Yet, our central air hasn’t been on all summer.

We typically leave the air off until after Memorial Day, relying on spring breezes to keep us cool. This year, the hubby totally cheated and tried to turn it on a week early—only to discover that it was blowing hot air! Since, we (well, I) had been fine all month, we didn’t do anything about it right away. Our budget couldn’t handle another hefty repair bill, like the one we had feared.

Then, it got hotter. And, more things in our life attacked the budget. So, the air conditioning continued to be at the bottom of our priority list. A few weeks ago, the heat finally got the best of me, and we borrowed a few window units from my brother and his wife. I’m grateful for the loan, rather than jealous that they’re currently enjoying newly installed central air!

The only cool part about our situation (ha ha! Get it?), is the electricity bill. Our usage is way down, without the air running all day. Today, though, I finally broke down and called someone out for an estimate (hooray for payday!). However, I plan to continue using several of these tricks, to keep our electricity bill under control even if we do get the air running again. (Fingers crossed!)

No oven: I use the oven as little as possible in the summer anyway, but with no air it is OFF! As an ambassador for George Foreman, I use my indoor grill a lot these days. Since it cooks both sides together, resulting in dinner in half the time, it isn’t running long enough to make an impact on the kitchen temps. If I need to bake or cook anything at all, that goes in the toaster oven—smaller area, less cook time, less heat in the kitchen. We do a lot of cold meals, as well, like leftover grilled chicken salads, sandwiches and wraps.

Water, Water, Water: Keeping hydrated is important. Luckily, we already drink a lot of water, but I have tried to up our intake a bit now that it’s so hot. I’m probably drinking 100 ounces per day right now—and ice cold from the fridge, rather than the room temp water I normally grab. The girls need to be reminded a bit to grab their water, but they’re always right on top of it as soon as it’s mentioned.

Water Play: And, of course, there’s more to summer water than just drinking it! Wednesday was a hot one, so I sent the teen to the aquatic center, the tween to a friend’s pool and setup an old baby pool in the backyard for my 5-year-old. We also have sprinklers, water guns and water balloons for the girls to play. Not only does it keep them cool, but I get to be the awesome mom who says yes to those things.

Stay Indoors: If we’re not getting wet, we’re not outside. If our unair-conditioned house isn’t keeping us cool, we head to the library where there is AC, lots of books to read and free wifi so I can still get my work finished. For fun days, we would choose the Children’s Museum or bounce house with AC over outdoor options.

Shade: We keep our thick drapes closed throughout the day, so the sun has to work a bit harder to warm the rooms. There is also a heat control film on all of our sun-facing windows—that dropped our utility bill significantly when we first installed it years ago. If we really must go outside, I consider shade when choosing a park. It’s hot enough out in shade, so we’re not about to stand outside in the sun! I’m also fitting my runs in at sundown, which helps a little bit.

Stay Where It’s Coolest: We placed one window unit in our bedroom, and one in the living room. We leave our bedroom door open and all the other doors closed, to get some air into the hallway & stairs (not to mention the laundry area, where our washer misbehaves in the humidity). During the day, we’re hanging out in the living room, where the girls are sleeping together at night.

Because the family that sweats together, stays together. Or, something like that.

What are your favorite ways to stay cool this summer?

1. Beat the Heat: Summer Cooking Without an Oven
2. Beat the Heat: Chicken Salad Wraps
3. Beat The Heat with the Green Goddess Sandwich

I am so excited about my recent discovery—Shoeboxed is going to change everything this year! With this service, you send receipts, they scan & extrapolate the data to store & organize in a secure online account. Receipts get categorized so you can retrieve the information you need, when you need it. They even provide an email address to forward online receipts.

With 4 membership levels—including a FREE DIY version—you can choose a program that works for your family or business. I’m going with the Lite membership. It provides 50 scans per month & an email address for unlimited online forwards. If I go over, I can always scan & upload them myself, since that part is free anyway. The $10/month fee will fit nicely into our budget, and I’m pretty sure I’ll earn it all back next year—both in time saved & few missed opportunities.

Shoeboxed is offering a free 30 day trial right now—check it out and see what a difference organization makes in your life.

1. Organization: The Key to Savings
2. Art of Couponing: Coupon Storage
3. Reusable Bags & Coupon Organization

Because whatever time of the year it happens, a power failure can be a huge hassle. Most of us will have experienced this type of situation at some point of our lives, and endured the scramble in drawers & cupboards for flashlights & candles.

In some cases, the blackout can be caused by a power outage affecting a number of properties on a street or in a particular area of town. But what if you look out your curtains to see that everyone else on your road is unaffected? Or if only one room in your house has lost its power?

