you can't know where you're going...

unless you know where you are!
so, I downloaded our monthly electric and gas usage stats to see where we are.

the good news is, we are below average for electricity, and right at average for gas.

the bad news is, we are using way more electricity this year than last. I am going to spend the next two weeks really looking at where we can cut back. I have already started unplugging the toaster. Our tv and dvd are connected to a light switch.

My goal for the next year is to decrease our electricity usage each month from the previous year. I would like to have our yearly total for 2007 come in at 5000 or less. Unfortunately, we have already used over 50% of our total.

What to do?
electricity
--unplug radio in living room
--turn off kids' cd players
--switch one cordless phone to a regular phone
--watch less tv (L's idea)
--have more stove/oven-free meals
--unplug computer
gas
--install shower start and valve
--do laundry all in one day (to use residual heat from dryer)
--hang more clothes (25% of each load)

I am also going to begin saving gas receipts so I can figure out how many times we fill up and calculate how much we spend over the next three months. Then, we will attempt to curb our driving so that we fill up one less time per month. This may mean me being without a car so R can drive the one with gas.