5 Money-Saving Household Habits

Your house gives you so much: security, pride, shelter. With all that on the line, it’s easy to assume the costs of keeping it up just are what they are. But wait. There are plenty of expenses that are simply a waste.

Houselogic.com offers money-saving tips without putting a dime of your home value at risk.

1. Clean Your Light Bulbs

A dirty bulb emits 30 percent less light than a clean one. Dust off both the bulb and fixture, and you might be able to cut back on the number or brightness of lights in each room without noticing any difference.

2. Switch Your Bulbs to LEDs

By replacing just five of your most-used incandescent bulbs with uber-efficient light-emitting diode (LED) bulbs, you could save $75 a year on your energy bill. And LEDs last 15 to 20 times longer than incandescents, so you won’t have to replace them nearly as often.

3. Stop Buying Dryer Sheets

Another easy swap? Give up your dryer-sheet habit (about $7 for 240 loads) in favor of wool dryer balls (about $10 for six, which last for more than 500 loads each). Of course, depending on your laundry preferences, you can always just go without either.

4. Close Closet Doors

Each closet and pantry may hold a paltry amount of square footage, but you’re still heating and cooling it. Add up all the storage space, and you’ve got the equivalent of a small room. Shut the doors to keep the conditioned air out.

5. Program the Thermostat

Program your thermostat to turn the heat down by 3 to 5 degrees when you’re not home and at night, and set it to bump the temperature up by the same amount when the A/C is cranking. You’ll save $10 to $20 a month and never feel the difference.

REALTOR® Association of the Fox Valley : 433 Williamsburg Ave., Geneva, IL 60134 : 630.232.2360 : www.rafv.realtor