With household expenses rising, going green can save you thousands. Cheddar News spoke with Sara Morrow from Consumer Reports about ways to help people slash their bills with climate-friendly home improvements.

<div class="block">With household expenses rising, going green can save you thousands. Cheddar News spoke with Sara Morrow from Consumer Reports about ways to help people slash their bills with climate-friendly home improvements.</div>

Stretching Your Dollar

Stretching Your Dollar: Saving Big on Climate-Friendly Home Improvements

Now time for stretching your dollar. Yeah. Thanks to record high inflation. The average cost of running a household feels more expensive than ever. But did you know there are some big savings to be had just by going green? Take a look at this. How would you like to knock off several $1000 a year from your household expenses is significant savings. Sarah Morrow from consumer reports says it's not only doable but a lot easier than you might imagine. Some things are very low level, just kind of like habit changes you would need to make. Morrow says it's all about going green and living a more sustainable life. Let's start with your water heater. Did you know if you reduce the temperature from 140 to 120 degrees, you can see save up to $453 a year on energy costs? It is incredible and it's an easy thing to do. You can save another $393 a year if you switch to a reusable coffee pot filter and another 231 bucks if you install a bad day in your bathroom. We've done a lot of research and reporting around installing the seats and cut your family's toilet paper use by about 50%. If you're counting so far, we're up to 1000 $177 in savings. But let's keep going. You can buy a soda maker and skim off another $195. Washing your clothing in cold water will save you $66. And if you choose a generic or cheaper brand of detergent, you're looking at keeping another 79 bucks in your wallet, buying smart led bulbs instead of halogen ones will save you $70 a year in energy costs and you'll save $50 more by using an automatic thermostat that just the temperature in your home while you're away or asleep. As for the tip that surprised us the most when it comes to your home, printer, consumer reports. Researchers found that by simply changing your type font from times New Roman to aerial, your ink will last 27% longer. Every little bit adds up. It sure does to the tune of $1537. If you follow every tip, we just suggested happy savings not to mention aerial better looking font than time. Anyway, uh thanks to Tara Rosenblum for that report, energy efficiency, obviously key here and one effective step is upgrading to energy saving appliances like led light bulbs. This simple switch not only reduces your electricity usage, but also saves you a substantial amount on your monthly bills. Hannah. And speaking of lighting, natural light is not only aesthetically pleasing, but also environmentally friendly by doing some simple things like opening up your curtains during the day. You can embrace the power of sunlight. It's a win win situation and of course, cuts down on energy and you get your vitamin D for the day, which is also very important, smart thermostats. I have mine and I love it another way to save money. You optimize heating and cooling systems based on your occupancy or your time of day and you save energy and cut down on utility costs. Mine allows you to go into eco mode essentially when you're gone for longer periods of time, which basically goes to like the lowest level it can before you, you know, that like doesn't freeze your pipes. And as a result, you save so much money on heating and cooling costs as a result. Uh Have you done any home upgrades? You know, we have solar panels in our house by the way up front, it's, it's, it's a bit of money, but I haven't paid an electric bill in over five years. In fact, I get money back at the end of the year because we get, we're giving back to the grid. Also another cheap way. Composting, composting saves you so much money. And it just, you know, you don't feel as bad throwing away your fruit and veggies. So true because especially when you see your plants coming back also with the use of it as well.