Reduce Utility Bill Plus More Winter Tips

Baby it's cold outside.

Everybody has heard about putting plastic over the windows. And surely you are aware of the window kits available at hardware stores. Wal-mart sells them and probably Target too. I bet we will be seeing them in dollar stores soon, if not already. Please comment and let us know where you get your window kit. I have used them before and they work great.

A ceiling fan set on the lowest setting is an excellent idea to circulate the air in the winter. Heat rises and the ceiling fan will help to push that heat back down.

Use a dehumidifier in the Summer and humidifier in the Winter. When I hear people start complaining of headaches, feeling dry, runny noses or sinus trouble, it's time for the humidifier because the cold Winter air is very dry. If your are lucky enough to have a machine that is both, that's wonderful. And if you are like my dad, you won't need a dehumidifier in the Summer. He likes the sticky heat.

Have you considered blocking off some areas of your house during the winter months. Use only one door to enter and exit from during the coldest times. Covering those extra doors with a blanket or plastic is another way to keep out the cold. A rolled up blanket or rug at the bottom of doors is something I have seen in a lot of homes.

Don't forget to check the furnace filter and change it if needed. Your furnace will run more efficiently and keep the utility bill from going up, up, up. 

Speaking of the utility bill. I recently was given information that will reduce your usage and lower your bill every month, all year long. What you need to do is look at everything that plugs into an outlet. Companies are required by law to list (on the back or bottom of the appliance) the watts that is required to run that appliance. 

The utility company lists your usage as kWh (kilo watts per hour). Kilo equals 1000, so don't confuse the two.  The refrigerator uses a significant amount of electricity but we can't turn that off. There is something else using as much power as the refrigerator that most of us leave on. Not thinking it really matters, we will leave it powered up day and night. What could it possibly be? 

The company that installs this equipment in your house doesn't normally tell the customer to make sure to turn it off when not in use because of its excessive power usage. Why would it need to use so much electricity anyway? What could it possibly be? It's the cable box.

We sometimes forget to turn out lights or forget to turn off the oven. Accidents happen and are easily discovered and corrected. But who knew about the cable box. We get done watching TV and turn the TV off. But how many of us go ahead and turn off the cable box? I suggest looking at all your electronics and see how much they use and if they are being turned off. Plugged is not bad, it's when they are left with the power on that keeps the meter turning. Sometimes they will have either a blue or red light indicating the power status.

Instead of getting up earlier to scrape the windshield of the car. Spray de-icer on all of the car windows and lights, even door locks the night before and there will be no problem in the morning. I like to use Prestone's de-icer, that comes in a yellow spray bottle. You can find it just about anywhere during the season. 

One more thing for the car, especially if you have leather seats. For Christmas one year I received one of those seat warmers that looks like a seat cover and I love it. Works great. It plugs in to the cigarette lighter. Just don't forget to turn it off, better yet, unplug the sucker because it will drain the battery dry. You will definitely be needing a jump in the morning or after an eight hour work day if you leave the power on.

One of the all time best Christmas presents I received was a gift certificate to a tanning salon. I thought this was an excellent and very thoughtful gift. Who wouldn't appreciate a gift of warm Sunshine in the middle of winter, even if it was pretend.

Now a word about space heaters. Always turn these off when not in use. There are a lot of them that use a lot of power. But I have discovered one awesome little machine that is a cooling fan or heater and the power usage is reasonable.

And the really cool thing, it's made in Wichita, Kansas. Made in the USA. The name comes from the word vortex and the word tornado. They have been around since 1920. It's quiet, aerodynamic and the price is reasonable. Check out their website at vornado.com to find out all the details. Did I mention the low power usage. We love ours and use it all the time.

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If you're into crocheting winter accessories with free patterns...

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I might even start crocheting again.