In an effort to cutdown on utility costs, I am starting to unplug some energy leaks here.

I'm starting to unplug the tv devices. These draw a lot of electricity when not in use. What do you have plugged in and charging up? How many clocks are plugged in?

Do you leave your printer and scanner on? vcr? dvd players? game consoles?

Is your microwave always plugged in?

Unplug the energy leaks in your home.

~we unplugged our clothes dryers years ago.
~we only just plugged in our freezer again because I'm freezing a bunch of veggies. But as soon as I have enough room in my fridge freezer, I'm unplugging the main freezer again
~We unplugged all our clocks and now use battery operated clocks.
~we don't have a microwave

I haven't unplugged our vcr because no one has figured out yet how to turn it back on except me. The family gets very annoyed when I'm not here and they can't figure it out.

We unplug our computer at around 9 p.m. every night unless I can't sleep, then its on until I go to bed.

Originally posted by homesteadmamma
~I haven't unplugged our vcr because no one has figured out yet how to turn it back on except me. The family gets very annoyed when I'm not here and they can't figure it out.

LOL that describes this household too!!!!


but I do unplug the coffee pot as the hot plate sucks as long as it's on, and anything with a clock will suck energy. I like my microwave clock, but my sister unplugs hers and only turns it on to use.

I also found a huge help when we put those energy saving light bulbs, the curly flourescent kind in the sockets. Do it with the most used ones, makes the biggest bang for the buck.

another biggy, vacuuming the fridge coils.

Doing OAMC helps too, bc you do an oven load, several times in one day, the oven is used to the max and doesn't get turned off, reheated and used over and over.

It stays on several hours on one day.

food is cooled, and frozen and reheating is easy in the microwave, plus it takes only a fraction to reheat cooked food in the micro from cooking in the oven.

Having the 4 folding wooden racks in the laundry room is easier than using the outdoor clothesline. I can get most or all of my stuff on there even on a 2 load day.

All the electric appliances in the kitchen are unplugged until we need them.

The TV, VCR, PS2, and Satellite reciever are all in one power cord and they get turned off if we are going to be gone or during a storm other than that they are plugged in. Same goes for the computer and all its accessories.

We don't have a dryer....clothes are hung on the clotheslines outside or on the drying rack inside, all small appliances are unplugged when not in use, water heater is turned down, TV/DVD/VCR are on one power bar and it gets turned off when not in use, I am slowly replacing the light bulbs, I turn my computer screen off when not in use during the day and the computer off at night.

I have to admit that we have too many energy drains around here. I need to walk around and see what we can unplug that dh won't complain about......:lol:

Originally posted by KKCondrey
The TV, VCR, PS2, and Satellite reciever are all in one power cord and they get turned off if we are going to be gone or during a storm other than that they are plugged in. Same goes for the computer and all its accessories.

Same here-- only we have cable boxes instead of a Satellite.  ;)

Great thread-- I'm going to have to start looking around and seeing what I can unplug.

What a great reminder! I'm going to take a look tonight. :)

I agree, great reminder. I'm diligent about the microwave but there's so many more things that I could do! The dryer, hadn't thought about that one. What I NEED to do is invest in some power strips. They would be very useful for the tv, vcr etc esp. Also the fluro bulbs. I could replace a few at a time but then never started!

Wow, you ladies are so smart! I never would've thought of that. My rent here is $330/month (Canadian) and my last power bill in the winter was over $400 -- sickening. :bang: I have got to start checking out my appliances. Time for some detective work! :fdance:

Bright Blessings!
Rawiya

We just unplugged our freezer. It was almost empty and I am not planning on keeping it anymore. It's never full and if I plan well, all will fit in our top freezer in the fridge.

I unplug our microwave all the time.

I would like to unplug the vcr, dvd, and stuff like that, but Pierre tells me we'll have to reprogram everything, when we turn it on.....what do think?

I am going to take a look around here and see what we can unplug here too. Thanks for the reminder.

We unplug everything we can. I read this article on how when the t.v or coffe maker is turned off but not unplugged it still drains electricy because it need to register when the machine switch turns on...how bizarre.

other ways to reduce elctricity bills:
~energy smart light bulbs
~reducing the water heater to 120 degrees