Since the panelled walls were shades of brown, the receptacles and light switch were brown. We replaced them with white Decora and donated the brown ones to Habitat for Humanity.
Light Fixtures
The existing light fixtures were 4 wall sconces with amber coloured glass hurricane shades that I did not like. I could have replaced them with new wall sconces, but I didn't want to spend that much money on wall sconces when I would prefer not to have sconces in the first place. Since rewiring would have been expensive and not something we could do on our own, we opted to keep what we had. We found small lamp shades that fit the existing fixtures perfectly and we donated the glass hurricane shades. I really like the way they look now and the new shades cost less than what we would have had to pay for 1 new sconce.
Power Bar
We got a Smart Strip to hook up our electronics. I had heard about these but didn't really understand how they worked. You plug the main device like the television or computer into the main plug and that controls the power to the other components like the dvd player or printer. When the main device is turned off the others get turned off as well. This reduces power usage and will save money on your energy bill. There is also a plug that isn't controlled so you can plug a lamp or other item in it and it will not be affected by whether the main device is on or off.
Timer
We got a timer for the dehumidifier. It is programmed to run during off peak time for hydro so we are paying the lowest electric rates when it is running.
- donated items
- reused light fixtures
- smart strip for reducing energy usage
- using a timer to save money on hydro usage
-TJ
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