Cutting Costs at Home

June 18th, 2011

Do you have a spare room you can rent out?
Millions of Americans are looking for ways to shave dollars and dimes from their household budget. It is possible to make savings on everything and here are some ideas to get you started.

Boiling water
Use up to 60 percent less energy by boiling water in a microwave rather than on an electric stovetop. When you do use the stovetop, make sure pots and pans fully cover the heating element. A 6-inch pan on an 8-inch element translates to an energy waste of more than 40 percent.

The freezer
Improve freezer efficiency by keeping it as full as possible, with bags of ice, for instance. But keep a 1-inch open space on each side of the interior for better air circulation.

Heating
Lower your thermostat in the winter. For each degree that you drop, you cut your heating bill by 3 percent. To feel more comfortable at lower temperatures, place pans of water near heating outlets or radiators. Water-filled air retains heat better, and the added humidity reduces itching and dry skin.

In the garden
Mix your own garden dirt. Those “enriched” bags of soil boost flower and vegetable growth at about $8 a bag. Instead, for each one part of dirt or topsoil mix in about two parts of compost, shredded from leaves and branches and available for free at many municipal recycling centers. Buy torn bags of mulch. Home centers usually set these torn bags aside, then sell the day’s mishaps at a big discount. Your best chance to get these deals is at the end of a weekend shopping day. Bring duct tape to close them, and a tarp to keep your car trunk clean.

Toilet flushes
Save on every flush in your toilet by putting a plastic bottle full of water, weighted with pebbles, in your tank. You could use a brick or two as well.

Rainwater
Get a rain barrel and connect it to your home’s storm gutters. It will collect water for later use on your lawn, vegetable garden or for washing the car.

Dripping faucets
Stop that dripping faucet. Sixty drips a minute will waste about 6,428 gallons of water per year, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

The shower
Shower quickly and save. A 15-minute shower a day costs about $310 a year, even with a low-flow shower head. Cutting the time by a third will save about $100 annually.

Spare rooms
Consider renting that extra room or space in your garage, basement, backyard. Visit sparefoot.com or storeatmyhouse.com to list its availability and your asking price for free. SpareFoot gets a transaction fee equal to half the first month’s paid rent (a spare bedroom can fetch $150 a month). The site also sells legally vetted lease agreements for $19. Be sure to check out the laws, building codes and zoning rules that affect you; in many communities, renting out your extra space is generally not legal and could result in several thousand dollars in penalties.

Do it yourself
Do it yourself or hire someone? You can get estimates of the difference in cost for a home improvement project at diyornot.com, as well as advice on whether you should go it alone.

This entry was posted on Saturday, June 18th, 2011 at 6:00 am and is filed under Economy, Employment, Finance, Money, Personal / Internet. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

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