Tuesday, December 25, 2007
ziplock bags
Am I the only one who saves ziplock bags? I learned this from my mom who is hardly conscious of the environment, but was indeed cheap when need be. Anywho, I refuse to throw away ziplock bags. I am probably not saving *that* much money, but why buy more of these plastic bags to throw away, when it's super easy to wash and reuse? My wife tends not to enjoy them waiting to be washed on our counter, but I just know in my heart of hearts that she gets all warm inside when she opens the drawer and gets an old ziplock to throw some carrot sticks in. I have made it a rule to throw out ziplocks that have contained raw chicken. I thought that was a decent enough rule, but otherwise, it's fair game.
I even found a good use for old ziplocks to help organize all of the cords that go to my computer. Each usb/plug that is not constantly in use has a ziplock bag to keep it organized. You then throw them all in a bin and hide them out of sight. No more tangled cords! No more lost IPods! Genius!
BTW, my wife really never eats carrot sticks.
I even found a good use for old ziplocks to help organize all of the cords that go to my computer. Each usb/plug that is not constantly in use has a ziplock bag to keep it organized. You then throw them all in a bin and hide them out of sight. No more tangled cords! No more lost IPods! Genius!
BTW, my wife really never eats carrot sticks.
Sunday, December 16, 2007
Insulation
I tend to just walk around my house and try to figure out where the air is seeping in. Odd, but remember that most of this money saving stuff is a game for me. Therefore, I am constantly working on improving the ability for my furnace to keep the house warm and the air conditioner to keep the house cool.
I live in a townhome with really only 2 external walls, so my ability to seal and insulate is much easier then others. Still, I did discover several things when checking out my basement:
1. Most of the duct work going to the 2nd floor was uninsulated
2. When you put your hand next to the furnace, you could feel tons of air leaking.
3. The basement ceiling is uninsulated and makes the kitchen above very cold. (my basement is not heated.)
So, I checked out my friendly DOE website
http://www1.eere.energy.gov/consumer/tips/insulation_sealing.html
and I made some corrections. The nice thing about the website is that you can find the insulation with the correct R-value for your climate. R-value basically being the ability to prevent heat transfer.
Now, I have my ducts insulated, my furnace sealed properly. I also insulated the pipes coming from the water heater. I still need to buy a water heater blanket and the insulation for the ceiling in the basement, but I will get that done soon.
What tips do you all have?
I live in a townhome with really only 2 external walls, so my ability to seal and insulate is much easier then others. Still, I did discover several things when checking out my basement:
1. Most of the duct work going to the 2nd floor was uninsulated
2. When you put your hand next to the furnace, you could feel tons of air leaking.
3. The basement ceiling is uninsulated and makes the kitchen above very cold. (my basement is not heated.)
So, I checked out my friendly DOE website
http://www1.eere.energy.gov/consumer/tips/insulation_sealing.html
and I made some corrections. The nice thing about the website is that you can find the insulation with the correct R-value for your climate. R-value basically being the ability to prevent heat transfer.
Now, I have my ducts insulated, my furnace sealed properly. I also insulated the pipes coming from the water heater. I still need to buy a water heater blanket and the insulation for the ceiling in the basement, but I will get that done soon.
What tips do you all have?
Friday, December 7, 2007
Programmable Thermostat
I have a programmable thermostat now. I really just wanted to do some handywork in the house, so I got one. I think it was on sell for about 40 dollars. It's not a fancy touchscreen like my friend Dan's, but it will do. The nice thing is it has a feature that allows you to know how long it has been since you last changed your air filter on your furnance (another money saving idea).
I've read that the savings you reap from this is when you set the temp down 10 degrees lower than where you normally have it and leave it there for 8 hours. This should give you a 10-15% savings. In other words, 1% savings for each degree lower for 8 hours. It is nice to have the temp automatically drop low when we are gone in the day and it is back to comfortable when we roll in the door at night. I even can make weekend vs weekday programs.
Computers are great!
In case you are going to bring up the point about the furnance overworking to warm the house back up...
According to the Feds,
"The fuel required to reheat a building to a comfortable temperature is roughly equal to the fuel saved as the building drops to the lower temperature."
This is a statement based on lowering the temperature for at least 8 hours and having a conventional furnace.
OH! Be careful throwing your old manual thermostats away. MERCURY! eek!
I've read that the savings you reap from this is when you set the temp down 10 degrees lower than where you normally have it and leave it there for 8 hours. This should give you a 10-15% savings. In other words, 1% savings for each degree lower for 8 hours. It is nice to have the temp automatically drop low when we are gone in the day and it is back to comfortable when we roll in the door at night. I even can make weekend vs weekday programs.
Computers are great!
In case you are going to bring up the point about the furnance overworking to warm the house back up...
According to the Feds,
"The fuel required to reheat a building to a comfortable temperature is roughly equal to the fuel saved as the building drops to the lower temperature."
This is a statement based on lowering the temperature for at least 8 hours and having a conventional furnace.
OH! Be careful throwing your old manual thermostats away. MERCURY! eek!
Wednesday, December 5, 2007
Save Mileage, Stop Road Rage
I've been working on patience. I have a lot of areas in my life were my patience could be better, but that's probably material for another blog. Today is about a patience pattern that I could develop that would actually save me money. Should I be searching for patience based on money? Again probably material for another blog.
Anyway, I need to cut the road rage. I need to chill out big time on the road. I'm not the kind of guy who is going to hunt down a driver who cuts me off, but I do drive aggressive and tend to jump lanes, just to get in front of that one car, so I can get to a place 5 seconds faster. Part of the problem is that I am competing against people everyday in my mind, so I have to race in the car. Yes, I know, they have no clue I'm racing them.
I'm also competing against my odometer. I've noticed that when I chill out and accelerate slow and brake slow, I see a few miles per gallon improvement. I'm working on not letting my car idle either. In the morning in these frosty Denver mornings, I let the car idle for around 30 seconds or slow and then drive very gently till the car is warm. I probably should also go check my tire pressure and get those spark plugs changed like I have intended to for the past 3 months.
Of course the best way to save gas mileage is to walk. ha.
Here's the list of resources:
http://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/drive.shtml
http://www.epinions.com/content_4502364292
http://www.mpgplus.com/
one of those 'heady' websites from a Scandanavian-
http://home.wanadoo.nl/~kroone/gas/gas.html
Anyway, I need to cut the road rage. I need to chill out big time on the road. I'm not the kind of guy who is going to hunt down a driver who cuts me off, but I do drive aggressive and tend to jump lanes, just to get in front of that one car, so I can get to a place 5 seconds faster. Part of the problem is that I am competing against people everyday in my mind, so I have to race in the car. Yes, I know, they have no clue I'm racing them.
I'm also competing against my odometer. I've noticed that when I chill out and accelerate slow and brake slow, I see a few miles per gallon improvement. I'm working on not letting my car idle either. In the morning in these frosty Denver mornings, I let the car idle for around 30 seconds or slow and then drive very gently till the car is warm. I probably should also go check my tire pressure and get those spark plugs changed like I have intended to for the past 3 months.
Of course the best way to save gas mileage is to walk. ha.
Here's the list of resources:
http://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/drive.shtml
http://www.epinions.com/content_4502364292
http://www.mpgplus.com/
one of those 'heady' websites from a Scandanavian-
http://home.wanadoo.nl/~kroone/gas/gas.html
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