6 Ways to Cut Your Natural Gas Bill (That Your Parents Didn’t Tell You About)

Don't Do the Dishes – Let dishes pile up in the sink? You bet. Washing by hand uses more energy – both the natural gas to heat the water and the elbow grease required by you – not to mention using more water. Instead, take a load off and wait until you have a dishwasher-load of dined-on dishes.

Skip Washing Your Hair – This energy saving tip shows you how to save on your gas bill and hit the snooze button. Ditch your daily lather-rise-repeat in favor of nine more minutes of sleep. Give your hot water heater and your hair a break and opt for dreamland and dry shampoo.

Postpone Laundry Day – Moderating use of the hot water heater is a big energy saver – it can represent 15% or more of your natural gas bill. Instead of doing laundry every Tuesday, wait until you have a full load (or the hamper is overflowing). Bonus savings tip: use cold water in the rinse cycle to further reduce your hot water usage.

Make a Blanket Fort – There's nothing more nostalgic than cuddling up with blankets under your proudly constructed fort of blankets and sheets. And did you know it can help you bring your energy costs down? Lower your thermostat to 68 degrees (or even lower at night) and get cozy.

Take Speed Showers – “Did you scrub behind your ears?” This question from Mom meant she didn't believe you were clean. But now that you've mastered your bath time routine, there's no need to dally. Every minute in the shower uses 2 gallons of heated water. So, stop soaking and get your scrub done.

Go Digital – Forget Dad's “when I was your age” opener and “those were the good old days”, close, and let go of your old-school thermostat. By upgrading to a programmable thermostat, you can adjust the temperature in your home when you're away, significantly lowering your average natural gas bill.