10 Tips on Saving Electricity and Lowering Your Bills

Switch to CFLs: Save up to $35 a bulb

CFL bulbs will provide 10,000 hours of light and use $10.40 of electricity (at 8¢ per kilowatt hour). To get the same output with incandescents, you would have to use seven bulbs, which would cost less up front, but the electricity would cost $48.

Replacing incandescent bulbs with compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs) is one of the quickest, easiest ways to save money—and a place everyone can start. CFLs use about 75 percent less energy and last up to 10 times longer than incandescent bulbs. This can save you up to $35 in electric costs over the lifetime of each bulb. Switching to CFLs in the five most frequently used fixtures in your house will save about $60 per year, according to Energy Star.

Choose CFLs with the Energy Star label to get the greatest savings. Energy Star products have to meet energy-efficiency guidelines set by the EPA and the Department of Energy. When you shop, keep in mind that light fixtures with dimmers require special CFLs; read the label.

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DIY Bathroom Storage

Hidden toothbrush organizer
If you keep your toothbrushes in the medicine cabinet stacked on a shelf, they probably fall out when you open the door. If you cut notches in the cabinet shelves, you'll solve this annoying nuisance. Use a rotary tool along with a woodcutting bit and sanding drum.

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Clever Tool Storage Ideas

Hang wrenches on a tie/belt rack
Are all your wrenches stuffed in a plastic bucket? Here's a better idea. Screw a tie/belt rack (available at discount stores) to a bare spot on the wall over your workbench and hang the wrenches—SAE and metric—where you can swiftly nab and put them away in an orderly fashion.

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