Hung out to dry

The first month that Chris and I moved in together, was in January.  I got a nice little shock when I received the Hydro bill in Feburary, and our electricity usage had almost doubled.  I'm happy to report though, that we (I) immediately ceased our wasteful ways, and have been reducing our usage ever since.  That month, we used about 480 kWh of electricity, which cost us about $70.  In April, we used under 190 kWh, which was have the cost, even with the increase in rates.  Complain if you like about the increasing rates, but we are really lucky in that we live in a country so abundant with natural resources.  If paying more means that you are supporting more sustainable methods of obtaining energy (yes we support wind power), then I'm all for it.  I mean, I pay twice that just to have a cell phone!  Where's the logic in that?

Keep in mind that the furnace would have been running at full tilt in January, but other than that there was really no excuse for so much consumption.  But considering we both work from home quite regularly, our laptops are almost always needing to be charged, it can really add up.  So for two people to consume that same amount (or less) of electricity as one person previously, it's pretty amazing what you can do.  So what was the difference?

We stopped using the dryer.  Yup.  That's it!  We just plain stopped using it, seems like a no-brainer, I know. I used to hang my clothes to dry about half of the time, more in the summer, less in the winter.  Dryers are the most inefficient appliances in the home.  There really isn't such a thing as an "energy efficient" or energy star rated dryer, they just use too much power, and ours is heated by gas.  That's just how inefficient they are. 

We permanently plopped our drying rack in our tiny dining room and Chris diligently took on the role of hanging the clothes.  We haven't totally abandoned the dryer, in cases of emergency we still use it.  I often use it when the clothes are 90% dry, to finish them off and fluff them up.  But for the most part, we are just using it as a storage shelf ;)

Here are some things to keep in mind:

• If you use fabric softener, stop immediately.  You are just soaking your clothes in gross chemicals.  Instead, pour a cup of vinegar in your rinse cycle, or downy ball.  It will get rid of the soap residue so your clothes don't dry with that crispy feel.
• Hang your clothes inside in the winter, it adds moisture to the air.
• Hang your clothes outside in the summer, they dry in a snap.  Be careful not to leave them out in the sun too long as the UV rays will fade your clothes, or dry them in a shady spot.  Better yet, hang your whites in sun, as it naturally whitens!
• If you've left the clothes on the rack and they are super wrinkled, pop them in the dryer for a few minutes with a wet cloth (or sock, or anything) and the moisture will steam the wrinkles out a bit. 
• Hanging your clothes to dry will help them last longer, and prevent fading and shrinking.

Happy (free) Drying!