Put It on A Power Strip

I received my power bill this month and I am enjoying the change of seasons.  The power bill reflects the change. This is the time of year when we can open windows and doors and air the house after the stale winter.  A few well placed fans can keep us from closing up and turning on the air conditioners for a few more weeks.  

I so enjoy the lower bill that I am looking for other ways to lower the bill and keep it down.  I am looking to reduce use wherever I can.  

I have decided to check every room for appliances and extra lighting and put it all on power strips.  

Many of my appliances have clocks I never set and other features that continue to run and drain power even when the appliance is turned off.  

The Blu-ray, The DVD player and the (yes, I still have one or three) the VCR are criminals of power sucking when not in use.  I put them on a powerstrip.  This does more than protect the appliances from power surges.  It allows me to flip a single switch and turn off the power vampires, when I am not using them. 
In this photo to the left, I counted five clocks on the components and a clock on the top of the speakers on the right.  Really?  how late are you?  How much do you care if you are on time during a movie?   

I have several lamps in a dark corner that I have put on a power strip and placed the strip in a way that makes it easy to turn off all the lamps without leaning over furniture or going from lamp to lamp.  Just one flip and they are all off.  Even better, if I suddenly need light, it's an easy flip of the switch to turn them on all at once.  

Surge_suppressor.jpg

en.wikipedia.org

I have my PC and printer on one of these strips.  They allow you time to save your work and shutdown your PC if the power goes off while you are working.  

Using Timers and Motion Switches to

Another great use for the power strip is to get all similar tools or appliances in a central location.  This photo shows a charger working to charge power tool batteries on a timer.  The timer insures that no power is wasted and the batteries don't overcharge.  The batteries have time to charge and when that time expires, the power is cut off.

Look around for one of these, for all of your "I" devices, or make your own charging station.

http://www.amazon.com/Power-View-
Charging-Station-iPhone/dp/B00BFYG4PA

You can create a charging station to save some electricity.  With all the charging cords on one power strip, it's no hassle matching cords to devices, and when the devices are all charged, turn off the strip to stop the chargers from sucking power out of the wall.  

Things to do with Newspaper, beside read it!

     Things to do with...Has been a popular series.  I have a few more ideas and a few more things to reuse.  Today, it's newspaper.  Before I start making my list I truly suggest you read the paper!  And, as a side note, there are a couple of places you should not use newsprint.  Left in a barrel or storage box, newsprint can rub off onto porcelain.  Do not use printed paper as a pressing cloth when ironing.  There are sources for unprinted paper (moving companies) for these uses.

Unfold newspapers to be reused.  Remove glossy sale papers (they are not good for the garden) and recycle them.  Stack the sections flat till needed.  

Use sections of newspaper to make paper logs for winter fuel.
Use sections, at least four pages thick to line the garden as a weed cloth.  
Use entire sections to line soil to make a pad that grass and weeds won't grow through under pools or ponds.
Use sections of paper as attic insulation until needed for other projects.

celebrating-family.com 

Use ripped strips of newsprint for pet cage lining.
Use ripped strips for paper mache.
Use ripped strips for making more paper.
Use ripped strips of paper for packing, storing and shipping.
Use ripped strips as a growing medium for worms.

Cross cut shredded paper from your document shredder makes confetti, packing material, paper mache, paper pulp for paper, and pet lining for burrowing rodent like pets.

How to Make a Worm Compost Binsmallnotebook.org 

Use as compost.


Use newsprint as a wallpaper. 
Use newsprint to fill large cracks and drywall mud over it.
Use newsprint for making beads.(this is a good use for those color ads)
Use newsprint for scrapbooking.
Use paper as gift wrap.
Use paper table covering while crating.
Use paper when making auto repairs to absorb oil and as a grease shield. 
Use paper to make patterns.  

Crumple and use to fill in leather shoes to keep their shape and to remove odors.

jltfk: An easy way to copy your favourite clothes/ copy patterns ...jltfk.blogspot.com 

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