The Electric Bill is Under 2,000Q!
ByEach of the last few months we’ve seen a minor adjustment in our electric bill. I’m happy to report that our bill is down by more than 20% from the average of our first few months (2000Q), and over 30% from the high (2300Q).
How did we do it? I think the biggest behavioral change was putting up two clotheslines for clothes to dry. It takes some planning, since they take half a day to dry in the best of circumstances, but the clothes now go from the washer to the line before spending a few minutes in the dryer to soften them up. That has shortened a typical dryer load from say, 45 minutes to 5 minutes.
We’ve replaced a few old fashioned light bulbs with those weird-looking, expensive ones that Al Gore wants to mandate in every home. (The light they put out causes you to want to turn them off). And, I’ve started assessing fines on children who leave lights on. I suspect the only thing that has mattered is the dryer.
Oh well, here’s the latest electric bill:
The savings is equivalent to 40% of the avg monthly Guate wage.
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7 Comments
June 5th, 2009 at 10:06 am
Mark, Love to check out those utility bills, keep them coming!
June 5th, 2009 at 10:16 am
Good job! I admire your persistance in hanging out clothes even in the rainy season!
Our maid has been hanging things off doors, windows, and pretty much any other potentially hangable surface in the house. I`m getting tired of living in a cloth-covered home.
June 5th, 2009 at 12:39 pm
The dryer and bulbs definitely do it! I must confess that I could hang clothes more than I do, but often I grow impatient for my favorite jeans! ;o) However, all linens are hanged to dry, and I use all the corkscrew bulbs but on lamps with nice shades. Makes a big difference.
June 5th, 2009 at 2:41 pm
One of the things I remember about staying in Japan was that every house had a small washer but no dryer– all the clothes would be hung on little racks set up wherever there was room… Balconies were used if it was sunny but during the rain everything would be inside– the trick is to wash frequent small loads…
No, in America I still commit routine crimes against humanity by employing a dryer… I have considered installing a line on the roof of my apartment building but I also have considered all of my pajamas (Christmas themed ones my mom gives me) strewn about the city streets…
June 5th, 2009 at 4:05 pm
How do you make a living in guatemala?…I don’t know how I would but my wife was born in Guatemala and I in Honduras came to live in the US when we were kids and are now considering maybe moving there in the future.
-good job I think you are a very brave men.
June 5th, 2009 at 4:12 pm
Joel,
I had some savings when we moved here and I have some modest online ventures. I also write some. There are very few Gringos who make a living on the local economy, those that I know own restaurants or hotels. You can live inexpensively here if you try, I would say $500/mo per adult and less for children. I have friends who live with local families and pay $250/month for room AND board.
Thanks for reading.
Mark
June 6th, 2009 at 8:33 am
That’s very expensive!! It doesn’t cost anything near that up our way. We do use a clotheline too.