Money Saving Monday

-
This week's tips:

1.  Install devices on showers to turn water off temporarily.   We found our water bill to be sky rocketing.  Last year my husband installed some handy dandy little devices in our showers so that we can take "military" showers.  We turn on the water and get wet.  Then we push the little button or turn the knob and the water turns off.  Time to soap up without all that water just running down the drain.  Then we push the button or turn the knob and the water comes back on and it's still adjusted to the temperature we like.  Rinse off, and our shower is completed having used at least half the amount of water normally used.  (Now I have to admit--in the winter I do not like "military" showers.  Brrrr...Cold.  I like the warm water running on me constantly.)  I don't know how much these little devices cost, but it's not much.  It saved us money immediately.

Downstairs shower head with button turn off switch.
Upstairs shower with the turn knob.

 2.  Buy a water saving toilet.  This might not help you as much as it did us.  We live in a house that is 100 years old.  The upstairs bathroom had an antique toilet that probably flushed 4 to 5 gallons per flush.  When there are nine people in the house flushing the toilet, the water adds up quickly.  I loved that old toilet.  It added to the character of our house, but we finally decided it had to go.  I was kinda sad.  We figured the new toilet would pay for itself within a year with the amount it would save us on water.  We were correct.  The new toilet flushes 1.3 to 1.6 gallons of water per flush.  Our water bill immediately dropped about $15-$20 per month. 


Out with the old.
In with the new.



Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Skillet Zucchini and Hamburger

-
Image
My garden is producing peppers, onions, and zucchini and yellow squash right now.  I ran across this recipe, and the kids thought it was great.  They liked it much better then the way I had fixed the zucchini previously in a similar recipe with diced tomatoes instead of spaghetti sauce. What You Need: 1 lb ground chuck 2 lb zucchini or yellow squash, chopped in bite size pieces 1 green or red bell pepper, chopped 1 large onion, chopped 2 garlic cloves, minced 1 26 ounce jar of your favorite spaghetti sauce 1 teaspoon garlic powder 1 teaspoon dried basil leaves 1/2 teaspoon black pepper salt to taste What To Do: 1.  Brown ground chuck with onion and bell pepper in a large skillet.  Drain grease. 2.  Add garlic and seasonings.  Stir. 3.  Add zucchini and stir.  Cover with lid and cook over medium heat for approximately 15 minutes until zucchini is crisp tender.  Stir about every 5 minutes. 4....
Read more

When You Have To Let Go

-
Image
Heartache.  Deep, painful, agonizing heartache.  For a season that felt like it would never end, I carried a weight of anguish that tore at my very soul.  Parenting had been the source of immense joy for me, but at the same time there came with it intense sorrow.    Learning to handle this heartache is something that for me personally both challenged and grew my faith.  During this time I learned to appreciate the words of Psalm 77.  The lament of the Psalmist was much the same as my own heart cry to God.  It says,  I cry aloud to God, aloud to God, and he will hear me.  In the day of my trouble I seek the Lord; in the night my hand is stretched out without wearying; my soul refuses to be comforted. When I remember God, I moan; when I meditate, my spirit faints. You hold my eyelids open ; I am so troubled that I cannot speak. I consider the days of old, the years long ago. I said, “Let me remember my song in the night; let me meditate in...
Read more

My Battle with Depression

-
Image
"Your Mom is not the same person she was," I overheard my husband explain to one of our boys. Our son wistfully replies, "I hope she gets better soon." My tears flowed.  I was not sure I would ever be better.  How does a broken heart heal?  How is one ever the same after they are broken? Each day I rose early.  In the stillness of the morning, I sought strength from above.  I never wanted to leave the quiet.  I wanted to stay here reading His Word and praying.  But...children awoke, meals needed fixed, laundry begged washing, and somehow I walked through each day.  However, I lived angry inside...angry that my solitude had been disturbed. The reality of my life was depression.  A depression that would not loosen its grip. It took me a long time to acknowledge it though. Over a year before my medical doctor had suggested to me that I take an anti-depressant.  I had gone in for unexplained aching and fatigue in my body. ...
Read more