Being Neighborly in 2023

Annoying things our parents nagged us about when growing up ‘Under Their Roof:’ “Close the refrigerator door!” “Shut the window, I have the heat on! Are we heating up the whole block?!” “Turn off the lights when you leave the room!” As an adult and having to foot the bills yourself, those annoying nagging sayings make a whole lot more sense now! Working day in and day out just to give all your hard earned money away is just a part of life, right? However, how nice is it to have the peace of mind knowing you did your best to have some of your money remaining after the bills are paid for savings or for fun? That’s why it’s good to know all those creative and uncommon ways to save on things like electricity! Once you know how to cut down on those darn ‘gas usage’ charges, that bill can reduce dramatically and save you money! While it’s not uncommon and more about common sense, turning off the lights when you’re not in a room can save you significantly when you make a conscious habit of it. Also, while replacing a perfectly working bulb would seem needless, some may want to consider it. Just about everyone in this century has now heard of LED lights. What’s great about these bulbs is they use at least 75% less energy AND last 25 times longer than your average $1.88 generic brand light bulb. What’s more, GE offers all kinds of motion sensored and smart home efficient and energy saving lights to help out all those tech-advanced people. They claim to be easy and user-friendly, but that doesn’t stop me from being a little skeptical. I’m sure my son could figure it out for me, though! While not everyone has time or the skill to cook at home, there are still plenty of folks who probably do use that big metal appliance in the kitchen. A helpful tip they should consider, according to the California Energy Commission, is that if you turn off the burner early, the stove will most likely release enough heat to finish whatever you’re cooking and save some electricity! Also, every time you open that oven door to check on that pizza, or lasagne, or pie (I’m officially drooling now) the internal temperature can drop 25 degrees! As a result, the oven uses more electricity to bring the temperature back up. There’s a window on that big chunk of burning metal for a reason, Bud. *Wink, wink* Another helpful cooking tip is to consider utilizing a smaller cooking appliance to use less energy. Microwave ovens, air fryers and toaster ovens are all great options to use substantially less electricity than the oven. It’s no secret that many of us enjoy television, streaming services and our electronic devices to keep us entertained. Even though medical providers will advise against it, oftentimes there is some sort of white-noise coming from somewhere in our homes. However, if we did take the medical advice and turn off those gadgets during periods when they are legitimately not being used (ie: while cooking, showering, doing chores, trying to fall asleep etc.) that would save 3% or more of your average monthly energy use. It may not seem like a lot, but it adds up quickly and every little bit of saving counts! One scary truth we tend to think is ridiculous and even annoying: energy vampires exist. Does that mean I want you to invest in some garlic? No. Not that kind of vampire. I’m talking about the devices and appliances you leave plugged in daily that are secretly consuming energy even when they are not being used. Ok, so we could call them energy leaches too, I suppose? But that’s not the term I found on Google. You get the idea though - it’s best to unplug the toaster and phone charger if you’re not using it! See? I said it would be annoying and ridiculous. But it’s supposed to help, so I’m offering the option to you. All of these things could easily put a little extra paper in your pocket or rainy day fund. I think we all could agree, living smarter and not working harder is an easier route to improve your lifestyle and achieve the personal growth we all strive for. With Prolific, this is always our goal: Putting Our Residents First and Ensuring Their Greatest Lives Can Be Lived.