How to Save Money on Electric Bills

If you are tired of paying high electric bills, or simply want to improve the environment by using less energy, then you will benefit from this article's easy steps. Changing a few habits can save energy and cut your electric bill.

Instructions
Things You'll Need:

* Energy-saving light bulbs
* Insulation products
* Warmer winter clothes
* Cooler summer clothes

1.When you leave a room, turn off the light. Avoid using more light than you need. Few activities require turning on every lamp in the room. Replace incandescent light bulbs with energy-efficient light bulbs like compact fluorescent lights (CFLs). When compared to a 60-watt incandescent bulb, over its lifetime a CFL will last ten times longer and save up to $30 on electric bills.

2. Moderate the temperature inside by turning the air conditioner or furnace up to five degrees above or below your normal setting. For example, if you normally set your air conditioner to 70 degrees, change it to 75 degrees. You may need to shed your socks and put on shorts or a tank top, but you will see a significantly smaller electric bill. In the winter, put on a sweater or thicker socks before turning down the heat. Being conservative with your home's temperature is one of the easiest ways to save energy.

3. Use less hot water. Wash clothes with warm or cold water. Only run the dishwasher with a full load, and turn off the "heated dry" cycle; most dishes will dry naturally from the heat remaining inside the dishwasher. Use slightly cooler water in the shower and shower quickly. Wash your hands and face and brush your teeth with cold water.

4.Buy products marked with the Environmental Protection Agency's Energy Star. Products boasting the Energy Star rating meet the strict energy saving standards of the EPA and the US Department of Energy. Using them will lower your electric bill.

5.Install insulation to prevent cold and hot air from seeping in and out of the house. Hanging insulating drapes will save energy. Wrap the water heater in insulation and paint your ceilings and walls with insulating paint that reflects heat back into the room. Adding insulation to exterior walls will definitely save energy, but requires significant expense. Insulating just the attic is a cheaper alternative that will cut your energy bills.

How to Tone Down a Bright Wall Color

So you had this great idea for your living room or bedroom to really make it pop. You went to the paint store and found an amazing, bright green paint that was going to give new life to your home. You raced home to give your drab walls a makeover. Well, now you are standing in what feels like a kid's cartoon playhouse, and you are seriously regretting your decision. You still love the color, but it's just way too bright. Don't fret. You can tone down a bright wall color.



Instructions
Things You'll Need:

* Neutral-colored curtains
* Neutral bedding
* Dimmer light
* Blue light bulb
* Large, simple modern art
* Can of white paint
* Can of original wall color
* Can of semi-gloss glaze
* Empty bucket
* Paint stirrer
* Paint tray
* Sea sponge

Without Paint
1. Hang curtains of a neutral color such as white or beige to balance out the room.
2. Dress the couch or bed in a plain, neutral slipcover or bedding that does not have patterns or elaborate stitching.
3. Place a lamp with a dimmer in the room and only use low-light settings.
4. Screw a blue light bulb into your light fixture to wash out the bright walls.
5. Hang large, simple, modern art with lots of white space on the walls to take the focus away from the walls themselves.

Sponge Paint
1. Mix white paint with the original color of the walls until you have a softer tone you like.
2. Pour a 50/50 mixture of the new color and the glaze into a bucket and mix it gently with a paint stirrer.
3. Fill the paint tray with the new paint/gloss mixture.
4. Touch the sponge lightly to the paint in the tray so that it has a thin layer of paint on the end.
5. Dab the bright walls gently in small sections so that the bottom color still peeks through gaps in the sponged-on paint.

How to Prevent Your Pipes From Freezing

If you've ever had the misfortune of having a water pipe freeze and burst, you know first hand about what a devastating impact it can have on your home. The broken pipe itself is actually relatively minor, but the damage caused by the leaking water running through your walls and ceiling can mean a major reconstruction project, requiring replacing drywall, ceilings and maybe even furniture and appliances. Here are some ways to make sure you never have to go through that hassle.


Instructions
Things You'll Need:

* Fiberglass or rockwool insulation
* Preformed pipe sleeve insulation
* Electrical heating tape

1. Plan ahead and figure out which pipes could potentially freeze. Water pipes running through unheated crawl spaces and pipes running through walls to the outside are prime candidates for freezing.

2. Turn off the water supply lines running to your outside taps before the cold weather arrives. There is usually a shut off valve in the water supply line close to where it goes through the outside wall. Once the water is shut off inside, go outside and open the outside taps as well. This will drain any water remaining in the pipe or in the tap, so there's nothing to freeze.

3.Check any pipes that run close to outside walls. Put some fiberglass insulation or rockwool between the pipe and the wall to help keep the cold away from the pipe.

4. Insulate any pipes that run through unheated crawl spaces. Wrap them with fiberglass insulation and tape or put preformed pipe sleeve insulation along the pipes, then tape the sleeves in place.

5. Install electrical heating tape (available at home stores) on any pipes that run through areas that get really cold, like garages.