It was nice to have those clotheslines there, right next door. I like to hang sheets outside; that's about the only thing I used the lines for, at first. Then in the last year I decided to get serious: Unless we are having a series of rainy days, everything now goes on the clothesline. I have an electric dryer, so I figured I'd be saving a few pennies by not using it.
About three months ago, I began washing my clothes in tap-cold water, with the exception of the overalls Cliff wears when he's working on tractors and getting all greasy; my water heater is electric, too.
Since I pay the same amount year-round on my electric bill ($128 monthly), I wasn't sure how much I was saving, but I knew I had to be making some sort of dent in my overall bill.
Poking around on the Kansas City Power and Light website where I pay my bill, I found out exactly how much I've saved in the past year, because there's a comparison chart.
On the left is the current year; on the right, the previous year. Even though last month we had our biggest bill ever, over the year we have reduced our usage by 19% (this information is below the chart). And I didn't really start waging war on our electrical usage until perhaps mid-summer.
I wonder if I can do even better next year.
