Solar panels on the roofs of every home will go a long way to reducing the cost of energy in this country but we have yet to have the space or the money for this project for now. However, there are other things we did that improved productivity and cut costs at home. Image source: http://www.eurocosm.com/
Disclaimer: Making things easy at home does not mean they will be cheap. Some “investments” will be required.
Read these first:-
- Budgeting 101: Easy Project – Replacing Dead Air Conditioner Electrical Switch
- Budgeting 101: Easy Project – Fix It Yourself Water Heater 2020
- Money 101: Best Things I Ever Bought Via Online Shopping Part 3
- Prepping 101: 5 Essential Things You Must Have When You Move To New House
- Money 101: Best Things I Ever Bought Via Online Shopping Part 1
After several “research”, we decided on this model from Pensonic 7 liter water dispenser which comes with dedicated 2 liters of warm water that we can drink directly. The built quality is good and so far this has helped us a lot from the previous work of boiling & stooring drinking water. Image source: Banhuat
Contents
Warm Water Dispenser
Getting hot water for making a hot drink is not a big issue at home as we had the old school kettle where we can always boil water. Then of course later we had the electric kettles that we can easily plug in whenever we need.
But then we also need boiling, warm water for normal daily drinking water and this is something we ensure doing ever since we know how dirty the tap water would be. Even after we installed the water filter from the main intake to the house which reduced the contamination (dark brown water every time when we backwash the water filter).
So for the boiled, warm water, what we do is to fill filtered water from the kitchen tap into 2 large pans and then boil it. The problem is that it takes time to fill up the pans, boil them, and then remember to switch them off once it has boiled.
The solution for this is to buy a 2-in-1 7-liter warm-hot water dispenser which only requires a refill and we can get 2 liters of warm water which is auto-refilled from the 5 liters of hot water. It cuts down the use of natural gas at home and also the need to always keep an eye on the boiling process. Probably in the long run, it saves money.
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Silicone Tape
Tapes have many uses at home from the tapes used for wrapping electrical cables to wrapping the water pipe connection, and so on.
I bought the silicone tapes initially to wrap the kitchen sink as it was leaking but then I found another use for it as a replacement for nails to stick anything on the tiled wall. Silicone tape makes a great sticker on the wall that can hold heavy cooking pans all without the need to drill anything on the wall.
There are many types of vacuum cleaners that clean on their own but with several ranges in price and add-on technology from fully automated to manual ones. It bumps into things but is strong enough to continue and even goes under the cabinets to pull that difficult-to-clear dust. Photo by cottonbro studio
Robotic Vacuum Cleaner
Considering that the floor gets dusty fast every day, it is critical for us to sweep & mop the floors at least 2-3 days weekly and since all at home are not around due to work or school, after some time we had to get professional help us to clean up from top to bottom.
So we wanted something that can assist us to sweep the floor on a daily basis whilst we are busy at work at home. A robotic vacuum cleaner is clearly the answer but the really good ones that come with all the whistles and bells such as room mapping, auto cleaner, and auto recharging are very expensive so it was not something we can just go out and buy.
That was the case until cheaper cloned robotic vacuum cleaner that does the same job but without whistles & bells started to flood the online market. Well, we do not need a robotic vacuum cleaner that can detect staircases or clean them in a specific pattern. It does not have auto cleaning but cleaning is not difficult – we just need to cover the top and empty the dust from the container inside. It is not perfect but the house is indeed cleaner provided we charge the vacuum cleaner on regular basis.
Instead of keeping my tools in several toolboxes, I prefer to keep them all in one place like this nice metal, an easy-to-use toolbox that can hold all A-Z tools. However, space is premium at home so I have to make do with smaller toolboxes for now. Image source: Sydney Tools
DIY Tools
I have highlighted the importance of having DIY tools at home in my blog before this and even if one doesn’t have the industrial scale of tools & automation that you sometimes see on the TV, you must have the very basic tools starting with the all-important screwdrivers – both the flat and Philips type, a plier, couple of tapes (for electrical & plumbing) and perhaps some nylon wrap cables that you can buy very cheaply from the supermarket.
As far as I can remember, we always had some types of tools at home but it was not organized except at my grandmother’s home where my uncles had dedicated a whole room as a store room for tools where you can find all kinds of tools including surplus tiles of many sizes and a working table – a paradise for DIYers out there.
At home, I started with one toolbox that housed all the tools that I managed to bring over from the old home and then started my collection which now occupies a small section of my doomsday storeroom and I keep adding new collections which I hope to move to the small room downstairs which will be renovated as my new enlarged doomsday storeroom.
Having tools at home actually cuts costs and time when something goes out of order and needs to be fixed and it can be anything simple from changing lights, replacing leaking faucets, or assembling new furniture. Further with all DIY steps now uploaded to Youtube in great detail, one does not need to be experienced from start. And this is the way I have learned and polished my DIY skills.
This Tenda mesh wifi system is affordable and does the job sufficiently enough for now but in the future and if we have the space at home, I prefer to have a proper server room with a killer system that gives solid LAN connectivity all around the house.
Wifi Mesh
Internet is very crucial these days especially when we are working at home and we get most of our entertainment & shopping online. It was a good idea to get the fiber optics internet installed before the start of the COVID-19 lockdown and even though the connection via wi-fi on the ground floor is not fantastic, it is decent enough to get most of the work done.
The real problem started when my kids were forced to attend online classes and the internet connection on the top floor was patchy and weak. Often the connection gets disconnected causing the kids to miss some parts of the online class. Initially, I decided to get the cheaper internet repeater but it was helpful perhaps due to the walls & other obstacles.
The internet provider was offering a mesh option under the current internet plan but this meant an additional cost monthly every month which does not mean the additional cost is feasible since we only need a good internet connection when there is an online class & not all the time.
Then I found a cheaper mesh sold online which we can add and improve the connectivity at home.
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There are a lot of DIY projects out there with full complete instructions that will definitely persuade me to buy more tools for the projects and home. The issue is time and money.
Final Say
This post probably is one of the many posts that I will be doing on the things that we have bought or do that improves things at home. The ease of doing online shopping and the flooding of China-made items that are not only cheap but also reliable have made things worth to be bought.
P.s. expect slower posting of new blogs, the volume of work has increased and whatever time I have, I spend time playing games these days.
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