing.  Avoid darker colors that tend to absorb heat.

 3.  Move at a slower pace and don’t over exert yourself.

 4.  If you must go outside, take frequent breaks to cool off, stand or sit in the shade for a few minutes, and drink plenty of water.

 5.  Drink lots of water!!!!  Avoid drinking sodas, alcohol, and other dehydrating drinks.  Don’t wait until you’re thirsty to drink.  By then, you’re already starting to get dehydrated.

 6.  Keep fans going.  Fans don’t lower temperatures, but they do circulate the air and make it feel cooler.

 7.  Wear sunscreen.  A sunburn will only make you feel even hotter.

 8.  If you must be outside, wear a wide-brimmed hat to keep the sun out of your face.

 9.  High humidity levels make it difficult for your body to sweat and feel cooler.  Pay attention to humidity levels and if necessary, use a dehumidifier in your home.

10.  Check with your doctor or pharmacist if you are taking medications.  Some medications can make you feel very sick when you are exposed to the sun or heat.

11.  Become slowly acclimated to the heat over a period of about 2 weeks.

12.  Check ozone levels.  Too much ozone can make people pretty sick.

13.  Watch what you eat.  Don’t eat too much because that will make you feel tired and sick.  Eat some carbohydrates to give yourself energy.  Eat fruits which are filled with water and electrolytes.

14.  You might want to try some herbal remedies, such as St. John’s wart flower essence which will decrease your sensitivity to heat.  (Please click on the link for more info.)

15.  This isn’t the most thrifty tip, but stay in the air conditioning as much as possible.  If you don’t have a/c or can’t afford it, then try hanging out at the mall, library, grocery store, etc.

Other tips:

• NEVER leave anyone in a closed parked vehicle (including animals).
• Open windows can be dangerous for young children.  They may climb to the window to feel a breeze.  Screens are not stable enough to hold a child.
• Offer water to children frequently.
• Supervise children and animals around pools and water.
• How to Treat Heat Exhaustion
• Avoid using your oven, which will heat up the house.

Pictures from K-911 and AC.

Post from: Thrifty Mommy

Anyone is free to join in and try this.  You can view the rules, join a support group, and review FAQ.  For more information, go on over to Frugal for Life.

Post from: Thrifty Mommy

1.  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.

2.  Change filters every month.  Dirty filters can increase your bills by 20% each month.  Ouch!  Also, get a “tune up” for your furnace.  You will save money if it is working properly.

3.  Try to keep your furnace on 68 degrees.

4.  Make sure your fireplace damper fits properly and close it when not in use.  Leaving a damper open can suck a lot of heat out of your home.  Install a glass door fireplace screen.

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

6.  If you’re going away for a few days, turn your thermostat down to about 55 degrees. 

7.  Put your thermostat on a timer.  Have the temperature drop 2-3 degrees while you’re gone to work and set it to warm back up before you arrive at home.

8.  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. 

9.  Close the vents and the door to unused rooms.  We quit heating and cooling our basement.  It’s a bit chilly down there, but we’re not in the basement for very long anyway.

10.  If possible, remove window air conditioner units during the winter.  These let a lot of cold air into your home.

Post from: Thrifty Mommy

Post from: Thrifty Mommy