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Should You Install Solar in Your Home?

Solar power is green energy that not only helps the environment but also saves you on your electric bills. Solar power, however, is not right for everyone. If you are thinking about converting your home to solar power, take a look at the following information. Do you live in a location that gets a lot of sun, such as the sun belt, California, Texas, Florida, etc.? If you live in overcast Seattle, solar may not make as much sense for you to install. Do you spend a lot of money on electricity, at least $125 a month on average? Is … Continue reading →

Learn About Solar Cooking

Solar Cooking is a great way to do something positive for the environment. By using the natural power of the sun and not the generated, manufactured or stripped power of electricity, oil, coal or gas, you can create wonderful meals at home and lessen your impact on the Earth. Plus cooking with fire, even using wood, can be dangerous and also add carbon to the atmosphere. One other added benefit of solar cooking is that the slow cooking process tends to keep more nutrients in your food, which is always a great thing when you are feeding yourself or your … Continue reading →

Turn Off Your Oven! Frugal Ways to Cook and Bake

Your electric oven is one of the worse energy hogs in your home. If you read my earlier article, Energy Hogs: Where Does Most of Your Electricity Go?, you’ll see that the oven uses 5,000 watts of energy! Compare that to the average light bulb at 60 watts. While we should be turning off our lights whenever possible, maybe we should also be turning off the oven. Toaster Oven If you are making a small meal, consider using a toaster oven. Because it is smaller, it uses less electricity to run. I don’t have a very large toaster oven, but … Continue reading →

Reducing the Cost of Oven Cooking

When you cook from scratch, you are already saving money. But did you know that the way you cook can affect your budget? Learn how to reduce your cooking expenses when you use your oven with the following tips. As I mentioned in an earlier blog, Energy Hogs: Where Does Most of Your Electricity Go?, the oven demands a lot of your energy dollars when it is in use to cook your food. There are ways to reduce this energy usage. Smart Preheating Do you always need to preheat your oven? Warming up a pizza or food that is already … Continue reading →

The Frugal Blog Week in Review: Jan. 27 to Feb. 2

Hello there! It is a quiet Saturday evening on the day before the Superbowl. my husband is getting the last kid to bed, I’m listening to my new Nora Jones music, and I am seriously thinking of taking a nice hot bath. Before that, though, I wanted to bring you the week in review for the Frugal Living Blog. I know you read every blog faithfully, so I’ll just assume you want to reread them all again. Saturday, January 27 Save on Paper: Take Advantage of Junk Mail In an earlier blog, Save on Paper: The Three Best Ways, I … Continue reading →

What Is A Solar Oven?

Have you ever heard of a solar oven? Many people use one to save on the costs of cooking. A solar oven uses absolutely no electricity or gas to cook food, but just as its name suggests, solar energy. It is very energy efficient and frugal. Harvesting the power of the sun, a solar oven can be used in both summer and winter for cooking everything from meat to cookies. In the winter, you would just place your oven in such a way as to catch the maximum amount of sun. This type of oven is used primarily outside, although … Continue reading →

Fun and Affordable Dad’s Day Gifts

He may say that all he wants for Father’s Day is a long nap, but if you have young children at home, they’ll want to give Dad more than some quiet time on Sunday. Put your kids’ energy and enthusiasm to good use by having them assist you make the following easy, affordable and fun Father’s Day gifts: POTATO STAMP SHIRT Materials: One white t-shirt Large piece of cardboard Bag of large potatoes Cookie cutters (use shapes that will match dad’s interests, including dogs, trains, stars, sailboats, hearts, balls, or letters that spell out special words, such as “love” or … Continue reading →

More Fourth of July Fun Without Fireworks

Colorado is burning. So is Utah and parts of Arizona. Some of the nation’s most destructive wildfires are putting a damper on Fourth of July festivities from coast-to-coast. Due to extremely hot and dry conditions, and the fear that other areas may go up in flames like Colorado and Utah, officials have banned the use of fireworks during Independence Day celebrations in nearly every state. If you live in an area where kids are not even allowed to light-up sparklers to commemorate the United States’ birthday, then infuse your Fourth of July parties with these fun activities that don’t include … Continue reading →

How to Make Your Home More Earth Friendly

There are simple things that you can do in your home to make it more Earth friendly. Make a few changes or a complete overhaul. Either way, you will be making an impact that can affect future generations. Speaking of future generations, a lot of these ideas are great for kids. Assign children appropriate earth-friendly tasks around your home. Not only will they learn a great lesson about being environmentally responsible, but they will also get a kick out of being in charge. Purchase and place reusable shopping bags in the front hall closet, so you can grab them on … Continue reading →

Energy Price Increase Predicted

Now is the time to start thinking about energy efficiency. According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, certain energy prices will rise in 2011. Be prepared by taking these steps to increase efficiency. The increases are said to be specifically in the areas of electricity and natural gas, so it is these areas that you can concentrate most upon in your energy savings strategy. Cooking with an oven can use lots of energy, whether it is with natural gas or electricity. Therefore you want to minimize wasteful sue of the oven. It takes a good amount of energy to heat … Continue reading →