Here’s a feature your dishwasher may have that you don’t know about: a delay button. After you’ve finished dinner and loaded up the dishwasher, add the 6-hour delay function to your wash. Between dinnertime and before you go to bed, you can still add dishes and cups to the machine. But after midnight, the delay function will kick in and start the dishwasher. These are “off-peak” energy hours, which means you save money on your utility bill, and when you wake up, everything will be sparkling clean. This function is particularly important during hot summer months when air conditioning can strain the grid, but it’s a good habit to get into year-round.

ANDREWS MCMEEL SYNDICATION

If nobody is going to be at home during the day today, take the opportunity to check if your home has any unknown water leaks. Before you lock up the house, take a reading on your water meter that indicates how many gallons you’ve used. Then when you return home after a few hours, check the reading again. If the number is the same, you’re in good shape. But if the number has risen by a few gallons, you likely have a leak somewhere. Common culprits are leaky toilets or outdoor faucets, where drips can go unnoticed.

ANDREWS MCMEEL SYNDICATION

Want to save energy and speed up cooking time by as much as 70 percent? A pressure cooker is an easy way to prepare a home-cooked meal that can feed a crowd and cook from start to finish very quickly. The end results are better than using a microwave, and they save a considerable amount of energy versus using a cooktop or oven. And today’s modern-style pressure cookers are safe; they feature new latches and systems to prevent messy spills or, worse, kitchen disasters. If you can twist a lid on, you can use a modern pressure cooker today.

ANDREWS MCMEEL SYNDICATION