NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — With inflation at some of the highest levels in decades, we’re all looking for ways to save money where we can. But what if the key to saving some green was to embrace greener habits around your house?
Like to start your day with a cup of coffee, why not skip the K-cup and get a reusable K-cup filter.
"I went on Amazon and I think they are probably like $10 for six, you might even be able to get them cheaper than that," said Tanya Christian with Consumer Reports.
She says they're the way to go.
"These are better because you’re not throwing them in the garbage every time," she explained. "You know you put those K-cup filters in the dishwasher and they’re ready to go in next day."
Christian says if you've got two people in your house drinking just one cup of coffee a day, you’ll save almost $400 a year.
Another place to save money is in your laundry room, start by skipping the hot water.
"Just use cold water," Christian said. "You know most of our clothes can be laundered in cold water and in our analysis, we found they come out just the same. They are still very clean. Reserve hot water for when somebody has a cold."
She says a lot of people use way too much detergent as well.
"Not only do you end up spending more on laundry detergent, it’s just not necessary," Christian said. "You don’t need much at all. That’s why the pods, you have about this much laundry detergent that’s really all you need."
And how often do you go out to eat and leave food on your plate? Christian says take it home and enjoy your leftovers later by using an air fryer.
"How is that different than say like the microwave? So now with the microwave, there tends to be that moisture issue and moisture rises to the top of the food in the microwave but in an air fryer because the air circulates all around the food, it crisps the food on the top and the bottom," Christian explained. "It’s super quick so most foods are gonna take less than 10 minutes, most probably even around six minutes."
Here's one more and Christian promises it won't turn your showers cold.
"Turning down your hot water heater from 140° to 120°," she said. "That can save you $400 annually. So these are really small changes that amount to a lot."
