I think people were starting to think I was crazy because I’ve been so excited about getting our next power bill. You see I’ve been doing a little experiment and I couldn’t wait to see how it was going to turn out. The timing was perfect and it couldn’t have happened any other time of the year.
First let’s think about what uses the most energy in your home.
1. The Air Conditioner
2. Your Dryer (if electric)
3. Your Stove
When we first moved into our home we were using all three. It was cold and the heat stayed on most of the day, every day for a month.
I do about 5 –6 loads of laundry a week. So my dryer gets a workout.
I cooked and used my stove every day minus a day here or there if we had leftovers.
With all that said, here was the first official electric bill
$285.59 (YIKES!)
As the next month approached the weather got nice enough to not use the heat. We may have used it once or twice but that’s it. Everything else stayed the same.
Here’s our second bill, this time not using the A/C.
$143.89 (NICE!)
Now I know that not using the heat or air conditioning is going to be hit or miss because of the weather but I couldn’t believe how much lower our bill was because of it.
Now the 3rd month I decided to stop using the dryer and line dry our clothes. We didn’t have to use the A/C but maybe once or twice this month either.
I just got our 3rd bill and it’s…
$93.80 (Woo! Hoo!)
I knocked $50.00 off our bill by simply line drying our clothes.
These bills are based on a 2400 square foot home and doing laundry 5-6 times a week. If you only do laundry once or twice a week you probably wouldn’t notice much of a difference.
I know that a lot of you can’t line dry your clothes and so this doesn’t help you one bit but for those of you who can but don’t, I encourage you to give it a try if you need to save some money. With the rise in gas and food prices I’m trying to do all I can.
Oh and my Hubbalicious was pretty stoked about it too!
If you have any money saving tips, I’d love to hear about them!
HAVE A SUPER FABULOUS DAY!
I'm linking up with
Wow, now that is a huge difference and is giving me some incentive to use my clothes line a lot more. The dryer is so easy but if I can save some money, I am willing!
ReplyDeleteSaving $50 a month by line drying is fabulous. I adore saving money and this is kind to the earth too, a double win. Well done.
ReplyDeleteKim, another thing to save (if you have to use the dryer) is doing all your laundry on one day. Once the dryer is heated up it runs more effeciently on the other loads.
ReplyDeleteWow! I think that merits a venti latte from Starbucks! Great job!
ReplyDeleteThat is fantastic!! wow $50.00 makes a difference!! Yay for you!
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for this post! Our electric bills have been over $300 for 3 months now and are killing our budget! I've been wracking my brain trying to figure out ways to save and I completely forgot about line drying clothes. I've never done it before, but definitely need to start! I just turned off the heat for the first time today because it's so sunny and nice. I hope our electric bill reflects it next month!
ReplyDeleteYou rock!!!!
ReplyDeleteWay to go! Of course, we would get the law after us with the homeowners' association if we tried to line dry out clothes here. But thankfully, I typically do 5 loads a week in the winter and 4 loads a week in the summer.
ReplyDeleteOMG!! You are the bomb girlfriend!! I bet you DH is totally stoked as he should be!! Thinkin he should take you out on all that $ you just saved ;) LOL
ReplyDeleteSeriously, Good job !!
Wow that is fantastic. I might have to try doing some line drying. We don't have a long period of good weather for it though. :( Sadly here in the north we are limited to the summer months - unless you don't mind your clothes to be stiff icicles!
ReplyDeleteWowza - that's a high bill!!! I don't think we've ever had one that high. Of course, we don't have to run the air conditioner near as much as you and our stove is gas instead of electric. And we have a smaller house and family, so less use of everything. We're still totally rainy here so no line-drying, plus it would almost take up all of my little yard - LOL!
ReplyDeleteBig you-totally-rock-for-saving-so-much-money size hugs to you!! Love ya!!!
Hanging laundry is possible here but half my family has allergies, and of course we don't have the most ideal weather like you Sunshine staters.....
ReplyDeleteThanks for inspiring moi more than a year ago when I was divinely directed to your blog at a very, very extremely difficult turning point in my life. Back then, seeds were being planted by you about being a Proverbs 31 wife.
I appreciate how the way you share from your heart, and your sense of humor has definitely been medicine for me at just the right time!!!
Anyhow, to cut to the chance, the one thing that stuck with me about you was your morning routine.....getting up and sending your hubby off with a packed lunch, etc. I have been doing this with my hubby for more than a year now, and we have bonded deeper and saved at least a thousand dollars a year on lunches....... Whoot whoot!
You ROCK my clothes dryer socks off!!!! ( ;
You go girl! I line dry alot of our clothes...saving the dryer for towels/sockes. Awesome money savings!
ReplyDeleteTotally awesome! Thanks for the nudge to start line-drying again when the weather warms back up!
ReplyDelete