Little by little, and with love

kerri_gt

My fear is that there's only so much we can reduce our usage by - I wfh so have to use electric for my laptop / monitor / printer in the day. We have a relativly energy efficient TV and had the kitchen downlights replaced with LED ones last year. In the lounge we have one lamp on that's an LED bulb and don't leave lights on around the house in rooms we're not in. Other than the bathroom cabinet (LED light) that OH likes on at night there's not a massive amount we could reduce - maybe the garden lights, but again, they're all LED and we didn't pay to have them installed not to use them.
Heating again - I try not to have on in the daytime and not above 20 degrees when it is on in the evening. Short of turning off the fridge freezer and never cooking there's limited options. 

RosaBernicia

kerri_gt said:

My fear is that there's only so much we can reduce our usage by - I wfh so have to use electric for my laptop / monitor / printer in the day. We have a relativly energy efficient TV and had the kitchen downlights replaced with LED ones last year. In the lounge we have one lamp on that's an LED bulb and don't leave lights on around the house in rooms we're not in. Other than the bathroom cabinet (LED light) that OH likes on at night there's not a massive amount we could reduce - maybe the garden lights, but again, they're all LED and we didn't pay to have them installed not to use them.
Heating again - I try not to have on in the daytime and not above 20 degrees when it is on in the evening. Short of turning off the fridge freezer and never cooking there's limited options. 

This is the downside of WFH isn't it    the £2 a week isn't going to cover it.  For me I think it is still preferable as the alternative would mean spending on fuel and a dog walker.  The summer isn't such an issue for light and heat as winter will be. 

I did have a 'standby saver' plug thing at one point, that was meant to help with lowering use for things that were on but not active - wonder if it would be worth looking at those again.  Perhaps that might work for you for something like a printer that goes on and off?  I'm not explaining this very well, I will go google and see if I can find something that makes more sense!

RosaBernicia

These things!  https://www.sust-it.net/blog/are-standby-savers-a-waste-of-cash/

Sounds like more modern appliances may have lower standby use anyhow, so that would explain why I haven't seen them talked about much recently.  A plug bar with individual switches might be a simpler option, for example I've just realised I could switch off my work monitor at the plug overnight without having to crawl under desks etc. 

kerri_gt

Thanks for the thought Rosa. I have my laptop, monitor and printer all on the same extension and it gets turned off at the wall whenever I go out for any length of time and every evening when I finish already.
Like you say £2 a week doesn't cut it and I find the argument 'you save on petrol ' rather frustrating as my argument to that is 'the company saves on office space rental and facilities costs'. 
Oh well, can't complain, many are far worse off and our parents all went through difficult periods but it's still frustrating. 

EssexHebridean

I used to be shocking for leaving the laptop plugged in but have now trained myself to unplug it each time it's used. The one I have for the volunteer role I have is easy to remember as it has a bright blue light at the end that goes into the machine so you can see if there's power running to it, Our own one is more of a pain though. 

RosaBernicia

Thanks Kerri and EH.  I have generally been very lazy about switching off computers, because of the hassle involved in clambering under desks and needing to save stuff at the end of the day.  But it's a habit I think needs to change.  I'm going to be doing some reshuffling soon so I think leaving the plug bar accessible is going to be a part of that. 

RosaBernicia

In other news, I now have a tidy garden even if it isn't as sorted as I'd like it, and am working on decluttering the house.  Have reminded myself that part of the difficulties of getting stuff painted is the 'arrrrggh noooo' feeling of having to move so much stuff, and that can be solved now that the tip is back open and BHF are collecting.  I'm going to reorganise the attic too, as that will also help with figuring out what needs to be kept and where. 

Not many little moneysaving things I can find now... TCB still hasn't come through, and neither has the pet insurance, so must chase them up again. 

Annoyed to find that the garden storage I wanted more of seems to have gone up by 30%.  It will have to wait til a sale and/ or some kind of voucher comes up. 

kerri_gt

Keep an eye on Marketplace for garden storage, it may need a wash down if it's pre used but could save a few ££.

We have a smart plug for one lamp that's a pain to turn off so we can access it from our phone app, maybe useful to save you clambering under your desk? (I know it's not fully off at the wall with the plug but at least it will turn the other items off)

RosaBernicia

kerri_gt said:

Keep an eye on Marketplace for garden storage, it may need a wash down if it's pre used but could save a few ££.

We have a smart plug for one lamp that's a pain to turn off so we can access it from our phone app, maybe useful to save you clambering under your desk? (I know it's not fully off at the wall with the plug but at least it will turn the other items off)

Oh that's an idea, thanks.  Guess it depends how easy they are to take apart - I discovered the critical click together bits the hard way with one of my earlier ones and I don't think these would go in the van!  Going to have to keep an eye out for cheap ways of doing the garden in lots of ways.  The friend who has wonderful ideas also has expensive tastes   and I don't think it's even worth it for adding house value round here as not many gardens seem to have a lot of effort put in.  But I've picked up a couple of plants in Mo's today rather than at the garden centre so there are always options 

EssexHebridean

Annoying when prices on things increase in between the time you decide they are "just right" and the time you can actually buy them - and funny how often it feels as though that happens!  depending on exactly what it is you're after it may well be worth biting the bullet and accepting that it's the "right thing" so the cost is still justified? Otherwise, sale time may be worth waiting for just in case?