Today I received my e-bill from the electric company. Each month I’ve been trying to reduce spending. I now make my own cleaning products, and eat less prepackaged foods. When I get my electric bill I like to check the handy graph on my statement to see how much I spent this month last year compared to the current year. Since our house is almost all electric, it’s always my biggest bill.
Imagine my surprise when I went onto the Tucson Electric Power website and saw that I had gone from using 1240 kWh in March of last year to 530 kWh this March. My bill in March 2009 was $97 while the bill for March 2010 was less than $47.
How did I reduce my bill by more than half while still maintaining a comfortable lifestyle? Instead of having the heater on at night, we just use extra blankets. Once you’re snug under the covers you don’t really need artificial heat unless you live in a state where the temperatures drop below freezing. In addition, we wear socks and sweaters to keep warm during the day. Buying extra sweaters from a thrift shop is cheaper than paying that extra money for heating the house.
When it comes to cooking, I’ve started making more one-pot meals and recipes that involve the crock pot. This saves on cleanup since I’m using fewer pots and pans, and I’ve also reduced my stress level because everything cooks together and is ready at the same time.
Another thing I’ve changed is that I wash only full loads in the dishwasher and washing machine. A lot of electricity and water is wasted on small loads.
Once summer hits I won’t be as lucky in keeping the electric bill way down since summers in Tucson are scorching and we tend to use the central air conditioning quite a bit. My plan is to set it a few degrees warmer, perhaps on 78 rather than the 74 we usually have it on. No matter the weather, I’ll do what I can to continue saving money each month on my utilities.