![]() Sign up for your utility’s time-of-use plan. Choose one neutral trim paint for the entire house rather than buying a gallon of a particular color for each room and using only a fraction of each can.Ĭost: You have to forgo the trendy color combos in the paint manufacturer brochures.īonus: Crisp white trim is always in style, and you’ll never have to rummage around for the right can for touch-ups. Savings: About $50 per year off your energy bills.īonus: You and your guests won’t see closet clutter.Ĥ. Shuttering closets along exterior walls also helps to insulate the house.Ĭost: Zilch-although it may take a few minutes for your clothes to reach room temperature before you put them on. Close closet doors to lower the square footage you’re heating (and cooling). ![]() ![]() Savings: $50 or more for the same tool at a rental center.īonus: Getting to know fellow renovators in your neighborhood with whom you can swap tips.ģ. Go to Zilok for far better deals than rental retailers offer. Borrow specialized tools-gas-powered post-hole diggers and table-mounted routers-from a DIYer in your area for a small fee. Savings: $25 a year on electric, gas, or propane.īonus: Your clothes will dry about 20 percent faster.Ģ. A short and unobstructed line makes your dryer run more efficiently. Then trim the hose length so that it’s just long enough for you to pull the dryer a few feet out from the wall. ![]() So tip your cap to all your penny-pinching kin and read on for the best why-didn’t-I-think-of-that ideas for shrinking your household expenses, from getting free trees from your town’s public works department to installing an under-sink filter to cut costs on pricey bottled water.ġ. Suddenly, though, the pot-roast-and-potatoes ethic doesn’t seem quite so kooky. Remember when the tightfistedness of relatives raised during the Depression was amusing? Our grandparents’ certificates of deposit and plastic couch protectors seemed downright quaint when our own home-equity and retirement portfolios were ballooning. Buy firewood in the spring and season it yourself to save $100 per cord | Photo by Wendell T. ![]()
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