How Texas families can Save Electricity When Working From Home

This post is sponsored by Payless Power, a Texas prepaid electricity provider 

Have you been working from home more often than usual and have no clue how to reduce the amount of energy that you consume during these hours of increased activity? You are not alone! There are several easy ways to shift your habits to be more energy efficient. Read below for some tips on saving electricity when working from home.

Tips for Saving Electricity When Working From Home

1. Optimize Your Window Shades

Instead of turning on the lights in your home office, take advantage of the natural daylight that comes through your windows to brighten and warm up your space. However, it is energy efficient to keep your windows covered in any parts of your home that you aren’t currently occupying. Blinds, shades, and other window coverings have an aesthetic and functional benefit as they are able to block out a portion of the heat that enters our homes. During the warmer months, you can practice free room cooling by covering up your windows during the day. You can also shade your windows from the outside to further decrease the heat that is able to enter your home.

2. Use Fans Instead of Air Conditioning to Cool Down

If you find that your home office is uncomfortably warm when you have the windows exposed, you should fight the urge to turn on your air conditioning and instead use a floor and/or fan to cool down the room. While it feels as though floor fans decrease the temperature in the room, they are actually just circulating the air, and if your office is already warm, the fan may just push around hot air. To avoid this, point the fan out an open window so that it can push the hot air outside, allowing for cool air to move inside. Alternatively, you can place a fan across from an open window you can create a cross breeze to cool off the room.

3. Plus Your Workstation into a Powerstrip

Even when you power down your monitors, docking stations, and laptops, if they are still plugged into the wall they are likely continuing to consume energy, which is known as “vampire energy.” One of the best ways to mitigate vampire energy is by plugging your entire workstation into a Smart Strip surge protector, which automatically cuts off all energy when it’s not needed. For maximum energy savings, it is recommended to unplug the power strip all together once you are done with your work day so that your electronics are not consuming needless energy overnight.

4. Use the Dishwasher At the End of the Day

When you work from home, it is likely that you will often have all 3 meals at home, resulting in a big pile up of dishes throughout the day. While it might seem practical to hand wash your dishes immediately after you use them, it is actually more efficient to utilize your dishwasher. So much water is wasted while hand washing dishes, particularly as people typically leave the sink running when manually removing food debris from dish ware. It is estimated that individuals use 27 gallons of water per load to clean dishes by hand and that households waste over 6,000 gallons of water by hand washing per year. Thus, it is more energy efficient to utilize a dishwasher, particularly if you have or can afford to upgrade to an Energy Star appliance, which uses as few as 3 gallons of water to complete a cycle. Additionally, an easy way to improve efficiency is to only utilize the dishwasher at the end of the day when there is a full load in order to minimize excessive use of detergent, water and energy.

How Do You Save Electricity When Working From Home?

Which of the above electricity saving tips seems the most accessible to your current lifestyle? One thing you can do today that takes less than 5 minutes is ordering a Smart Strip surge protector online so that you can reduce the vampire energy that is consumed by your workstation while you are not using it. Have no fear - you will be able to save electricity while you are working from home!

Easy Winter Look

Does anyone else have things they stick to because it works? Yup same here, I’m a fan of change and readjustments but there’s also nothing with sticking with what you know works. For me when it comes to winter looks this means, a few good long sleeve shirts that are all neutral colors, a great pair of pants that can be worn and worn with said shirts as well as turtle necks, scarves and the right chunky winter coat we all have sitting in our closets. This look I’m not gonna lie I wore a lot throughout winter with variations of colors type of pants, shoes, you get the gist . This day was one of those and I paired it with essentials in my closet. As you can see below.

This is a very simple look, that I got a lot of compliments on when I wore it a few times during the winter months. The thing is I didn’t have wrack my brain to put it together, it took only 10 minutes tops. The key? Having all the elements and not over thinking. I had the perfect chunky scarf which can be wrapped to look like an infinity scarf. Also linked two other awesome options here and here all under $30 you don’t have to spend $50 to get an amazing scarf that will last you a while like the one I have. To pull this whole look together I paired it with my go to plaid coat which is not super long but does keep me very warm. I’ve linked a longer version here , here , and here all the coat are under $60 what a steal ! (pics &links about too). I don’t like to overcomplicate my style during winter and this the perfect go to, you can take this look from day to night by adding black pants, or simply changing to some heeled boots.

Cooler Weather Forever 21 Sweater

Sometimes during the cold winter months, it’s so hard to be creative with looks. After doing the whole cute cardigan, scarf, long sleeve otk boots or ankle whichever you prefer, with some jeans or a great pair winter pants that won’t leave you looking like a giant roll of something. I personally get bored, and a little frustrated at winter. Personally I favor summer one - hundred precent of the time as opposed to the cold weather, unless maybe I’m somewhere where it snows. I actually got the chance to go to Virginia during December and experience true winter minus the snow, all the trees were so colorful I felt like I was in a movie. My inner kid was screaming, it felt so nostalgic and welcoming that I wanted to stay. In the spirit of that trip and being a little different at least here in Houston on those random days when it’s cold but no too cold I pulled this look together. I paired a few simple low price things in my closet together for a day at the butterfly exhibit downtown. Lets get into it

First and most important a fluffy soft sweater, this I got at forever 21 ages ago but still hold weight in my winter essentials but most importantly is intact as if I’d just bought it. Followed by a pair of mules which are perfect for a days worth of walking around. Linked two additional pairs here and here, as well as down below. My high slit skirt too which is super soft and can be paired with a lot of different looks. What is your go to look during winter? Let me know below!

Weekend in New Orleans

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It’s officially October, and I’ve been left wondering where the heck September went. October is my favorite month of the year besides January (hello birthday month). I absolutely love everything about October, it’s fall, there’s that sudden change in the air, there’s scary movie marathons, you can finally drink hot coffee outside without burning up, there’s sweaters, cuddles with that special someone or maybe with a glass of wine (I’ll take both) , it just feels GOOD. When I think about fall weather, New Orleans is one of the first places that comes to mind, it just feels like the kind of place to spend this time of the year, the old preserved history, coffee shops, beignets, and the feel of the city as a whole is inviting, this the perfect place to be entirely whoever you want to be to excess. I spent the weekend there and discovered a new New Orleans can do, and open seating plan that allows you to come into the cafe through multiple big doors that also double as windows. This day it was foggy and a bit humid so I opted for a short plaid dress from Zara and my trusty Goorin Bros ‘Dakota Fedora’ which is sold out, but here’s a similar option .

Cotton On Dress

Fall weather is the best kind of weather, and although here in Texas it takes forever to begin to feel it we switch to fall as soon as October comes, and some even before. With fall weather come the ever endless fall weddings. The weather is mostly breezy, your guests don’t sweat profusely their hours long make up, hair, and that dress they had to go to THREE different stores to find. It’s a serendipitous time of the year. I know wedding colors are strict, some people say don’t wear red, because you’re not celebrating your love someone else is, and we all know white is completely off limits. But, I fell in love with this cotton on dress which is is super comfortable and can be turned up a notch with accessories. I got this dress at CottonOn and I’ve linked it below as well as similar ones. If you’re gonna go to a wedding do it right with these simple and beautiful options.