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How to Have an Energy-Efficient Thanksgiving

Everyone loves the holidays, between the decorations and music, there’s no wonder why it’s considered “the most wonderful time of the year.” But something that isn’t so wonderful – the price tag attached to holiday hosting. With just a few days until Thanksgiving, you may be wondering how your energy bill will hold up against a house full of people. Before the in-laws pull up, check out a few of these simple ways to cut down on energy waste this Thanksgiving.

Turn decorations off before you go to sleep. We know you spent a lot of time and energy hanging lights and other decorations, so you want people to see them, but leaving them on all night can be a huge drain on your energy bill, and more importantly a fire hazard. If you keep forgetting to turn them off, think about picking up an automatic timer so you can set it and forget it.

Turn down the thermostat when guests arrive: Thanksgiving is expected to be cold with a chance of rain or snow, but that doesn’t necessarily mean you need to crank up the thermostat. Between all the cooking, hot food and moving bodies, the house will stay plenty warm without having to even turn up the thermostat.

Cook as much as you can at once. If one dish needs to be heated to 350 degrees and another to 325 degrees, don’t waste the time and energy heating them one after the other. Instead, cook them both together on the higher heat and just take the one out a few minutes earlier than the directions say.

Use the dishwasher instead of hand washing. Its no surprise that everyone’s least favorite part of Thanksgiving dinner is the clean up. But luckily for whoever is in charge of the dishes, handwashing uses more energy than the dishwasher. So before you pile everything into the sink, try to fit as much into the dishwasher as possible, then wash the few leftover r non dishwasher safe items in the sink.

Take advantage of your slow cooker while prepping. With the ovens and stove tops in almost constant use Thanksgiving day, plan ahead and find other ways to prepare food. You might not be able to do the turkey in a slow cooker, but sides, dressings and appetizers can all be started the day before and left in the slow cooker. And best of all, their low wattage means that 10 hours will only cost you around 21 cents.

Let your leftovers cool before putting them in the fridge. Throwing hot food in the fridge makes your refrigerator work harder to keep everything cool.

If you run into any heating or plumbing issues that could threaten your Thanksgiving, give the expert plumbers at Uptown a call right away! From our family to yours, we wish you a very happy and healthy holiday season.

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