- consolidating trips for errands
- keeping the thermostat at a higher temperature
- running the dishwasher on a timer in the middle of the night (hopefully a cheaper time frame to use it)
- making baby food / baby wipes (can't make myself use cloth diapers!)
- considering an outdoor clothes line
- being more conservative / creative with leftovers
- doing my own hair color / pedicures
- realizing how big a treat it REALLY is to eat out!
OK, a lot of this stuff I did anyway! But, now I'm way more aware of them! What about you? Any tips to share?
12 comments:
Oooh, a great idea for a post. I wish I had some great insight. I don't, but I'll be checking back to see what else we might try. We do, however, do some of the things that you already mentioned.
We also run the thermostat at a higher temperature-which usually works out just fine for me 'cause I'm always cold anyway.
I do my own pedicures as well. But I haven't ventured for the hair color yet (and probably won't) because I'm just not a hair person in the first place, I'd hate to think of the disaster I might have on my hands.
Can't wait to hear more....
I am not feeding the kids anymore. I figure the benefit is two fold. First, it cuts on the grocery costs, and second they stop growing so I don't have to buy clothes as often! Whaddya think?! ;)
Jill you make me laugh out loud!!!!
We, here, at the house, could put a pump on our well and save a lot of electricity. We could also set out buckets of water to warm in the afternoon sun to take a bath in---- like-in-early-grove-days! (Sh-h-h-h)
I just wrote about this very same topic. Today was massive errand day, all carefully mapped out so I never had to backtrack. Tomorrow is stay-at-home-unless-someone-breaks-a-bone day.
My husband said we should only shower every other day to save water heater costs. I told him he's smoking something. But then he had the brilliant idea that we should shower at the gym after working out instead of coming home first. Now that I can do. So I've got my gym bag all packed up with necessities and I'll be using their hot water and blow dryers.
great ideas! i don't think we do any of them execpt the eating out thing! we eat out once a week with friends and that's it. we keep our thermastat high, but not b/c of conservation, but b/c our house doesn't get hot. maybe i should try the not feeding my kids thing!
How about showering TOGETHER??? ;)
You guys are hilarious!
We got rid of our 11 year old gas hog - the Forerunner and bought a Nissan Versa. Super efficient on gas, and though small, surprisingly roomy. Two car seats (one rear facing) fit just fine in the back seat and a stroller fits in the hatchback. We carpool to work so this will be our everyday car and we'll save the other gas hog (the van - a necessity) for our long trips. Also, it was very inexpensive to buy! We also are washing no dishes by hand - everything goes in the dishwasher and we run it every night. This actually saves water since the new dishwashers use so little water. We recently bought a new washer that saves water (though I really don't like it - our clothes come out very wrinkled). We are trying to slowly replace our light bulbs with the energy efficient ones. We bought a programmable thermostat that adjusts the temp up automatically during the day while we are at work. And while this is not a conservation thing so much as a "green" thing, I must mention it because I was so impressed. We just used Glidden Everclear paint to paint in our house because it has low VOCs - this translates into fumes. We did this because of Ephraim's allergies. It was cheaper than other paints and it really did not smell. It ranked as a Consumer Reports "Best Buy".
Angie McGhee
Great idea for a post! We try to do most of the same things. Plus, instead of washing whites in hot, I use warm instead. I try not to turn the faucet on "wide open" when washing my hands. And, along with Angies "green" tip, we have really gotten into recycling. It is amazing how much trash we have cut down!
Jill, you are hilarious! Great ideas; we try to limit trips to the store for random items, we have turned the water heater down so the water is not hotter than necessary, and we try to keep showers short. Also, I try to make sure the dishwasher is precisely packed to the max before running it! Rearrange and rearrange again so everything fits!
This IS a great idea for a post. In our home, we TRIED not feeding the kids anymore FIRST. That worked really well for about 1/2 a day, until Austin had enough and took a baseball bat to the refrigerator! (Of course, I'm kidding!) But, have I told you how MUCH that boy can eat??!! He has the metabolism of an Olympic trained athlete and an appetite like you wouldn't believe. So, not feeding our children didn't go over so well!!
So, we resorted to setting the thermostat at a higher temp, which is SUPER hard for me since I am the hot-natured one in our family. But, thus far I am surviving and I have actually sweat off a few pounds! All good, all good!
We are trying other things now to conserve such as moving from bottled water to filtered from the fridge or plain old tap. We are also conserving trips into town.
Thanks for such a great post!! By the way, the prince costume (in Austin's slide-show) came from The Disney Store- on-line- of all places. Around Halloween in 2006, The Narnia costumes were big because the Chronicles Of Narnia Disney movie was out. They sold the costumes on-line and I bought them there- 1/2 price. They turned out to be some of their most favorite costumes AND we have used them several times! Gotta love that!!
Have a great day!
Love ya,
Cyndi
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