Friday, April 1, 2011

On my mind...

Today I am mindful of the power price hike. For South African's who buy directly from Eskom this comes into effect today. It will affect us on 1st June as we buy from the municipality. We try to save on electricity usage as much as we can. But we are a large family, we run a business (with 3 staff members), I bake LOTS, we do not have solar or wind power...so we need to think of more ways to reduce power usage at home...I am taking ideas....anyone?!? On my mind is a Friday photo feature started by Rhonda at Down To Earth.

5 comments:

Linda said...

Hi
We have been using a Sunstove, it bakes bread and roasts chicken etc... too. It also comes with a recipe book. We have also gone solar with one of our geysers and this is helping a lot.
Warmly
Linda

Lois Evensen said...

I agree that we all must conserve energy and find alternative energy sources. We must also take a very close look at the politics that have driven us to higher costs for energy that does not have to be so expensive and vote accordingly whenever we can. Much of the price rise is political.

Kids and Canning Jars said...

I am all about reducing my power bill. Here is a few of the things we do. I think I told you about my favorite in exchange for the loufa seeds. Solar lighting inside the house. Use at night to read or whatever and recharge by sunlight for next day. We have solar lights placed up in window sills. This is also what we choose to use as a flashlight. AMAZINGLY free!
We unplug absoutly everything. Anything we can plug in for a one time use is then plugged in. We leave things like the washing machine, oven , fridge all plugged in but all lamps, cell charges, computers and the like are unplugged.
Line dry clothing, wash dishes by hand. (however i am going to start using the dishwasher when canning and dished back pile). All lights off as soon as you are done or leave a room. We have reduced our power bill by over 100 us dollars doing these things. Good luck I hope some ideas help you all.
Melissa

Meg said...

I've been keeping things plugged in to power strips and turning them all off at night before I go to bed. I've also been making sure to turn my computer off rather than just putting it in "sleep" mode - computers are energy fiends! I've been doing my dishes by hand and not running the A/C. Might be uncomfortable when it gets super hot, but it sure makes home-made lemonade taste better :)

Anonymous said...

Hi, from my urban "farm" in East London! Love reading your blog. I've started building my wood-fired oven. It's fantastic for baking breads, pizzas, casseroles - well, just about anything. Will also be used for drying. Uses no electricity and can provide a fantastic "kuier"-spot.
Regards,
Dion