Your Energy. Your Money. Simplify Your Life One Habit at a Time

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According to a study by the Northeast Energy Efficiency Partnerships, habits account for nearly 45% of our behaviors on any given day. So, in the spirit of making things better, let’s jump in and cover several habits that will help you, your hectic schedule and your bank account.

Time-Saving Habits

Create a cleaning schedule

To prevent your cleaning tasks from feeling overwhelming, take one thing at a time. The best way to keep your cleaning from getting out of control is to create a cleaning schedule. When you assign a specific task to a specific day, things won’t build up. This way, you’ll jump on a quick job—like cleaning the bathrooms—and you stay on schedule. This approach also prevents that feeling of dread on a Saturday morning when your entire place is a wreck and you cower under the covers in fear of spending an entire day cleaning.

Automate household tasks

Consider using automated devices like a smart doorbell, robotic vacuums and a smart thermostat to lighten your load. That’s what technology should do, streamline your life.

Batch cooking and meal prepping

There is one big benefit of meal prep—or preparing your meals for the week in one setting. You save time. That extra time can be used throughout the week for other things instead of planning and cooking meals repeatedly. You can even use the recipes in this issue, like air-fryer dishes, to make things easier. And don’t forget the slow cookers that save you time in the long run and the air fryers that save you tons of time. Both lighten your load while saving you energy.

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Optimize lawn and garden care

Garden and lawn care can be very therapeutic. Studies have shown that gardening alone can help your mental and physical health. That being said, like anything, you can find a way to get a benefit beyond mental health. One option is to shift from peonies and bugleweed to tomatoes and strawberries. Growing your own veggies can be a great way to have a hobby that helps out with your bottom line. It’s also a great way to spend time with children and teach them about healthy living and eating. Side note. If your kid grows kale, they will eat kale. Another option is a smart lawnmower. Like a robot vacuum for your lawn, you can save gas with these all-electric options—and save yourself the headache (and knee ache and backache).

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Energy-Saving Habits

Use a smart thermostat

What makes these clever devices so fantastic is their learning capability. You won’t be constantly monitoring your thermostat because the thermostat is monitoring itself. You no longer need to program the thermostat to adjust temperatures when you’re away or asleep. This will also greatly reduce the totally epic Thermostat Wars in your home. While battling over the home’s temp is fun, letting a thermostat take over will save you time and energy.

Switch to LED bulbs

You’ll be saving both energy and time again on this one. And when it comes to time, it’s a pretty big deal. A good quality LED bulb can last three to five times longer than a CFL and up to 30 times longer than an incandescent bulb. That means years, sometimes decades, depending on the usage, between the oh-so-fun activity of changing bulbs. That also means fewer times perched up on a rickety ladder with an old bulb in one hand, balancing off the wall with your other hand and a fresh bulb in your mouth like some sort of cartoon character. No one wants this. So next time you’re buying a bulb, get one that lasts—saving you time, energy and time on a rickety ladder.

Seal windows and doors

This one’s for everyone who’s ever been on the giving or receiving end of a “Shut the door! Are you trying to heat (and/or cool) the entire neighborhood?” We know you have the more frugal of your relatives in your head every time you open a door and let those outside temps sneak in, but that relative could be on to something. By preventing drafts, air leakage and improperly installed insulation, you could save on the energy used to heat or cool your home. Sealing gaps has the added benefit of increasing the efficiency of your HVAC system, saving you the time and money it takes to purchase a replacement and the time it takes to frantically run around your home closing doors and windows, thinking every degree preserved can save the day. You’ve already saved the day, you Super Insulator you—but we’d close them anyway.

Grab a smart power strip

The bad news? There’s something called “Vampire Power” and it’s when your many electronics go into standby mode, quietly sucking out your energy. The good news? You can pick up a smart power strip that can detect standby mode and fully turn off your devices automatically. This can save you the time and discomfort of shimmying under your desk in your home office trying to unplug that printer you use once every week to 10 business days to save money. Yes, you might’ve found that lucky pen you’ve been searching for under that desk, but in the long run, it’s not worth your time. Get a pencil holder and a smart power strip.

So, get into the habit of good habits—and saving time. Building new habits is like building a muscle. The more you use it, the stronger you’ll get. And use the One Percent Rule. Make a 1% improvement each day. This approach will allow you to continue to build your willpower muscles and progress in a manageable manner. It’s the perfect way to stick to your habits and give yourself props for advancing daily. And it’s how you’ll build some habit momentum.