Give up electricity?

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gaylejackson2
Posts: 3172
Joined: Tue Sep 08, 2015 1:13 pm
Location: Utah

Re: Give up electricity?

Post by gaylejackson2 »

No thank you! I’ll keep my electricity & be comfortable!!

We do use more in summer because of AC, but between our natural gas furnace & the wood-stove in winter, we actually use less power then. It evens out in my mind.

We do have small appliances, but they are unplugged when not in use.

I do my best to conserve, but with my 5 children, there is Always something on somewhere. I just feel grateful that everyone is fairly healthy at the moment.
Dgflorida
Posts: 4381
Joined: Wed Oct 07, 2015 8:10 pm

Re: Give up electricity?

Post by Dgflorida »

This is very interesting. This is the generally agreed viewpoint among most.
Quilter51
Posts: 2815
Joined: Sat Aug 29, 2015 6:04 pm

Re: Give up electricity?

Post by Quilter51 »

None. Use them wisely and have the most energy efficient when I can? Absolutely. But even as someone who is becoming a bit more minimalist I cane see the point of giving up to give up. I keep my air at 78. I try and unplug things when they are charged and not just leave things on when not used...although I do keep being fans on in a couple rooms got the benefit on the dogs.
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Mrscreative
Posts: 2119
Joined: Fri Aug 28, 2015 5:06 pm

Re: Give up electricity?

Post by Mrscreative »

In one word - never!
littlemiss63
Posts: 2516
Joined: Thu Aug 27, 2015 10:11 pm
Location: Middle Tennessee

Re: Give up electricity?

Post by littlemiss63 »

I try very hard not to waste anything. If I leave a room not in use, I shut the switch off. I make sure I have full loads of clothes before doing a wash. I hang most all of my tops and slacks to air dry.

Giving up electricity would be very hard for me as I've lived without it and it was awful. If I had to watch my pennies that close then I would give up something else to keep my electricity on. Living in our part of the south you would be absolutely miserable without air conditioning. It's not just the heat, it's the humidity. You step outside sometimes and feel like you will suffocate before you get your air going in your vehicle. I don't owe anyone a dime, and as I have said before, if I didn't want brand new cars, to travel or have the nicer things of life I could easily buy groceries, pay my house insurance and live comfortably on the amount I draw for social security. I couldn't have the luxuries, but to heck with them if I'm burning up or freezing.
colonialgirl
Posts: 1835
Joined: Sat Aug 29, 2015 2:01 am
Location: Central Illinois

Re: Give up electricity?

Post by colonialgirl »

DG -
I just read your blog entry about this being one of your goals. Have you considered the alternate costs? I don't mean this to be nasty or argumentative, I truly do not. I just looked it up and it looks like the cost to run a vacuum cleaner for an hour is 10 cents to 14 cents per hour. I can vacuum my whole house in about 15 minutes. So if you don't vacuum you are saving maybe a nickel per week - or $2.60 cents over the course of a year.

But the additional pressure you put on your bum knee by sweeping that much could result in a doctor visit or medication or another treatment. That would easily be multiple times that amount.

One of my mama's favorite sayings was don't be pennywise and pound foolish. I know you pride yourself substituting activities of daily living with the most frugal alternative you can come up with, but there is also a physical cost to take into account as well. Just gently suggesting that maybe additional physical pressure on your knee is not worth a nickel a week.
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