By Michelle Shearer

Oh boy, don’t know about you but my bill has just tripled and it’s crucifying.  We know everyone everywhere is feeling it so thought it might be a good idea to put our collective heads together and pool together some top ways to save money on our bills.

If you have other ways, please feel free to share in the comments section below.  The more the merrier, we say!

1. Turn Off Your Lights!
2. Light Free Day– experiment with no lights for one day a week!  Use candles, or just go to bed when the sun goes down.  Could be fun!
3. If you do use a dishwasher, fill it up before you use it
4. Review the temperature of your fridge and freezer.  Of course, it needs to do a job but is it on the coldest possible setting?
5. Unplug!  Yes, tune out and do yourself a favour.  Turn everything electronic off. Give yourself electrickery free days and go outside instead.
6. Fill Up Your Fridge.  Emplty fridges cost!  They have to work harder.  If you find it’s on the empty side, fill it with full bottles of water.
7. Keep Your Freezer Full: the frozen items will work to keep the inside of the freezer cold and mean the freezer uses less electricity.
8. Use wool dryer balls – can reduce drying time from 30-50%
9. Consider solar panels
10. Talk to your power company and arrange a regular payment plan based on estimated usage.
11. Consider wood heating the whole house
12. According to Rachael Edwards “Know Your Tariff! Because we have solar and got in before the premium feed in cut off we get 68c/kw for every kw we make and don’t use. We pay 31c/kw peak and 15c between 11pm and 7am and on weekends.  Every kw we use during the day costs us potentially 68c (what we get paid if we don’t use it) so we use expensive appliances such as dishwasher and washing machine after 11pm weekdays during off peak power times, or after dark on weekends. Bake on weekends.”
13. Cheree Clark “I have double doona’d the beds (sewn 2 doona’s togethers & put them in the doona cover) so no need for a heater in the bedrooms”
14. Cheree: “I use the oven to heat the house in winter by baking in the afternoon/evenings.  I double bake so if I am roasting a chook for dinner I will cook a cake a the same time.
15. Cheree:  “I close up the house at around 3 o’clock so it keeps the heat of the day in – including closing all the blinds & covering the glass door.”
16. Sian Davies: “One tip I’ve picked up recently is to boil the kettle in the morning and fill a thermos with hot water so you don’t have to boil the kettle everytime you want a cuppa during the day. Using the kettle uses a LOT of electricity, and if you have tea all day, this one will help save you money and time.”
17. Do star jumps to keep warm, pop on jumpers and socks, go out and runrunrun to warm up!
18. Wear warm clothes.
19. Know when Off Peak is then run your dishwasher etc then if you can
20. Use rugs and slippers to keep little (and big!) feet warm
21. Compare energy plans to get the best deal
22. Electric for hot water?  Try turning the thermostat down by 5 degrees.  (Needs to be minimum of 60 degrees Celsius to prevent bacteria build up in the system).
23. Wash clothes in cold water
24. Be mindful of your usage of the main offenders:   air con units, hot water systems, fridges, swimming pool pumps and electric heaters.
25. Hand wash your dishes – lose the dishwasher!
26. Use little lamps instead of the big room lamps – that way they light up just the area you are using.
27. Shut off power on all appliances – TVs etc on standby  are still using power (“running that stand by light can cost $200 a year!” Cat Fogarty)
28. Keep the cooling vents clear and clean in your fridge and freezer – if they are blocked the appliance will have to work harder
29. If you have to use your dryer, separate the clothes before putting in machine – it will be more efficient this way.
30. Shower together or use the same bath water for everyone.
31. Ditch the dryer and air dry clothes instead.
32. Unplug appliances you aren’t using
33. Use your front door not your garage door (if it’s one of those self opening ones)
34. Turn off your computer when you’re not using it.
35. Shut all doors to rooms you wont be using if you use heating of any kind.
36. Use draft excluder sausages
37. Try not to open your fridge and freezer so frequently.
38. Turn off lights when TV is on
39. Watch less TV
40. Choose light paint colours brighten spaces – possibly less need for lighting?
41. Unplug battery chargers e.g. iPhone, laptop etc when not in use
42. When you’re cooking a meal, take all the ingredients out of the fridge at the same time. Less opening of the fridge = less electricity usage
43. If you use a dishwasher, clean the drain regularly so you will not need to rewash dishes.
44. Keep dryer lint clean – this will help the machine run more efficiently.
45. Soak your dishes before popping them in the dishwasher.
46. Manual gardening: ditch the electric trimmers!
47. Get rid of unnecessary electric appliances such as electric can openers etc
48. Have bread not toast
49. Rotate cordless phones in one charger only instead of having more than one charging at the same time
50. Air dry your hair
51. If you have a microwave, disconnect the light in there.  Your kitchen is probably well lit enough.

How do YOU save money on your electrickery bill?

Share your tips