Waste not, want not! ~ National Cut Your Energy Costs Day – January 10

From time to time, I end up on the second and third floors here at St. Anne’s, doing an errand or filling in as a personal care aide. During these times, I have, on occasion, noticed energy being wasted; no one was around in a resident’s room, but the TV or CD player was on, or even a light was illuminating the vacant space. While some people are better than others at being conscientious about energy use, it wouldn’t hurt any of us to take a look at how we can cut energy costs on this day dedicated to that topic.

Publication1According to an article by the National Day Calender, it’s “often in the little things that you do” that can save a lot of money on your bill. Along with the financial benefit, we can also consider helping our environment and not wasting resources. Some tips, offered by this same site, include: weatherproofing your home, having energy-efficient windows, compact fluorescent light bulbs, and furnace, turning down thermostats, turning off lights when leaving a room, running dishwasher/washing machine only when fully loaded, lowering water heater temperature, taking shorter showers, unplugging unused appliances, and carpooling.

Examiner.com offers other helpful suggestions: turn off unused TVs, radios, and computers, close blinds/curtains in extreme weather, purchase energy-star rated appliances, turn down the refrigerator, don’t let the water run when brushing your teeth, fix leaky/dripping faucets and running toilets, bike or walk rather than driving,

According to energyefficiency.org, the leading cause of energy waste is winter heating and summer cooling. Another leading culprit is appliances, such as the refrigerator, freezers, dishwashers, clothes washer and dryers. So, whether it’s as simple as turning off your TV when you leave your room, or if you’re a homeowner considering purchasing a new appliance, we can all make choices that will cut down on energy use.