FYI: Average Appliance and Home Electric Costs

 Susan Brannon
16 November 2011

We all are trying to pinch our pennies these days and I wanted to know how much I was spending on "normal" living in my home.  I found that my electric bill was something that I wanted to trim down, if at all possible.  I found that I can do a few things to reduce the costs if I only just thought about it while running around the home doing my "normal" things!

For example, 

1)  change the normal 75 watt bulbs to CFL bulbs.  They cost more, but last longer and are big energy savers!  

2)  Run my dishwasher only when it is full.  If at all possible, stop using my clothes dryer.  Dryers are a convenience, not a necessity! While living in both the Middle East and Europe, I never used a dryer.  My clothes lasted longer, did not "shrink" so I could not wear them anymore, and life was just fine without it.  

4)  I have always washed my clothing on cold except white sheets and T-shirts.  Washing with cold saves a bunch!

5)  Turn off the heater at night while sleeping!  Electricity is very expensive in Europe, so I learned to do this a while back.  Why have the heater warming your home all night long, it does not make any sense.  You can bundle up inside of your warm blankets.  The only downfall is that it is cold in the morning.  I always have my sweat shirt next to my bed and sweat pants to put on as soon as I wake up.  I turn on the heater, and by the time I have my tea, the house is warm enough to get ready for the day!  This can add up from 6 to 9 hours of energy savings...depending on how long you sleep!

As for the costs, here is what I found:

If you run your dryer for 20 minutes the cost is:  30 to 40 cents per/load!
45 minutes:  49 cents p/load

Top load: Washing Machines are about:  1.13 cents p/load (cold/cold/cold)
1,29 p/load (warm/cold)

Televisions: 5 hrs day/20c kwt = 2.44 p/mth  (the old kind: TV, which consumes less energy than any of the new ones) The larger the screen, the more energy used.
42" LCD 5 hours/day/20 kwt = 6.39 p/mth
42" Plasma, 5 hours/day/20 kwtt = 8.22 p/mth

Lights:  4 bulbs/75 watt/7 hours day: 10 dollars p/month
CFL bulbs: 4 bulbs/75 watt/7 hours day: 2 dollars p/month

Refrigerators: Are the second largest usage of electricity in an average home:
Older models 1990: average of 13.50 p/mth
2004 models (energy savers, side by side): average of 5.40 p/mth

Dishwashers are about: 4.50 p/mth one cycle each day

Heating:  Central heating is more expensive than space heaters or radiant heaters. Electric central heating is way more expensive than gas.  It is not advised to close the vents to the rooms that you are not using, because this can damage the duct system and your heater.

It is advised to switch to radiant heat and heat only the rooms that you are using!  (Pretend that you do not have forced air at all and switch) Radiant heat the temperature is more uniform in the room.
1)  Heat only the rooms that you use
2) Turn your ceiling fans on low to circulate the warm air down. (heat rises)
3) put rugs on your bare floors
4) Dress warmer in your home
5) Turn off the heat at night!  (Yes) (why use that energy, while you are warm in your blankets all night to be warm when you jump out of bed? You can turn on your radiant heater and get warm in a few minutes!  Jump out turn it on, lay down and 5 minutes your room will be warm)

If you cannot change to radiant heat and must use forced heat: (those with radiant heat, can do this anyway!)
1) Seal your windows and doors buy door air blockers (the snake things) to put around your outside doors.  You can check the leakage by using candles, if the flame flickers, block that warm air that you are using.

2)  Cover your bare floors with rugs
3)  Chalk windows and install weather stripping
4)  Make sure that your ducts are not blocked.
5)  close blinds and curtains at night

Ideas for Sustainability in a Tough Market: For Displaced Homemakers

Susan Brannon
1 September 2011

Today, job hunting is not easy, and the way to search for jobs has changed in the last decade.  The economy is not good and businesses are cutting back, offering early retirement packages or cutting hours.  If you are a displaced homemaker, job hunting is that much harder for you.  It is against the law to discriminate over age and sex or religion, but after speaking "honestly" with many recruiters, HR folks, and company managers, the bottom line is that they want to hire younger people, "people with more energy", "quick learners", and someone who "fits the corporate culture".

It is a sad day when managers fall into the corporate mindset, and the corporations loose their moral responsibilities to society. It is all about making a profit, and rightly so.  If I owned a company, I would need to make a profit but my question is; how much and at what expense?  If you are "older" meaning over 40 you will find that for some reason, no one will take you seriously with your job hunting and your creative abilities.  It takes an average of six months for a person to find a job these days, but if you are older, the time can take much longer.  Some folks have been looking for a job for over a year. Times have changed and we need to find the loopholes, to get us through these changes and rise above the new generation of the corporate mindset.

I have spoken with a number of "older" job hunters who are frustrated with how society today seems to put them into a specific mold, a babysitter, a nanny, or someone who just moves too slow. They ask me,  "What happened to wisdom, life experience and vital input an older person can give to a company?"  not to mention stability, and commitment.  In the end, they all try to be creative and invent their own jobs using the talents that they have and developing them into a marketable product.  That is not easy, and sometimes can be quite expensive.

If you decide to put your creative energies to work, then I would suggest:

•   A product or service that meets the needs of the times.  Do to our economic down-slide, the middle class is spending less money and the poor are not spending any money except on basic needs. 
• It is important to look at where the market is.  I have been speaking with many business owners, and managers and 100 percent told me that the people who are spending money, are spending it in a different way than before.

For example, most folks would buy a lot of something that is quite not as good quality for instance, furniture; people used to feel that when they changed their styles and taste, they could just throw out the old and give it away later then buy the new. Now, people are buying less items, but spending more on better quality products.  They purchase that piece of furniture that they can last a lifetime and give to their grandchildren.  This is quite the opposite than it has been for the past 20 years.

• The spending trends, are turning back similar to how our grandparents used their money. They buy less but are willing to spend more on a few items that will last a lifetime.

The wealthy are still spending money on nannies, housecleaning, and dog walkers.  The middle class, has cut back on these luxuries so:

• your target would either be the wealthy, or creating quality products that will last a lifetime.  It is important to find the "niche" of needs in our society in order to generate an income.  Look around your community and find out where that "hole" is.

• Another large market are the baby boomers.  There are 78 million born from 1946 to 1964 and most plan on retiring late.  Try to think about what product or service you can offer them.  
• Can you start a care giver company, by hiring others like you to serve and assist others that are just a bit older?  
• Can you offer shopping services, 
• driving services, or 
• companion services to take to lunch and just chat?  
• Think of these items as ways that assist the families, giving them relief that someone is helping to relieve some of the stress from the caregivers.

Another market is children.  

• Grandparents and parents love buying items for their children.  
• Can you create a service to film the growing child, or 
• create safe and creative learning toys?  
• Maybe you can offer tutoring services, hiring others like yourself to provide one on one tutoring. Busy parents do not have a lot of time to help the kids after school with their school work. 

You can start 

• by volunteering in the schools as a reader or a career counsler.  Get to know the people and let them get to know you.  You can develop a network of people that just might be looking for someone to tutor their children!

These days, you have two choices;  1) look for a job with a company or 2) create your own job that fills a need in these changing times. Good Luck!

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