tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3398781353996043657.post7679348073529842207..comments2009-07-10T16:39:52.400+09:00Comments on The Monster Flower: Cornerstones of Saving — Part 3Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3398781353996043657.post-72576488244045330442008-12-22T00:56:00.000+09:002008-12-22T00:56:00.000+09:00I agree with you on turning off lights when you wa...I agree with you on turning off lights when you walk out of the room. Another big power guzzler that people don't realise is turning the switch off at the power point. Many people leave them on but don't realise it's still using up power. When i use an appliance i always make sure to turn it off at the power point after i've finished.<BR/><BR/>We have solar hot water, and in summer we turn our gas booster off and use the solar power only. It cuts our gas bill by 50% or more. We also do not have an airconditioner or fan, and in summer it regularly gets up to 43 degrees celcius, sometimes 45 degrees, and most people have their aircon on, but we prefer the breeze from outside and simply open all our windows. The summer is always a shock to my man from hokkaido, however, he's slowly getting used to it.<BR/><BR/>When it rains we put out buckets and collect the water for use on our garden. We have automatic sprinklers but if we know it will rain we turn them off and let the rain water the garden. Also, when turning on the taps for hot water, the water that comes out before the hot water comes is put into a bucket for use for later. <BR/><BR/>All these things are really helpful for saving resources and money.<BR/><BR/>I always cook our meals and yasu's lunch for the next day at the same time as dinner. That way he never has to spend money for lunch. I do a weekly shop where i buy all the ingredients for our meals. I actually find cooking is less hassle, and unless i'm making something really involved, it takes under 30 minutes anyway.<BR/>We only go out for a 'meal' on average once per fortnight during the year, and that might only be grabbing a sandwich or a snack in transit. <BR/><BR/>We've gone abit over that recently as it is xmas and people have asked us out to dinner for the once-a-year meet up which is a nice break, but the good thing is, since i married i've become such a great experimental cook, i can cook just about anything these days and i love it, and hubby loves eating what i cook, so it's really no point to going out to eat and paying someone else to cook for us, when we know we would enjoy it more staying home in our casual clothes in comfort.<BR/><BR/>Thanks for your post, i enjoyed reading it :)Kellyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11634221078922326881noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3398781353996043657.post-69436528413667342092008-09-28T10:41:00.000+09:002008-09-28T10:41:00.000+09:00I've enjoyed your little run on saving, Orchid. Ye...I've enjoyed your little run on saving, Orchid. Yes as usual I'm reading backwards. You might be amused to hear that it's 2.40am here and I'm in the middle of redecorating. But I have made a start on getting my blog up to date as well!Emskhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01695482838326498180noreply@blogger.com