Friday Freebies, Samples, & MP3 Downloads 8-6-10

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It was fun looking for samples this morning, especially since I found 3 different Emergen-c sample links and I was able to sign up for all of them. Looks like it’s time to stock up for cold and flu season (if they really even help with that) and strengthen our bones.

Besides lots of vitamins and supplements, I found a ton of other samples today, so lets enjoy something free to kick off a great summer weekend.

The Free Advanced Screening of Weeds & The Big C is still available for sign-ups.

Samples & Freebies

Free Mp3 Downloads

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Posted at 9:19 AM, August 6, 2010 by Tiffany


Reducing Air Conditioning Use to Save Money

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Since the move, I’m back in an apartment with air conditioning, which is great. Previously I was devising all kinds of ways to keep cool without air conditioning. Though I’m glad to have ac again, it’s addicting and costly. Ours is supposedly energy efficient, but we haven’t gotten our first electricity bill yet to determine exactly how efficient.

Luckily, it’s been a pretty mild summer here Chicago. Before yesterday I didn’t turn the a/c on for 4 days. I had it on for a couple hours yesterday afternoon and evening, and now it’s off again and hopefully will stay off for the next day or two.

Sometimes I wish I could leave it off completely, but I have a pet chinchilla, and they are very temperature sensitive, so I have to keep it below 74 degrees Fahrenheit at all times. It takes a little work to keep the apartment cool and reduce the amount of air conditioning I use, but it’s totally worthwhile because it saves money and energy, which is good for me and the environment.

Here’s what I do:

Buy a thermometer

Weather reports aren’t necessarily the most reliable stats on the block. I can search for the temperature for Chicago, but am really getting the temperature at Midway Airport, which is about 10-15 miles away, and when you’re dealing with Lake Michigan, that can make the temperature a couple degrees off.

For some people this may not matter, but for me it’s essential (and convenient) to know what the actual outside temperature is where I live. I bought a great indoor/outdoor thermometer with a remote sensor. I put it in the room with my pets (I also have two rabbits) and hung the sensor on our patio.

With just a glance I can compare the indoor and outdoor temperatures and automatically know when it’s cool enough to shut off the air conditioning and open the windows.

Turn off the AC at Night

Even if it’s too warm during the day, most nights I can turn off the AC and open the windows to let mother nature cool down the apartment. We use fans to circulate air through the apartment, though some nights it gets cool enough to just have open windows. If we really need to suck air in or out, we do have an inexpensive Holmes Twin Window Fan from when we didn’t have air conditioning, that we use.

In the morning I leave the windows open until it starts warming up (I also check the forecast for the day just to see if it may be cool enough to go sans ac altogether). I shut all the windows (and sometimes the door to where the pets are, to keep the cool air in there) and don’t turn on the air conditioning until the inside temperature gets too close to 74. (This works right now because I am home during the day. If my schedule changes, then we fortunately have a programmable thermostat I can set, but I don’t think it’s quite as efficient as I am). I always go off of the temperature in the animal room. If they’re at 72 and the living room is 76, then I just don’t bother with the ac.

Run the Heat Making Stuff at Night

When my air conditioning is off and the windows are open that’s the time that I turn on the lights, run the dishwasher, run the washer/dryer, and use the oven. During the day I try not to do too much cooking (sandwiches, salads, and fruit make great, healthy lunches), but open a window to counteract any heat that may come from the oven. Believe me, this does make a difference, even if it’s a subtle one.

Close the West Facing Blinds in the Evening

We’ve got a lot of windows in our new place, and it’s wonderful because there’s so much natural light that we don’t need to turn on any of our lights until about 8PM. That alone is saving us on electricity costs. The majority of our windows are north facing, but our living room has huge bay windows facing due West and once the sun starts to set, our living room becomes an oven.

Luckily there are some trees and other buildings near us that block out some of those sun rays, but usually there’s about a half an hour or so when we just close all the east facing blinds until the rays dissipate. It helps keep our living room cooler, and save on air conditioning costs.

These are the basic ways I’m cutting our a/c costs. I’d love to hear what you do.

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Posted at 11:13 AM, August 26, 2009 by Tiffany


Money Saving Tip: Keep Cool & Cut AC Costs

Filed under: All, Eco-Friendly, Home, Money Saving Tips 
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For the first time in my life I am living in an apartment without air conditioning and it’s not the easiest adjustment in the world, but it’s only temporary and definitely not the end of the world.

To beat the heat, I’ve done a lot of reading about alternative ways to keep cool and cool your home. The tips aren’t only great for those of us without the privilege of a/c, but also great ideas to help reduce the amount of air conditioning you use, saving you money! Also, it’s better for the environment to reduce your use.

So if you’re game, try a few of these tips:

-If you don’t already have them, invest in some fans. Ceiling fans are great and can reduce the temperature in a room by a couple degrees. Oscillating fans help with air circulation. If you have central air, sometimes just running it on fan mode is enough to keep things cool.

-At night, when the air outside is cooler, open some windows. Use two fans–box fans work particularly well–one blowing the hot air our and one sucking the cool air in. This will significantly lower the temperature in the room.

-During the day, close all windows to shut the hot day air out. Close all blinds and curtains you can to block out direct sunlight, which can heat up the room.

-If you’re willing to invest a little money, buy some UV blocking window film. Easy to apply, it blocks solar heat in the summer and also helps retain heat in the winter.

-Wait to run electronics at night. Everything electronic, from light bulbs to dishwashers, create heat when they’re on. It’s best to run them in the evening when it’s cooler out

-Another source of heat is cooking, so avoid using the stove or the oven as much as you can. Toasting something in a toaster oven creates a lot less heat than setting your oven to 375. Use a microwave or eat cold foods like salads. Another great idea is to use a grill and cook outside. Of course you can always go out to eat, but that’s not necessarily the cheapest option.

If you do have central air with a programmable thermostat, make sure you program it for a higher temperature while you’re away from home. Even just raising the temperature a few degrees can save money.

For more tips check out these sites:
15 Tips for Keeping Cool Without Air Conditioning
Keep Cool Without an Air Conditioner

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Posted at 4:05 PM, June 24, 2009 by Tiffany