Wednesday, May 21, 2008

Holy Low-Energy Lifestyle, Batman!

We have now truly realized the benefits of the clothesline! I know I've gone on about how hanging the clothes is more relaxing and we seem to get more laundry done and blah, blah, blah. Well, here it is folks, the moment of truth:

Our gas bill (we have a gas dryer) dropped from $75 last month to...$16 this month!!! That's a reduction of about 80%. Nothing else in our usage changed. We cut our gas bill by 80% just by employing extremely minimal use of the dryer. Holy crap. I knew it would make a difference but I had no idea it would be so dramatic.

Hubby and I have also started a work carpool experiment. We work the same hours and our offices are only a few miles apart, and we've been making the trip every day in two cars - silly. We're fortunate in that we actually sort of enjoy the time together in the car, and don't generally get on each other's nerves. Also, each of us gets a turn each day to just sit and be a passenger, which reduces driving stress for both of us. Since we're too far from work to walk or bike and there's no public transportation where we are, this is the best solution we could come up with, and so far it's working quite well. We'll be really happy when we start enjoying the benefits of only paying for half the gas!

8 comments:

  1. What a great big drop in your bill ! Those are wonderful results. It just goes to show you what a high energy, hurry up life style really costs you. Have you figured up how long you would have to work to pay for running your clothes through a clothes dryer? After taxes and work expenses that is.

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  2. We could have had more helpful usage statistics to post, had the damn dog not eaten that part of the bill.

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  3. There is a way to retrieve that information I believe ;).

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  4. Wow, that's like having a money plant! I'm curious about our energy usage but we've changed so many things, including seasons that I won't be able to say what was what

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  5. That's amazing to save so much just from your reduced dryer usage! Wow. Way to go. Every time I'm tempted to use the dryer these days, I think about the money I'm saving. I think the Tightwad Gazette says it's $1 a load, and that was in her 1990s dollars.

    Came over from the food storage group. Nice to find your blog.

    Lisa in MN

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  6. That is great! I too am kicking the dryer habit. Last month our electric usage was HALF what it was last year! I did dry about 4 loads of diapers (kinda an emergency situation there) but it is amazing what energy hogs they are. Way to go.

    Jennifer

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  7. Wow - that is a dramatic drop in your power bill!

    I love air drying my clothes - they also last a LOT longer.

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  8. One more reason for me to go hang... haven't started yet (still need to install purchased clothesline sitting in garage).

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