Browsing Tag

household tips

Household

How To Go Green And Save Money On Your Bills

With fuel prices going up faster and faster we’re all eager to save some cash on our bills right? The more we can save the more cash we can keep in our pockets.

Well you know all of that going green stuff that you feel like you should be doing? Turns out that by doing your bit for the environment you can save money too. Here are a few tips for little changes and big ones that can save you money without costing the earth, so to speak!

Gradually Reduce The Temperature On The Thermostat

I’m going to bet that if you lowered the thermostat by just 1 degree you wouldn’t really notice the difference; in fact I dare you to try it! You will certainly notice the difference on your heating bill.

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Household

How To Reduce Food Waste – 5 Freezer Tips

Can you believe that most households in North America waste about 25% of their food?  Want to reduce the amount of food you waste every year?  Below are some great freezer tips that will help you to do just that.

1.  If you have leftovers from dinner, put them directly into the freezer so that they don’t go to waste, rather than forgetting about them in the fridge and then throwing them out because they’ve gone bad.

2   Prevent freezer burn by double bagging your food.  Put individual items into inexpensive sandwich bags and then put a number of the smaller bags together in a larger freezer bag.  You can reuse the freezer bag over and over since it never touches the food directly.

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Household

A Free Way To Remove Stains From Clothing

An easy way to get rid of many types of stains on your clothing is to simply run cold water over the stains and rub the material vigorously between your fingers.  By scrubbing with cold water right away, you can often remove chocolate stains, blood stains, and many other types of food stains. I find that using warm water doesn’t work, and for some types of stains the sooner you do it the better.  There are all kinds of expensive stain removers you can buy in stores but sometimes they are just not necessary.  First try the simple and free method of scrubbing under a cold water tap.  It might take a few minutes but it is well worth the effort.

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Household

Ways To Save Money on Your Heating Bill

ways to save money on your heating bill this winterHere we go again. Winter will soon be here along with its snow storms and freezing cold weather.  If you’re like me, you’re probably not looking forward to the increased heating costs.  Below are some suggestions of ways to reduce your heating costs this winter.  Stay warm!

1.  Replace your furnace filter every couple of months to ensure your furnace is running efficiently.

2.  Have your furnace cleaned every 2 to 3 years to maximize its efficiency.

3.  Insulate your water heater with a water heater jacket.

4.  Turn down the water heater temperature to approximately 50 degrees to conserve energy and save money.

5.  Limit the use of bathroom and kitchen fans as they blow the warm air out of your home.

6.  Check for drafts around your windows and doors.  Use caulking or weather stripping to seal any openings.

7.   Insulate your windows with window plastic.

8.  Keep your blinds open during the day to let the sunshine warm the house.  Once the sun goes down, close the blinds to further insulate your windows.

9.  Before cranking up the heat, make sure you are wearing warm socks, slippers, and sweaters.   Don’t be afraid to walk around wrapped in a fleece blanket either.  Fleece blankets are a lot cheaper than your heating bill is ever going to be.

10.  Make use of a programmable thermostat.  Set it so that the temperature is lower when you are away from home as well as during the night.

11.  To learn about more than 100 ways to save on your energy bill, check out this link.

Household

15 Ways to Conserve Water & Save Money

conserve water and save moneyThere are a lot of ways that we can consciously conserve water around our home and yard.  As a result, we will be paying less for our water bills as well as reducing the amount of water we waste.  Overtime, these behaviors can have a significant positive impact on our environment and our pocketbook.

1.  Take a shower instead of a bath.  A 5-minute shower uses 30 to 40 gallons of water.

2.  Turn off the water while brushing your teeth and shaving.

3.  Collect rainwater to use to water your lawn and garden.

4.  Use a water amplifying shower head so you use less water while taking a shower.

5.  Install a water efficient toilet.  (Flushing comprises about 35% of a household’s total water consumption, so your toilet’s efficiency has a significant impact on your water usage.)

6.  Only run the dishwasher and the clothes washing machine when you have a full load.  When doing laundry, if you do have a smaller load, be sure to change the settings to use less water.

7.  Fix the leaky faucets around your home.  Although one small drop is insignificant, if left unfixed, you will waste 10 gallons of water everyday.

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