My Power Bill Is High!

My power bill has been really high for the past couple of months.  Last month, it was just under $200.  I couldn't believe it, because I live in a small apartment.  Okay, maybe a three bedroom, two bath apartment isn't that small, but my power bill still should not be that high. I am constantly telling the kids to turn the lights off when they leave the room, and to make sure that all the lights are off when they leave for school in the mornings.  They have been doing better, but my power bill is still high.

I was reading a pamphlet that the power company sent me, and they recommended doing certain things to save power.  One of the things they mentioned is something I never even thought about.  Did you know, that when you leave your phone charger plugged into the outlet when it's not charging your phone it is still using up power?  I had no idea, and we all leave our chargers plugged in.  The same goes for the dvd player, and radios.  We need to get in the habit of unplugging everything we are not using.  Maybe then I will see a difference in my power bill.

Speaking of electronics, I am in serious need of some cord management.  My desktop computer is a mess of wires, and so is my television, with the wii, dvd player, converter box, and who knows what else plugged into it.  I am not a very organized person to begin with, but if I am going to make changes in the way we do things around here, being slightly organized might help. I wonder if I can hire someone to organize for me?

Bills

I got my power bill the other day and it was only $93.  I couldn't believe it!  Last year at this time, when we were living in the double wide, our power bills was close to $250. It's amazing what proper insulation can do for your heating costs.  The funny thing is, I have only turned our heat on a few times this season.  Even though it does get down into the 30's at night, we have been having really warm days, with temps almost to 70.  Right now, my air conditioning is running.  And it's a week before Christmas.  To my New York mind, this is really weird.  But, I will not complain because it's keeping money in my pocket.

I remember living in the double wide, and every time the wind blew we would lose shingles off the roof.  We didn't have siding new jersey on the trailer, just some type of wood siding.  The walls were very thin, too, with very little (if any!) insulation.  Whenever it rained, we could literally hear every single drop hit the roof.  Living here, it could be storming like crazy outside and I don't hear a thing.  It's wonderful!

I am hoping that my power bill will continue to stay reasonable, because my water bill is outrageous.  We live within the city limits, so we have to pay sewage.  They take whatever my actual water is, multiply that by two, add it to my water bill, and that is what I pay.  The past two months my water bill has been close to $90.  That's $30 worth of water and $60 in sewage fees.  It's crazy!  But, we are clean, our clothes are clean, and we can drink water right out of the faucet.  I guess that makes it worth it.