In some cases, being in this type of situation can be a bit of an inconvenience, for example if you were watching a film on TV or working on a computer. In other situations, it can have more serious consequences—your alarm system could go down, compromising security for you and your family.

If the power goes out in your kitchen, you’re facing losing an entire fridge and freezer’s worth of food. An entire grocery stockpile gone!

In these situations, you need an electrician to visit your home as soon as possible to sort the issue and get you back on track. However, getting a tradesman in may not be as easy as it sounds, especially if you’re using a flashlight to skim through the phone books in search of someone to come out.

If you’ve suffered a blackout in the middle of the night or during a public holiday, you could find that few repairmen are available—and once you’ve finally found one, their bill is likely to reflect the fact they’ve been called away from their Christmas dinner or relaxing summer holiday in the garden.

For this reason, some people find that having electrical insurance in place offers extra peace of mind. Should your home suffer an electrical problem, sorting out the issue is as simple as ringing your insurer to notify them. Whatever time of the day or night, a fully-qualified tradesman will be sent out to deal with the problem – and you’ll have no hefty bill to worry about at the end.

No one wants to be left in the dark, but selecting the right sort of home emergency insurance means getting things back on track is often only one quick phone call away.

This is a sponsored post, written by the HomeServe team. I couldn’t believe the timing when they contacted me to advertise their electrical insurance service. I’m home with my family today, due to icepocalypse in Indiana. School is closed, the roads are hazardous and grocery stores are bare. I was concerned enough about a power outage last night to put all 3 girls to bed together, under half a dozen blankets—just in case.

1. Thankful Thursday: The Power of Community
2. 10 Fun Things for Kids to Do Over Winter Break
3. Groupon: Collective Buying Power

Some expenses are unavoidable—you need food, water, shelter—but that doesn’t mean there’s nothing you can do about it. Many household expenses can easily be reduced with a few simple money saving ideas. This week, we’ll start looking for ways to save on the things you need, starting in the home.

From budget billing to energy efficiency, there are dozens of ways to lower your monthly utility costs. It all starts with taking a look at the bill. It’s so easy to just pay the bill, without a second glance&mash;afterall, you truly need electricity & water, right? But, take the time to look at the amount each month.

If you have a few bills (or your utility company provides a comparison), see if any month jumps out at you. A sudden spike could indicate a fixable problem. Last year, our water bill jumped in December—at first, we just paid it. I thought it had something to do with all of us being home all day for 2 weeks over the holidays, or all the laundry we were catching up on. When the bill was even higher a month later, we knew we had a real issue.

It turned out to be our water softener—it was almost as old as our marriage and was completely shot. It was recycling every half hour, instead of once per day, resulting in the astronomical water costs. The next month, our bill was cut in half. A quick phone call to our water company, explaining the problem, took even more money off our bill.

You’d be surprised how many times a quick phone call can ease utility costs. Find out if your electric or gas company has a budget billing option. Ask about complimentary energy audits, where their professionals will find the areas you need to work on. Seal the drafts and watch your bills plummet.

For utilities with a competitive market, ask about special offers. Don’t be afraid to let them know you’ve been offered a better deal from a competitor. This is often effective with telephone bills or cable & satellite. It doesn’t hurt to compare prices from other companies, either. After yesterday’s budget exercise, we’re taking a close look at our cell phone bills & contract dates.

Don’t assume just because it’s a top priority or a real & actual need that you can’t find a way to cut costs. Today’s assignment in our budget program: contact each of your utility companies to ask about budget billing, special offers or other ways to save on your monthly bill. You may spend a bit of time on hold (speaker phone is your friend!), but the conversation itself should only take a few minutes—and could save you hundreds of dollars this year.

I’m not a financial planner or a budget expert. I’ll just be walking you through the steps I take each time my budget needs an adjustment. In fact, I’ll be participating myself!

1. Utility Savings at Home: Part 1
2. Utility Savings at Home Part 2: Energy Costs
3. 31 Day Budget (Day 6): Creating a Monthly Budget

If you are cleaning out your cupboard with Denise from Shopper Strategy, you may want to check out the January challenge on Coupon Teacher as well.  I am inviting you to Tame Your Stockpile this month!

Part One: Eating from Your Stockpile—One of the best ways to “Tame” your stockpile is to use some of it! (See, I told you you can clean out your cupboard and tame the stockpile too!)

Part Two: Clean Out The Freezer—My chest freezer desperately needs defrosted and organized.  My freeze inside could use some work too.

Part Three: Get Organized—Come up with a stockpile organization system that works for you.

Part Four: Fill in the Gaps—Focus on what your stockpile needs to be well-rounded and manageable. This means shopping fun!

