Saving money at home, while on vacation tips?

[VAfamily1998]

We'll be leaving soon for a long vacation. I was telling Dh that we should try to use up all our perishable food before we go, as we don't want to have to throw out a bunch of rotten food when we get back.

Then I started thinking, if we don't have a lot of perishables left in the fridge--we'd mostly just have a few condiments like salad dressing, etc. left--we could probably just move those few things down to our mini fridge (college dorm sized) in the basement and unplug our main kitchen fridge! That would probably save quite a bit on our electric bill, right? Any downside to doing this (besides the "creative" meals we might have over the next couple days to use up the perishables )?

Do you do anything in or to your house before leaving on a long vacation to save energy/water/money while you're gone?

 

[secretpantssam]

If you don't have anything in the freezer either, I don't see why that wouldn't work.

I always unplug all the little appliances and tvs before I go on vacation. That way I'm not wasting electricity while I'm gone.

 

[SaraJayne]

Turn down your water heater when you're gone. No need to keep the water hot and ready to go when no one will be using it.

 

[Spoonful_Of_Sugar]

If you do have some food left over why not give it to family or friends.
Thats what my MIL dose.

 

[semo233]

I would leave the doors open and springle baking soda all over the inside too. Once the fridge has been used, it can smell real "funky".

Are there any circuit breakers you can turn off? You'll want some lights to work, but to really limit electricity use, turn off as much as you can or Unplug EVERYTHING.

Are you talking about a few weeks of vacation or a few months?

 

[KS Dis Mom]

Turn off the water at the main shut off in your home.

I have heard too many flood stories (water heater - cracked toilet).

I also do the clean out the fridge before we go!

Have a safe trip!!

 

[pixiewings71]

Instead of turning it off why not turn it up? that way it won't start to smell funny....and put baking soda inside it, that way you save some $$ but don't mess up the fridge. Otherwise it sounds like a good idea.

 

[Disneefun]

Be aware the the fridge will take up to 24 hours to cool down completely again. So you may find yourself having to eat out every meal for a day or so until you can make a grocery shop and bring it home to a fridge that is a safe temp. If you're going to be gone for a couple of months, it's probably worth it. If we're only talking a week or so, probably not so worth it.

 

[bear74]

don't forget to turn up your AC. I would not turn it off as it might be to hot when you get back home.

 

[MELSMICE]

Be aware the the fridge will take up to 24 hours to cool down completely again. So you may find yourself having to eat out every meal for a day or so until you can make a grocery shop and bring it home to a fridge that is a safe temp. If you're going to be gone for a couple of months, it's probably worth it. If we're only talking a week or so, probably not so worth it.

That's what I was thinking.

I unplug appliances when we are on vacation, turn the heat down or AC up when we leave & also turn the hot water tank down, but I don't make any huge adjustments like turning off the fridge.

Just being gone for the week, not turning on excess lights, going in & out so the furnace/AC goes on & not using water (cold or hot) keeps the utility bills down.

 

[swilshire]

We turn off the breaker for the hot water heater and turn off the water to the house. We also had a friend with a flooded basement when a water pipe broke while they were on vacation.

We set the HVAC thermostat at the max (either max high temp in the summer or max cold in the winter) to make it unlikely to run.

We unplug all the small appliances and electronics.

When you flip off breakers, just be careful that you don't get the wrong one. A friend lost a whole freezer of food when they hit the wrong breaker.

Sheila

 

[Muushka]

I am pretty frugal, I never disconnect the refrig. A friend was telling me that her husband did that one time and evidently they had some ice build up in the freezer that they were unaware of. The refrig leaked all over their hardwood floor and subsequently ruined that area of the floor.

I always unplug everything, except the refrig and freezer.

 

[blanq]

I would not unplug my refrigerator; it takes quite bit of of energy to cool a refrigerator/freezer from room temp so I am not sure how much you would really save if you did this. We always bump up the temp on the air conditioner in the summer, and bump the heat down in the winter. We also always turn off the water.

 

[DisneyShannon]

I live in Florida and my power bill last month was 300.00 dollars. I also bought a new car last week and have been thinking of ways to save money for the payment. I got spoiled buying whatever I want now that extra money must go to the new car.

I agree give the food away to people. We have 5 dogs so we take our vacations separately. I live with my dad and sister. So I have no advice on the power savings.