Just turned on the heat for the winter – at least downstairs.  Haven’t turned it on upstairs yet.

With our oldest daughter now living away from home, and our youngest now in college, it changed the schedule of when we need heating, so I took the opportunity to reprogram the thermostat.  Because of the new schedule, I was able to cut out about 15 hours of heating, and I reduced some of the temperatures.  Save money – save energy … this is good.

Always look for opportunities to save energy and money as your life changes:

• Doing less laundry? Always was full loads and do it less often rather than reducing the water level.  It’s more efficient that way.
• When you cook, cook for leftovers so you use the stove less.  For instance, grill up extra pieces of chicken, then use the extras on salads later in the week.
• Maybe you only need one car now, so consider getting rid of one – LOTS of savings there!
• You probably don’t need to use as many lights as your children move out of the house – less lighting saves money and energy.
• If you don’t watch several televisions every day, unplug the unused ones to save the “phantom power” drain.  You can plug them back in when needed.
• Clock radio in your childs empty room?  Unplug it until they come home for vacations and holidays.
• Possibly turn off the heat in your childs room, also until they come home for vacations and holidays.
• Possibly you now use fewer dishes.  Use your dishwasher every other day rather than every day.  Always wash full loads.

The important thing is always think about energy use. You will save a great deal of energy, lower your utility bills, and reduce the resources needed to create that energy.  Even if you create electricity with your own wind and solar systems, if you use less doing day to day tasks, you will have more for other things.