Saving Money Around the Home
When it comes to saving money, there are a lot of ways you can keep more of it in your pocket by investing a small amount in various aspects of your life. It’s much like playing the stock market, only that your investments into your home are guaranteed to pay off. Wouldn’t you rather spend a few dollars here and there to make nearly four-times your investment back, and more? There are many items around the home you can buy that will essentially give you that money.
1. Lighting – Soon, incandescent bulbs will be a thing of the past. Some locations are even passing mandates that restrict the selling of such light bulbs. For now, replacing your cheap bulbs with CFL or LED bulbs can save you a great deal of money. Not only do they consume far less power, but they can live a great deal longer making them far more efficient that the predecessor.
2. Shower Heads – Not only is taking a shower a cleaner way to bathe, but it can use far less water depending on how long you need to stand there. Special water-restrictive shower heads can be added that will reduce the amount of water you use while still helping you keep clean.
3. Faucets – The fixtures attached to your sinks can also be a method of losing water. Some of these faucet heads use the same water restricting developments that showers do. In fact, many of them are being built as a seal-less model. This means that there is no rubber seal to break down in order to cause a leak. A strong leak in your faucet could cost you a great deal of money in water bills.
4. Water Timers – Many of us have a habit of over-watering the lawn. These timers will keep the grass green while shutting itself off at the right time. These devices work very well in areas that are suffering from water restrictions due to droughts.
5. Gardening – Setting up an indoor kitchen garden can help you grow edibles year round without spending a great deal of extra money. By using the seeds from these edibles, you can keep the process going in order to have a continuous harvest.
6. Energy Star – Buying electronics that are energy star compliant can help you reduce the amount of power that is consumed by your day-to-day living. Energy Star compliance means that the item was specifically built to save resources and money. These can be in the form of televisions, to laundry washing machines.
7. Solar Arrays – You don’t have to invest in a $60,000 project in order to begin building a self-sustaining home. In fact, there are solar power kits that can help you get started reducing your energy demands from the grid for less than $200. By attaching a 300-watt power inverter, you could power everything from televisions to computers.
Like any home, you want to protect your assets. The home also needs to be efficient as well as comfortable. An efficient home can save you a great deal of money as well as protecting the environment by eliminating some of the waste that every household contributes to. Keep more money in your bank accounts later by going through your house or apartment and seeing what can be more efficient now.
This article is contributed by Madoline Hatter. Madoline is a freelance writer and blog junkie from ChangeOfAddressForm.com. You can reach her at: m.hatter12 @ gmail. com.
Category: Saving Money
