Talk Thrifty

Flourescent bulbs are a great way to save money each year by reducing your energy costs. Don't let the higher costs of these bulbs fool you into thinking their not a bargain though. Not only will these bulbs last you much longer than traditional bulbs (10 times longer than incandescent lighting), already making them cost affective, but they can save you as much as $60 a year in electricity as opposed to incandescent lighting. These bulbs also tend to be cooler to the touch when on saving on heating up your house as well.

For over two years now we have used a clothes line at our home. This keeps our house from heating up in the summer by running the dryer plus saves money. At a hardware store you can find clothesline wheels, 2 large S hooks, a rope tensioning screw for the line, and the clothes line and for around 10 dollars you can set up a clothes line. We keep ours in the garage so we don't have to worry about rain and our laundry room is close to the garage door from the house. To set up simply take two large S Hooks and place one of the wheels on each side of the garage making sure the hooks go into a stud. Next place the rope through the wheels and tie tightly removing as much slack as possible to the tension screw. Finally tighten the screw and your done. This makes it also easy for keeping things like your shirts and jeans from wringling. We put our clothes on the hangers on the line keeping them seperated with distance using clothes pins so air gets around them. Once there dry just put them in the closet. This can be a thrifty way to save money while saving time

One thing that I do to save money while also positively impacting the environment is using less water. I caught myself doing this the other day and wonderd how many people could save a little water themselves. Rather than discarding that cup that was soaked in water right down the drain, I carried it over to our watering pot for plants in the house and put it in there so it can be used for the house plants. Water is one thing I hate to waste as fresh water is such a high demand item. Turning on the water only for the time you need it in instances like brushing teeth, shaving, and while showering is a great way to save a few pennies while being kind to the environment.