Dabbling Divas

Archive for the ‘Household Tips’ Category

Do you know how much you spend on groceries each week? Each month? Well the government has an idea as to how much the “average American family” spends. There is an online calculator to try out here. I calculated mine and it was almost $900 a month!! I have NEVER spent $900 a month to my knowledge. Try it out. How much do they think you should spend? Leave a comment and check out our discussion boards.

A couple years ago my husband taught me a little trick with super glue and baking soda.  He said if you need something to really hold and super glue isn’t working try this.  I had a wood baby gate that was broken.  He got some super glue and put a big glop around the area that was broken, the sprinkled it with baking soda all around till it set.  It stuck and held it back together again.  It lasted a good couple of years till we were done but it held up rather well.

I would recommend the super glue in a tube that you have to squeeze out not the one that has that little point that you need to press to make it come out.  You’ll be there all day with that one.

With fall just around the corner and cooler days upon us, it’s a good time to start thinking about how to lower our heating costs.  Heating your home is the largest user of energy and with that said can be a biggest saving when you follow tips to use less.  Here are ten no and low cost simple tips on how to reduce the cost of your bill this winter.

1. Change the filters on your units.
2. Turn it down. You can save 1-3% of your bill for each degree you turn it down.  Going from 70 degrees to 68 degrees could save you as much as 6% per month.
3. Make sure you keep closet doors, pantries and rooms that aren’t used much closed.  There is no need to heat spaces you don’t use.
4. Open blinds and curtains on the south side of your home during the day to let in solar heat and close them at night to keep it from escaping
5. Put an extra blanket on everyone’s bed and dial down the thermostat a bit at night.
6. Reverse your ceiling fans and keep them on lower to circulate heat more evenly in your home. 
7. After cooking meals in the oven, turn off the oven but keep the oven door ajar to heat the kitchen.
8. Turn off cooking fans or bathroom fans as soon as they are not needed as they will push your hot air out of your home.
9. Keep throws in your family room to keep you warm and cozy.
10. Use electrical outlet sealers to reduce heat loss on outside interior walls. Find them at Lowe’s.

Please feel free to leave a comment or discuss this on our message board.