Turn off the dryer: hang up those t-shirts on hangers and the towels on an extra towel rack in the bathroom (we had one installed inside the shower area, one behind the door and one on the wall) to dry. If you don’t already have a clothesline, consider putting one in. The savings from not using the clothes dryer as much are phenomenal. One TBO staffer didn’t use her dryer for a month and noticed a $55 drop in her family of four’s electric bill.  Okay it was me. I am the TBO staffer. 55 big ones. True story.

Also, you can clean the refrigerator coils: not a glamorous task, but one that needs to happen pretty frequently. In fact our research indicates that it should be done every 6 to 12 months! I did it this weekend and know for sure it was waaaayyyyy longer than that since I did it last. But whatever, I’ll pledge to be better about it in the future.

Apparently since I have pets I should do it even more often. Accckkkk!!