Yikes!

Yikes! We got our first electric bill in yesterday's mail. I was certainly expecting it to be kinda high as there was more washing of clothes and dishes involved in the move, plus StL has been under an excessive heat warning for most of the time I've been here. Still, I was kind of surprised at just how high it was.

Along with the bill we got information about the rates and such. Armed with this new information I'm now adjusting our behaviors to bring that number down for the next bill. I've gone through and replaced all the bulbs in the overhead lights, which needed to happen anyway. The electric company charges more during peak usage hours (10am to 10pm) so I'll restrict my laundry and dishwasher use as much as possible to off peak hours. I'm also going to start shutting down the computer and all the other devices (router and such)whenever we are away or when not in use for any length of time.

I imagine the gas bill isn't far behind. Our stove/oven and hot water heater both run on gas...I've never had any gas appliances so I don't know what to expect there. Hopefully it won't be the shock our electric bill was.

Do you have any energy saving tips? What kind of things do you do to save money this time of year?