I just had to share...

We got our April electric bill in the mail yesterday. And guess what? We cut down our electricity usage by 1/3 to 1/2 from what it was last April!!!!!! Our bill is usually really high because we live in an older mobile home (which lacks good insulation and such). But this month it was soooo much better. I'm so proud of myself! How did I do it?

The main/larger changes I made were:

1) Replacing our light bulbs with those CFL bulbs

2) Drying Clothes by hanging them up rather than running the dryer constantly (I think this was the biggest savings for us)

3) Turning the AC up.

Though we've never really kept our house super cool (or warm in the winter), we have turned it up a few degrees. Now, my husband compained a lot at first but now it doesn't seem to bother him as much. Plus, we live in Southern Louisiana. In the summer the AC can't even keep up with the darn heat. My husband use to do AC work and we were told by several AC people that your AC can really only cool off by about 20 degrees. So, if it's 98 outside, there is no possible way to cool it off to 70 unless you have a SUPER insulated house.

I just thought I'd share with you all. I know that our bill wont stay like this because the hot Louisiana summer is about to kick in. But still.... It's something! Our bill during the summer is usually $200 or more!!!!! So, if I can hang clothes and make a few changes to get it down some, it's totally worth the effort for me.

God bless

Julie

Way to go!, JuJuMommy!  I'm proud of you, & I'm certain taht all other Forumites are, too!  You've done excellently!  Yours in Him, Deb

Hooray for you!   The extra planning really pays off when NOT using the clothes dryer.  So many won't take that step to save on the utilities and it is a big money saver!  Your experience proves it, yet again.   

Good job!!  It's always nice to see a bill go lower, isn't it!  Ours dropped a lot in the last two months, but mainly the big difference was because we've stopped running the furnace and I had temporarily been using a shop light for my seedings.  It does help when you do what you've listed.  I also unplug things that aren't in use, make sure to turn off lights (both indoor, garage & outdoor), use power strips and turn off when done using - like the TV, VCR/DVD player, stereo, microwave.  Every little bit helps.

rolo:

The extra planning really pays off when NOT using the clothes dryer.  So many won't take that step to save on the utilities and it is a big money saver! 

Thanks for the responses guys! This board is so great! It would be so nice if we all lived near each other. Lol.

Well, I have to say that hanging up the clothes hasn't been easy. We live in a mobile home and so finding the places to hang the clothes takes some thinking and planning. I have a nice clothes rack that I hang most of it on but the rest sometimes get hung on all the doors, the knobs of the dressers, etc. And, I would love to have a nice outdoor clothes line set up BUT I work during the day so I can't be there to make sure it doesn't get rained on (and since we live in Louisiana, that's pretty likely for sudden showers).

To top it off, my husband did nothing but complained when I first started hanging clothes. He couldn't stand to go reach for a pair of pants for work the next day and they STILL weren't try (sometimes it takes a while because of being inside) or were wrinkled because I hadn't ironed them yet. But I've gotten better at planning and making sure that he always has dry, ironed clothes available so now he doesn't complain. Plus, he sees how much we are saving so he realizes that my efforts are worth it!

God bless,

Julie

Congrats Jujumommy!! That is awesome. I like the advice of turning up the a/c. I plan on keeping mine off until it gets to 85 and then will keep it at 75, but now I will keep it within probably 10 degrees and use fans more. (My bedroom is the furthest point away from the furnace/ac and that room faces SW so now thinking I will sleep wherever to stay cool this summer since it can be wickedly hot in the bedroom due to the weather!)

 Julie- I am planning on not using the air almost at all, my dh turns iton at 10 or so at night so he can sleep-cheapest part of the day, we turn it off for most of the day.  Of course, we live in MN, not too hot.

I wish I could hang more clothes, dh doesn't like th look, and with 8 of us it seems hard enough to get them in and out of the washer and dryer.  Any hints to make it easer? I do love the smell of line dried clothes, maybe that should be my inspiration!

Do you hang socks, underwear, or just the big stuff?

Julie, that is great news for your hard work and your budget! 

Several months ago I changed almost all of our bulbs to CFL's also and it seems to have made a difference. We were able to use the electric space heater more this winter and it didn't make the bill go up like it has in the past. Plus we aren't using on of the TV's as much because there just isn't anything worth watching, so I think that has helped to cut down on costs also. Edey

Dear Tracy, As just a single person, I'm able to rack-dry all of my laundry, as I'll explain.  It seems to me, though, taht it would probably be impossible for such a large family as yours. 

What I do is that I have 2 drying racks, 1 half the size of the other & both plastic over metal.  For clothes that still are dripping (from hand-wash), I let them dry in teh tub for a day, timing my AM bath with removing the rack to the great room of my studio.  The big rack starts out in the great room, because its contents came from the washing machine & are only damp.  I end up with both racks in the great room.  I put the machine-laundered sheets & towels & other large items on the big rack, & teh hand-washed lingerie on the little one.  I got the big one only recently.  It cost $30, but I had a one-half-off-one-item coupon, so I paid only $15!

Yours in Him, Deb 

Tracy its hard with lots of laundry.  I compromise on drying. I will hang up some of load like jeans etc and put the rest in the dryer, same with the next load, hang the easier stuff and combine the two half loads in one dryer load. so some savings. 

You would have to get the kids involved. I spent lots of time with ironing/hanging clothes in my mid teens!