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Saving energy can save you money all year all. It's not that hard to do but during the holidays you can spend more on everything it seems. There are the gifts, decorations and large dinners that can cause you to stretch your budget to the every end. There are some things you can do to reduce the costs of the holidays without putting a damper on the holidays. Saving energy during the holidays is one of the easiest things that you can do.

Decorations

The decorations such as the lights use energy. You can buy solar powered lights for the walkway to showcase the decorations that you have outside. The lights will build up power during the day and light the walk at night. Limiting the amount of decorations that you use to just the ones that enjoy the most.

Unplug

The lights on the tree and around the house should be unplugged at night when you go to bed. This prevents them from posing a danger at night while you're sleeping as well as saving you energy. When you plug the lights in wait until dark because you can't actually see them in the daylight anyway. Continuing to unplug things such as television sets, microwaves and stereos that use power even when they are off. Surge protectors can make unplugging easier since you just flip the switch to stop the flow of energy.

Habits

It can be a bit chilly during the holidays. Dressing for the weather will save on the heating bill a good bit. Making sure children wear their coats and gloves when going out will keep them warm and keep them from adjusting the thermostat when they get in.

Laundry still has to be done during the holidays and you save energy while you do it. Setting the washer to a cold wash and rinse using the shortest cycle you can to clean your clothes will save you energy and money. Just because it's cold out it doesn't mean that you can't hang the clothes out to dry. A small room can be set aside to place drying racks and an in door clothes line in. This will allow you to hang clothes out even in the winter.

Turn Off
Turn off the things that you are done with. When you cook make sure that you turn the stove off when your done. Set the thermostat as low as you can stand it and don't touch it. Turn the lights off in rooms that you aren't in should be turned off. Switching the lights in the home to CFL's will save you money instantly on the light bill.

Keeping Warm

No one likes to be cold but occassionally they do enjoy a nice fire. Can you build a fire in the fireplace so family and friends to gather around? It's not only cozy but it'll save you energy during the holidays as well.

These are just a few of the many things that you can do during the holidays to save energy without putting a damper on the season. If you think about it there are a dozen more that you can come up with.

Learn more about this author, L. Beall.
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