Ways to keep the utility bills down when home all day?

juicygirl

Thanks for all your responses everyone. Looking through and seeing what tips I can put into practise.

Flask is now in use :-).

Been doing some work from home today so sitting mainly in one position so caved in to the heating for an hour. On the plus side used up some bits and bobs from the fridge for lunchand going to Mum's for dinner so no cooking appliances used today. And not being in a hurry means I can just tie my hair up and let it dry naturally sono hairdryer either.

Many thanks again x

On

flippin36

I'm at home all day on my own and haven't put the heating on once for just me. It just went on when the kids got home if it was cold enough. I spend a lot of time in the sunnier part of the house where it is warmer. If I start to get chilly, I hop on my exercise bike or do some brisk housework. Hot water bottles when reading or watching TV are a good idea.

I only iron what is really necessary. I do virtual ironing which involves shaking and carefully folding clothes. I can usually reduce my ironing by a third by prioritising what needs doing - Kids uniforms and hubbies work clothes mainlhy. Everything else gets a good shake and will do.

I am convinced my slow cooker has reduced our electricity bills. I have plenty of time in a morning, when kids have gone to school, to rustle something up in the SC then its all ready at tea time (when I'm feeling more tired and lazy).

I used to do the flask thing if I had boiled up too much water for a cup of tea. But I am very good at filling the kettle just right so I don't need to bother with a flask.

Sadly I now have very quick showers. I do what I have to do and get out. No standing under a hot shower because it feels nice for me. (I miss my long, hot showers).

If you are on a water meter don't forget to reuse your grey water wherever possible. I know there is a lady on here who uses grey water to flush the loo. I approve of that.

Winchelsea

Ironing? What's that then? Oh....you mean where you heat up a lump of metal (costs money) then rub it all over your clothes (wears them out, so that too costs money), all for nothing because as soon as you use or wear something it looks no different from the shaken and folded items!

No, I don't do it - a waste of my energy and the National Grid's!

bargainbetty

flippin36 wrote: »

I only iron what is really necessary. I do virtual ironing which involves shaking and carefully folding clothes.

I love this name for it. I've always thought of it as just 'not ironing' but this makes it sound valid.

cat_smith

I work from home, and have had to work hard to keep bills down (it's seriously cold up here!) I'm an 'Accountant' so spend a lot of time static in front of a computer. The best thing I have ever done was buy a pair of those fingerless gloves and a 'slanket'. I can type with warm hands and a warm body. DH keeps saying we should have bought a double slanket - he keeps trying to borrow it from me.

juicygirl

cat_smith wrote: »

I work from home, and have had to work hard to keep bills down (it's seriously cold up here!) I'm an 'Accountant' so spend a lot of time static in front of a computer. The best thing I have ever done was buy a pair of those fingerless gloves and a 'slanket'. I can type with warm hands and a warm body. DH keeps saying we should have bought a double slanket - he keeps trying to borrow it from me.

I, the OP, am a Glasgow girl too! It is just so cold at the moment! I was hoping for a week or two of relaxing in the sun before baby came. I really should have known better!!!

purplesheila

Hello

This may not be for some but it is something I am trying

I am in all day and have two children who are at school. I have invested in an Inverter Paraffin heater and so far so good. They are much more efficient than the old days and the fuel is low odour – Once it is running there is no smell. (2 burner systems eradicates any smell, condensation or fumes found in old style heaters) If you run the fire on ECO setting will enable the fire to turn off once the desiredtemperature is reached, and switch back on again as room temperature drops.

It is said that they are much more economical than gas or electric heaters - At least I can control how much fuel I am using. Our heating went off at the beginning of April and we used the fire all day and evening for short blasts of heat.

When it was really cold we used £5 of fuel a week. Otherwise it is £5 over 2 weeks I imagine as the weather gets better we won’t use it at all.

I get my fuel from my local ironmonger so also feel that I am supporting local trade

chanie

I have an energy monitor which the Local Authority provided and it has made me consider how I use my energy. Many energy providers do them for free, so check out yours.

To give you an idea, my monitor is normally around 4p per hour - this is for the TV on standby (not good, I know but it is on a lot!!!), the boiler, fridge. Everything else e.g. kettle, microwave etc are switched on when needed.

Kettle - when I switch this on, the energy monitor shoots up to 28p per hour. When I was making up DS bottles, I would boil the kettle and then fill up a flask with hot water for the day.

slow cooker/oven - energy monitor shoots up to 10p. The oven shoots up to something like 30p, so if you are cooking a roast, it does make a difference. If you have to use the oven, make sure you fill it up e.g. batch cooking for the freezer or dinner for the following day.

Go out - I will be on my second mat leave in August, so will be off for the winter. I will try and spend some time out of the house for a few hours e.g. visiting family, play groups etc and I won't have the heating on at home.

HappyMJ

purplesheila wrote: »

Hello

This may not be for some but it is something I am trying

I am in all day and have two children who are at school. I have invested in an Inverter Paraffin heater and so far so good. They are much more efficient than the old days and the fuel is low odour – Once it is running there is no smell. (2 burner systems eradicates any smell, condensation or fumes found in old style heaters) If you run the fire on ECO setting will enable the fire to turn off once the desiredtemperature is reached, and switch back on again as room temperature drops.

It is said that they are much more economical than gas or electric heaters - At least I can control how much fuel I am using. Our heating went off at the beginning of April and we used the fire all day and evening for short blasts of heat.

When it was really cold we used £5 of fuel a week. Otherwise it is £5 over 2 weeks I imagine as the weather gets better we won’t use it at all.

I get my fuel from my local ironmonger so also feel that I am supporting local trade

How much does your fuel cost per litre? How much do you get for your £5. Paraffin has 10kWh per litre of energy so you need to divide the per litre rate by 10 to get the cost per kWh. Gas is about 4p/kWh and E7 storage heating costs about 5p/kWh and I have never found any sources of paraffin cheaper than that.

fuddle

When doing the dishes don't fill the basin to the top with hot soapy water, just fill a puddle with water and wash each dish/cup separately.