I think Spring may be here finally!!

Oh my goodness it is a beautiful day in the North woods!!

Temps today are supposed to get into the mid 50s!!

and it is sunny
I am so happy for our weather turning a corner because today I went to change loads of laundry and what I have been expecting finally happened

the heat coil core thingie on my old dryer finally stopped working

and of course wouldn't you know it we are broke till pay day

I cannot tell you how difficult it is to live without a dryer when you have 5 boys and one of them in cloth diapers especially when you only have about 7 cloth all in ones you can use that fit the little bottom

oh dear

So the sunshine and warm temps are REALLY welcome for my laundry I stood outside on about a foot of hard packed snow and hung my clothes on the line

note to self gotta fix the clothesline too

and find more clothes pins

other really AWESOME news is this I finally FINALLY got my electric bill to show off just how much was saved energy wise by implementing our small changes

Simply put we saved averaged out 70$ last month by turning things off switching some light bulbs and being more conscious of what we were using and when

This impressive amount of savings has really hit Dave he was shocked he was surprised he was very pleased and even thinks tolerating the CFLs was worth it!!

To recap what we did exactly

We changed over 13 incandescent bulbs over the course of the month so not all at once but little by little

we turned off the extra fridge and extra freezer

we put kitchen appliances on a circuit breaker switch to turn them off when not in use

we turned off the extra fan on the furnace

we turn off the computer at night and turn off the monitor when we walk away from the desk

we turned off the printer completely and only start it when we use it (which is not very often)

we paid more attention to time of use saving times and used large appliances during those times

We also got a dishwasher which saves hot water and electricity

we timed showers

not all of these things were implemented at once but bit by bit throughout the course of the month now that they are in place I look forward to seeing how much more we can save between now and the next bill

ALSO we will add this month

line drying the clothes as much as possible (not an easy task in Northern WI in early spring)

and paying closer attention to time of use savings (I am not great at it but I know I can do better)

So I am looking forward to being better at these things since I cannot have a wind turbine or solar panels installed I need to take the first step toward alternative energy and that is

conservation

by being aware of how much energy our homes use and what we can do in our own small way to save energy by implementing simple changes that do not really alter our lifestyles we can all do our part to conserve

and of course my favorite

save money!!