The holidays are a time for celebration, but they can also put a serious strain on your wallet. Between gifts, decorations, and holiday meals, expenses add up quickly. While most people focus on cutting their shopping budgets, there are clever ways to save money right in your own home that many Sacramento California homeowners overlook.
At R&H Distressed Properties, we’ve worked with countless Sacramento families and have seen firsthand how small changes in daily habits can lead to significant savings. This holiday season, we want to share five practical tips on how to save money by making simple adjustments to your energy and water usage. These strategies won’t require a major investment, but they can help you keep more cash in your pocket when you need it most.
1. Hang Dry Your Clothes More Often
Your clothes dryer is one of the biggest energy consumers in your home. During the busy holiday season, with extra loads of laundry from guest linens, festive outfits, and table linens, your dryer usage can skyrocket and so can your utility bills.
The Solution: Make hang drying your default method this season. Sacramento’s climate, even in winter, is often dry enough to air dry clothes effectively. Set up a drying rack indoors or use an outdoor clothesline on sunny days. Not only will you save money on electricity, but you’ll also extend the life of your clothes since the heat from dryers can break down fabric fibers over time.
Real Savings: According to energy experts, dryers can cost anywhere from $0.50 to $1.00 per load to operate. If you’re doing just three extra loads per week during the holiday season, switching to hang drying could save you $20 to $40 over a two month period. That’s money you could put toward gifts or a special holiday dinner.
Pro Tip: For items that need to go in the dryer, use dryer balls to reduce drying time and improve efficiency. Even cutting your dryer usage in half can make a noticeable difference in your energy bill.
2. Install a Shower Head with an On/Off Button
With family visiting and everyone getting ready for holiday parties, water usage tends to spike during the holiday months. One of the cleverest ways to save money on your water bill is to install a shower head with a built in on/off button, also called a pause feature.
The Solution: These affordable shower heads, available at most hardware stores for $15 to $30, allow you to temporarily stop the water flow while you’re lathering up, shampooing, or shaving without losing your temperature setting. This means you won’t waste gallons of water running down the drain while you’re not actively rinsing.
Real Savings: The average shower uses 2.5 gallons of water per minute. If you pause the water for just two minutes during each shower, you’ll save 5 gallons per shower. For a family of four taking daily showers, that’s 600 gallons saved per month. In Sacramento, where water rates average around $0.01 per gallon including wastewater charges, you could save $6 to $10 monthly, plus additional savings on water heating costs.
Pro Tip: Encourage holiday guests to use the pause button too. A simple note in the bathroom explaining how to save money while staying with you can make everyone feel good about conserving resources.
3. Check and Adjust Your Water Heater Temperature
Most people never think about their water heater temperature setting, but it’s one of those hidden energy drains that can cost you more than necessary. Many water heaters are set to 140°F by default, but for most households, 120°F is perfectly adequate and much more economical.
The Solution: Take a moment to check your water heater’s temperature setting. You’ll usually find the thermostat behind a panel on the unit. If it’s set above 120°F, consider lowering it. This simple adjustment can reduce your water heating costs by 6% to 10% and also decrease the risk of scalding, an important safety consideration if you have young children or elderly relatives visiting.
Real Savings: Water heating typically accounts for about 18% of your home’s energy use. For the average Sacramento household spending $100 to $150 per month on energy, that’s $18 to $27 just for hot water. Reducing the temperature by 20 degrees can save you $1.50 to $2.50 per month, or around $20 to $30 annually. While that might not sound dramatic, it’s essentially free money for making a one time, five minute adjustment.
Pro Tip: If you’re planning to be away for the holidays, consider putting your water heater in vacation mode or turning it down even further. There’s no need to keep a full tank of water hot when no one’s home to use it.
4. Use Your Toaster Oven or Air Fryer Instead of Your Full Oven
The holiday season means lots of baking and cooking, but firing up your full size oven for every dish can waste significant energy and money. Your toaster oven or air fryer can handle many tasks much more efficiently.
The Solution: Before preheating your conventional oven, ask yourself if a toaster oven or air fryer could do the job. These smaller appliances are perfect for reheating leftovers, baking small batches of cookies, roasting vegetables, or cooking side dishes. They heat up faster, use less energy, and won’t heat up your entire kitchen, which means your air conditioning or heating system won’t have to work as hard either.
Real Savings: A conventional oven uses between 2,000 to 5,000 watts per hour, while a toaster oven uses only 1,200 to 1,800 watts and an air fryer uses about 1,400 to 1,700 watts. If you use your toaster oven or air fryer instead of your conventional oven for just 30 minutes a day during the two month holiday season, you could save $5 to $15 on your electricity bill. The savings add up even more if you’re someone who loves to bake.
Pro Tip: Keep your toaster oven or air fryer on the counter and easily accessible during the holidays. The more convenient it is to use, the more likely you’ll reach for it instead of the big oven. Reserve your conventional oven for large dishes like turkey, ham, or big casseroles that truly need the space.
5. Check If Your Washer Has a Fresh Water Setting
Many Sacramento homeowners don’t realize that some washing machines have a fresh water or tap cold setting that can save money compared to the standard cold water cycle. This overlooked feature could be costing you more than you think.
The Solution: Take a look at your washing machine settings. Some models have both a “cold” setting and a “tap cold” or “fresh water” setting. The standard cold setting may still mix in small amounts of hot water to reach a specific temperature, while the tap cold or fresh water setting uses only unheated water directly from your cold water line. If your machine has this option, use it for most loads to maximize your savings.
Real Savings: About 90% of the energy used by washing machines goes toward heating the water, not running the motor. By using the fresh water or tap cold setting instead of a mixed temperature cold cycle, you can save approximately $0.25 to $0.50 per load. During the holiday season when you might do an extra three to four loads per week, that’s an additional $12 to $24 in savings over two months. Modern detergents work effectively in unheated water, so your clothes will still come out clean.
Pro Tip: If you’re concerned about germs, add a laundry sanitizer to your fresh water wash, or occasionally run an empty hot water cycle with vinegar to clean your machine. This gives you the best of both worlds: savings and cleanliness.
Small Changes, Big Impact
These five tips on how to save money might seem modest individually, but together they can make a real difference in your holiday budget. By hang drying more clothes, installing a water saving shower head, adjusting your water heater temperature, switching to LED holiday lights, and using cold water for laundry, you could potentially save $100 to $200 or more during the holiday season. That’s money better spent on creating memories with loved ones.
At R&H Distressed Properties, we understand that managing household expenses is about more than just the mortgage payment. It’s about making your home work efficiently for you. Whether you’re a current homeowner looking to maximize your property’s value or someone considering selling a property in Sacramento, these practical improvements demonstrate how small investments of time and effort can yield ongoing returns.
This holiday season, give yourself the gift of lower utility bills. Your wallet and the environment will thank you.
About R&H Distressed Properties
R&H Distressed Properties is Sacramento’s trusted house buying company, helping homeowners throughout California’s capital region with their real estate needs. Whether you’re facing foreclosure, dealing with an inherited property, or simply want to sell your home quickly without the hassle of traditional listings, we’re here to help. Contact us today to learn how we can assist you.