My checking account is looking a little skinny right now, so I mostly bought a lot of fruits and veggies
1) Broccoli slaw with cut up chicken, cut up red bell pepper, diced red onion, cut up cucumber, and shredded carrot. - 2 lunch meals
2) Chickpea and Chicken Salad. - 2 lunch meals
3) Sister Slaw - 1 dinner meal http://allrecipes.com/recipe/sister-slaw/detail.aspx
4) Matt's Garlic Salad - 1 dinner meal http://allrecipes.com/recipe/matts-garlic-salad/detail.aspx
5) Green Salad with Chicken and Pecans. - 1 dinner meal
6) Oatmeal. Side of ham. Side of grapefruit with stevia. - 4 breakfast meals.
7) Eggs. Side of ham. 1/2 serving of oatmeal. 3 breakfast meals.
8) Mediterranean Kale Salad. - 1 dinner meal. http://allrecipes.com/personalrecipe/63344509/mediterranean-...
9) Caron's Kickin' Quinoa Salad. - 1 dinner meal. http://allrecipes.com/recipe/carons-kickin-quinoa-salad/deta...
10) Salad My Way. - 1 dinner meal. http://allrecipes.com/personalrecipe/63331549/salad-my-way/d...
I am hoping to be able to decrease overall expenses soon. My gas and electric are both on level payment plan. The usage gets re-assessed yearly in September I believe, so I should get a bill with the new amount in September or October. The dh and I have worked really hard on decreasing usage of gas and electric.
1) We have installed LED bulbs in nearly every lamp and fixture in the house. On less-used ones, we are waiting for the bulbs to die before we replace them. We also have a outside security light that we have to get someone to come over and replace for us. It requires a 10 foot high ladder to do it and we don't have one. I think we can have that done on October 14th. We also keep lights in some rooms turned off in the daytime if there sufficient light from the sun.
2) Because our dishwasher was about to die and we use it every day, we needed to buy a new one. We bought a new one with energy efficiency settings that we always use. We also only run it once daily except for the weekend when I do a lot of cooking.
3) We keep the blinds closed on the west side of the house because it gets so hot.
4) We are committed to buying an oak tree which we are going to have planted on the west side of our house. The tree is reserved for us. We just have to go on the 28th, my next payday, and pay for it to be delivered and planted. It is about 6 feet high right now and in time, will provide plenty of shade for that side of the house. And a lot of leaves to rake, too. ;P
5) I do the bulk of our cooking on Saturday and/or Sunday, so that the kitchen does not get so heated up. This was crucial in the summer months.
6) I have been taking shorter showers to reduce the load on the water heater. I also don't use a blow dryer. In the winter, I get up earlier to take a shower to make sure my hair is dry in time to go to work. Or, I take a shower at night.
September 23rd, 2012 at 08:34 pm 1348428866
September 23rd, 2012 at 09:23 pm 1348431812
September 23rd, 2012 at 09:55 pm 1348433734
It sounds like you have a good plan in place to conserve energy. We have a couple areas of our house that stay pretty dark during the day. I found these really neat LED motion lights at Sams Club. 2 for $14.99 They detect motion up to 20 feet away. Mp excuse anymore for anyone leaving a light on in the hallway or foyer any more.
September 23rd, 2012 at 10:01 pm 1348434066
We have greater plans to replace all the windows in the house, but cannot afford to do so right now. We also want to replace the water heater and furnace with a sustainable energy option. Our current thinking on that is something that will use solar panels on the roof which will work to heat the water and the house.