Will you join me to Tame Your Stockpile during the month of January?

1. Join the January Clean Out the Cupboards Challenge!
2. February No Spend Month Challenge
3. Why You Should Use a Coupon Binder (And How to Get Started)

Repurposing is simply using items you already have in new ways. You can snag these items from other rooms, the basement, the attic or even the room you’re looking to redecorate. Items can include furniture, knickknacks, artwork, photographs, rugs, pillows, window treatments and more. Want to get started? Here are some tips:

1. Gather old photographs, recent photographs or your children’s artwork and have them matted and framed. Group them together in a collage style or display them individually. If you do group some pictures together, vary the sizes, shapes and colors to add interest.
2. Add fringe, cording, satin or ribbon to the edges of window treatments or pillows to add extra punch. Choose a complementary but unexpected color and texture.
3. Use leftover wallpaper to cover lampshades and desk accessories, or to line a basket or shelf.
4. And speaking of lamps, play “musical rooms” with them, swapping out bedroom lamps for living room lamps and so on. You can also do this with chandeliers and possibly even ceiling fans.
5. Pull out all the vases and decanters you got as wedding gifts (and are now stored away), and group them together in varying heights, shapes and textures to create a visually enticing display. Add fresh flowers, seashell potpourri, grass, sand or citrus fruit for a splash of nature.
6. Use a small dresser or armoire in the bathroom to hold towels, bath tissue, personal care items and more. A piece of furniture normally found in a bedroom is sure to add a little zing to your loo.
7. Use assorted cookie cutters or mismatched forks and spoons to decorate an empty kitchen wall.
8. Toss pillows, throw blankets and area rugs can all be shifted into other rooms. Think of how fun it will be to spot the pillows from your den resting happily on your bed instead.

These are just a handful of ideas to get you started on redecorating your home simply by repurposing. Remember to keep your eye out for hidden treasures in your garage, attic and basement as well as at the homes of friends and relatives. You never know what you might find.  Let your creativity and imagination take control.  Check out some innovative repurposed furniture here.

For added options, arrange a décor swap with your friends and neighbors. Their window panels for your area rug. Or your antique trunk for their coffee table. The possibilities are endless.

Enjoy the repurposing process, but keep in mind it can be a bit addictive. The upside is that you’ll always have a fresh look to your home, which will keep your guests talking.

Liberty Kontranowski is a freelance writer and blogger. She is the newest member of the AccessRX writing team, with hundreds of articles published online and in print, covering everything from beauty tips to purchasing prescriptions online to sexual health to parenting, fashion, entertainment and more.

1. 5 Simple Ideas to Lower Your Gift Budget
2. Repurposing for Frugal Halloween Costumes
3. Inexpensive Birthday Party Ideas

It’s not just Halloween.  I don’t want to bite and start down that road of decorating for Thanksgiving, Valentine’s Day, Easter, Memorial Day, Fourth of July or any other holiday (with one exception).  

Any longing to channel Martha Stewart is quickly vanquished for several reasons.

Cost

Decorations can range from a seasonal outdoor banner to full china sets depending on your personal stopping point.  Retailers love to create demand for products we don’t need.  Multiply the price of these holiday nick knacks by the number of holidays and it can add up to a pretty penny.

Christmas-themed china is something that catches my eye every year.  We have a general set of china that is used only a handful of times a year at the most.  It’s not worth the price (even at 50% off afterward) to have yet another set of barely used dishes.

Storage

Which brings me to where would I store the holiday china anyway?  My china cabinet only has room for one set, and that spot is taken.

I have five tubs of holiday decor to store for Christmas (the exception) already which are filled with linens, ornaments, candles and more.  It seems silly to move or rent storage space just so I can have more things that are used once a year.

Time

As much as I enjoy Christmas decorations the time it takes to get them out, sorted, put up and then reverse the process is quite a chore.  If we are traveling at the holidays, I don’t even bother!

Can you imagine doing this every 4-6 weeks for each seasonal event?

Simplicity

One of my personal goals is try to live a simpler life.  For me, this means cutting down on stuff as well as unnecessary obligations.  I’m not ready to pare my belongings down to 100 items like some but am mindful when buying something new.

Some year, I’ll give up the Christmas decorating, and pass my treasure ornaments down the family tree. Until then, I’ll limit myself to this one annual exercise.

Do you decorate your home for more than one holiday?  Have you changed your habits over time?

photo credit: kevindooley

1. Money Saving Monday: Holiday Decorations
2. Save on Holiday Decorations
3. Trimming the Tree

Photo by LVCHEN via Flickr

I was compensated for writing this post, but all opinions are 100% my own.

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