As the weather cools, you start to save energy by opening your windows and feeling natures A.C…a breeze! Your energy bill should be dropping and allowing you to save. But the holiday season doesn’t just bring cooler weather, it takes on a whole new meaning to your energy levels. Not only are you burning up your energy by cooking big family meals, putting up those decorations, and getting all of those gifts, but you are burning a hole in your pocket with your energy bill. It can be enough to make you want to give up on the entire season.  

Don’t pull the plug on your holiday season just yet. Here are 3 ways to save energy throughout the holidays.    

Keep the lights off

The decorations truly bring the magic to the holiday season but keeping lights on all night can burn through your electricity. Skip the lights this year and decorate with wreaths, garland, or ribbon! Just have to have a little twinkle in your life? Buy LED holiday lights. LED lights will bring down your energy cost by 80 to 90%. Plus, set your lights on a timer. This way you don’t have to reach around all your furniture to to pull the plug or leave them on all night. 

Limit shopping trips

Trip after trip to the store to get everything you need for dinner and gifts, drains your gas tank. Avoid the constant need to run to the store by creating a list before going. Look through your kitchen to know what you have and make sure to add gifts to your list so you can hit your retail shops and grocery store in one trip. Or skip the store altogether by ordering online. You have everything you need at your fingertips with a few clicks of your mouse. You won’t even have to go to the postal office to mail your gifts; mail it straight to them through the online store. 

Limit your appliance use

With everything going on during the holidays, you may be running your appliances more than usual. When using your oven, try to bake items at the same time. Instead of using your dishwasher, wash the dishes by hand. This will save on energy and could be a fun way to interact with family when one of you is the washer and the other is the dryer. If you have too many dishes to wash by hand, make sure to completely fill your dishwasher before running it.

Not ready to commit to all of these changes, try just one and see what you can save. Looking for more saving opportunities, head to Velocity Community Credit Unions website to learn how we can support you through the holidays!

Source: Balance