Spill the beans... on your extreme energy saving tricks

John58_2

mrsr wrote: »

I do my washing on a long wash but cold water,no matter how hard I try I can't get my electric below a fiver a week so I am now cutting down on the hovering.

I don't blame you. Those anti-gravity devices use loads of energy!:rotfl:

lutzi1

StephenM wrote: »

It most homes water for drinking and food preparation should come from the cold tap in the kitchen. This is the tap that is connected directly to the mains. Anything else will have been stewing in a tankful of bacteria.

If you're lucky there might be a dead bird or something thrown in for good measure.

EDIT - Sorry Chipping, just read your earlier post! Great minds think alike.

janninew

newcook wrote: »

my mom was telling me about these - they do them at primark! just got to wait until payday til I go and get mine!

They have lovely fleece ones in asda as well, think they are around £10.00! The only problem is needing the loo in the middle of the night and having to unzip them and pull them down!

lutzi1

energysavingexp wrote: »

stand in the garden when it's raining and save even more :j:rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:

And when you get arrested all your food and energy bills will be free :rotfl:

p079304

Pincher wrote: »

Ripped out the whole house to insulate it properly.
£100,000 later, it's defintely warmer.
I'll probably save £300 a year, depending on fuel prices.

Using those figures; you will have MORE than got your money back, after ONLY 334 years! :j

sugarlumps22

grahamc2003 wrote: »

So, to summerise the energy saving ideas up to now, we put all empty boxes in the loft for extra insulation, put any old unironed knickers and socks on the walls to help with insulation, turn the thermostat down to -18C so it doesn’t come on unnecessarliy, stick soggy newspaper into the electricity sockets to block that source of draughts, give the wife a cuddle under a couple of electric blankes and various eiderdowns during the 5 minute per day radio (not TV!) allowance, capture the warm smoke from smokers outside pubs and bring it inside to warm the room, burn arsenic on the stove but wear a gas mask to clean the fumes, drink warm bacteria solution from the hot water system, chop value sausages into tiny cubes so they fry quicker, spend October to April in the Bahamas, install a proximity system to detect when anyone enters or leaves the house and automatically swtiches off all electrical devices, limit yourself to one hot drink a day at 03:00 to use cheap electricity, ask neighbours if you can bathe in their bathwater before they pull the plug, only iron clothes for people under 3 months old, ensure all clothes are either silk or cashmere, look upon mould as an attractive wall covering, use night vision goggles if you want to read after dark, have 2 pairs of thermal lined curtains at each window, turn laser printers off 24/7 and dot matrix printers on 24/7, or vice versa, ensure all appliances are AAAA rated, and even then don’t use them, cook food in the same pan - with a large pan you can cook soup, eggs, tarte tartin, dumplings and soufle (but not Maris Piper potatoes) all together just by adding hot water, wash clothes in mouthwash and dry them in the greenhouse, make a nice carpet from used bathtowels, and last but not least and my favorite, ensure your bath is physically too small to get into!

Phew, better get to it.

Absolutely marvellous. Warmed up just from laughing so much. I take it Graham is a professional writer if not he should be. What a wit!!

Wendybytheriver

My washing machine packed up last month & when I was searching for the most energy efficient replacement, I came across an Indiset machine (IWB6123) that has a 15 minute wash (30degree) cycle - Express Wash, that they recommend for just refreshing clothes.
Thinking about it, unless irems are really dirty and/or sweaty, most clothing, especially things like jumpers, cardi's & fleeces only really need a light clean - so needless to say I bought one!

It made me take a good hard look all my laundry habits - I also bought a garden rotary airer & we have virtually stopped using the tumble dryer. Now I only do bedding & DH's shirts on a 40 wash & tumble those - the rest on the 15 min / 30 degree wash & then they go outside on the airer... looking forward to seeing the next quarterly elec bill!! I reckon the washing machine and airer will have paid for themselves in less that a year.

(And a good tip earlier from a teenage girls Mum - I'll try that, putting things back in the wardrobe neatly folded but without washing - how come they have to wear 3 or more outfits a day!!)

purpleweasel

Augustus_the_Strong wrote: »

Ironing - switch off and continue ironing while still hot things like socks and pants lol


"Pants" - not sure if you mean trousers or knickers! but have to say that ironing anything with elastic in, eg socks, doesn't do them any good in the long run as it makes the elastic degrade faster. Best not! An old trick is to put your trousers under the mattress at night to "press" them but i can't see this working as well for more complicated things like shirts

audal29

TimBear wrote: »

Last Winter we only had electric heating and I didn't turn it on once, not even when we had the terrible snow. My OH and I looked liked Arctic explorers in the house with about five layers on each, plus dressing gown, socks etc!

What a miserable existance:eek:

audal29

Bronnie wrote: »

i'm home during the day and work evenings, DD is vice versa. The front of our house has a sunny aspect and I have started raising the Venetian blinds in the front rooms during the day when it is sunny and leaving the bedroom doors open and the door between the front glass porch and the hall. It is amazing how much warmth from the sun comes through and disperses through the house, even on a coldish day like today.

Also works well with a conservatory, need to remember to close the door around 4pm when it starts to cool down:j