Happy Friday!  Here are some quick and easy ways to slim down your energy use -

1. Let the sun shine in. Open your windows during the day and turn off your overhead lights.  Natural light is good for your mood and flattering to your skin.  If seeing your neighbors first thing in the morning isn’t so good for your mood, put up some lace sheers or light muslin curtains – you’ll get the light but not the view.

2. Make a one-light rule. At our house, you’re not allowed to turn a light on unless you turn a different one off.  Make your kids (and your partner) pay you a nickel every time they leave a light on.  Use the nickels to pay your electric bill.

3. Redefine ‘normal’. Turn your air conditioner setting up a degree.  Tomorrow, turn it up another degree, and so on, until you notice a difference.  You might be just as comfortable with the thermostat at 76 as you were with it at 72.

4. Take it outside. Your laundry, that is.  Hanging laundry is better for your clothes and your wallet, plus towels and sheets dried in the sun smell yummy.

5. Unplug. Unplug your toaster.  Unplug your coffeemaker.  You get the idea.  Put all of your chargers on one power strip, and turn it on when you go to bed, and off when you get up in the morning.

Have a great weekend!  See you next Friday for another Five!