Electricity costs what?

Sean and I had a rude awakening. I'm telling you...

The other day, my gmail account alerted me that I had a new email. I clicked right over wondering what sale I was being offered through Groupon or what house was recently put on the market through Trulia. Well, imagine my surprise when it was National Grid. Ew. With our electric bill. Ew. And guess what?

It was $230.
Two hundred and thirty dollars. 

Excuse me?

We live in a small place. Okay, maybe not small?... 1200 sq. ft.

But it's an apartment, and by my standards it's small.
I mean, it's not a house.

Sure it has high ceilings, and large windows (that DON'T open) and doors with character (read: large gaps at the bottom), but it's an apartment. Puh-lease.

Worth $230 in electricity, hardly.

For $230 I expect to living large and comfortably... with the AC freezing me out the door. Seriously.

Then I'm reminded [by everyone I complained to over the course of the next few days] that it's a loft apartment with high ceilings, large windows (that DON'T open) and doors with character (read: large gaps at the bottom).

Who knew that translated into paying a ridiculous amount for electricity.

I certainly did not.

So what did I do? Well...

1. I ran around the house like a maniac and unplugged everything: cell phone chargers, lap top chargers, the tablet, the keurig, lamps. Seriously. Everything besides the alarm clock and the TV. And believe me, I would have unplugged those too if they weren't such a hassle to plug back in. Apparently this saves $4 a month.

2. I upped the AC. Oh, it's 90 degrees in Massachusetts?... Believe me, I now know this as sweat is literally pouring down my face. 78 when we're home, 80 when we're not (ew, National Grid recommends 85 when you're not home... but I just CANNOT do that to Apollo). Apparently this saves $16.50 a month.

3. I changed the water temperature on the washing machine to COLD. It only takes... oh, twice as long to do a wash... Apparently this saves $9 a month.

4. I cleaned the dryer vents. Apparently this saves $3 a month.

5. I also pulled down the shades and changed the temps for both the fridge and freezer since they were above the "suggested" level of coldness. I'm not sure how much this will save... but it must be something??

I know that adds up to a savings of like $30 for next month. Believe me, we're cutting out other areas of comfort as well (who needs lights?... not us).

Oh, and yes we're currently in the market for under the door draft blockers. I'm pretty sure we're paying to keep the entire hallway cool. Awesome.

I'll keep you posted.