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How To Get Your Kids Involved In Cutting Your Energy Bills |
By:
Graham Tasker |
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How To Get Your Kids Involved In Cutting Your Energy Bills
by Graham Tasker
One of your most challenging tasks in running a household is keeping your basic utility costs within reasonable bounds. The major utilities such as gas, electricity and water can sure eat up a huge chunk of the average household income. So it has to make sense to try to reduce these costs to a minimum - and you'll be helping the planet too.
If your household is like most then it's likely that your kids contribute significantly to your utility costs. Given this, it only makes sense to get them on board when it comes to reducing these costs. And when you do this, you can feel good about doing your bit to save the planet too.
If your children are like most others then it's just about a certainty that they love playing computer games. If your children have a games console or a PC that you allow them to play games on then try to ensure that you give them guidelines involving set hours that they can use them. You really shouldn't encourage them to play video games whenever they feel like it because if you do they are very likely to abuse the privilige resulting in high electricity bills for you. It's also worth remembering in this regard that most games consoles will also need the TV on for them to function - a bit of a double whammy as far as energy consumption's concerned.
Assign a time for video games and never allow the kids to exceed. It is advisable to keep a limit of one to two hours of gameplay during weekdays and four hours during the weekend. Also make sure that your kids study first before they plug in their consoles or even computers.
Another thing you should do is ask your kids to unplug their electronic gadgets when not in use, as these devices eat up electricity even when in stand-by mode. This practice can also have the desirable side effect of encouraging them to tidy things away after use.
Another precious resource you should encourage your kids to take care of is water. This can done by limiting the use of the shower or the bathtub. Try to use a medium-sized container for kiddie baths instead of the shower to help control consumption. While it is certainly fun to splash around in the bathtub, remember you need at least 25 gallons of water to fill up a stardard-sized tub. Limit use of the tub during weekends.
A surprising amount of water can be wasted during the simple act of brushing the teeth. You should teach your children to turn off the tap during brushing of the teeth and only use a small cup of water for gargling.
Because of the part they play in the cause of high energy bills, it is imperative that your children are encouraged to be a part of the solution. The discipline instilled in them by getting them to practice good energy conservation principles from an early age will also help them to be good citizens when they grow up. And that can only be good for the planet.
If you're looking for a new energy conservation technique then Graham Tasker, the Webmaster of Green Home Website at http://www.greenhome.no1-source.com has plenty that you'll find interesting and informative. You are welcome to reprint this article - but get your own unique content version here.
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Article Source: http://www.statssheet.com/articles/article54701.html |
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