Kitchen

Range/Oven

• Only use pots and pans with flat bottoms on the stove.
• Include more stews, stir-frys, and other single-dish meals in your menus.
• Develop the habit of "lids-on" cooking to permit lower temperature settings.
• Keep reflector pans beneath stovetop heating elements bright and clean.
• Carefully measure water used for cooking to avoid having to heat more than is needed.
• Begin cooking on highest heat until liquid begins to boil. Then lower the heat control settings and allow food to simmer until fully cooked.
• Cook as much of the meal in the oven at one time as possible. Variations of 25°F still produce good results and save energy.
• Rearrange oven shelves before turning your oven on—and don't peek at food in the oven! Every time you open the oven door, 25° to 50°F is lost.
• There is no need to preheat the oven for broiling or roasting.
• When preheating an oven for baking, time the preheat period carefully. Five to eight minutes should be sufficient.
• Use your microwave oven whenever possible. It draws less than half the power of its conventional oven counterpart and cooks for a much shorter amount of time.
• Use the self-cleaning cycle only for major cleaning jobs. Start the cycle right after cooking while the oven is still hot, or wait until late in the evening when electricity usage is low.

Refrigerator/Freezer

• Keep your refrigerator at 37°- 40° F and your freezer at 5° F.
• Keep your refrigerator filled to capacity, but don't overcrowd to the point where doors cannot be closed or air cannot circulate.
• Vacuum the condenser coils (underneath or behind the unit) every three months.
• Check the condition of door gaskets by placing a dollar bill against the frame and closing the door. If the bill can be pulled out with a very gentle tug, the door should be adjusted or the gasket replaced.
• Do not put uncovered liquids in the refrigerator. The liquids give off vapors that add to the compressor workload.
• Allow hot food to cool before putting it in the refrigerator.
• Plan ahead and remove all ingredients for each meal at one time.
• Try switching off the power-saver switch, if your refrigerator has one. If only a small amount of condensation appears, save energy and leave the switch off.

Dishwasher

• Wash only full loads of dishes, but do not overload dishwasher.
• Scrape food off dishes and rinse them with cold water before placing them in the dishwasher.
• Soak or pre-wash only in the cases of burned-on or dried-on foods.
• Don't use the "rinse hold" feature on your dishwasher when you only have a few soiled dishes.