Part of my approach to energy conservation is to limit my purchases of electric gadgets. I know it’s in a man’s genes to buy gadgets. It’s also a time-honored American tradition to take something that works well manually and turn it into a consumer product that uses electricity. Nevertheless, if you’re interested in reducing your electrical energy consumption, you’ll want to be very selective as to what you buy, and only buy something that requires electricity when it’s warranted.

Here are a handful of examples of where electric gadgets just aren’t necessary or desirable:

• The electric can opener. It’s bulky, hard to clean and takes up space on the counter. When you have a can to open, you must bring the can over to where you have the can opener plugged in. If you go on a picnic, what good is the electric can opener? I find a mechanical can opener much easier and more convenient to use and clean. It’s highly portable and it can be popped into the dishwasher. It resides in a nearby drawer, so it’s ready when you are, but doesn’t take up room on the counter. And, it doesn’t occupy an electrical outlet either.
  
• Plug-in air fresheners. For years we were happy with air fresheners that simply evaporated. How easy is that? Now, we have plug-in air fresheners that heat up the material to vaporize it. The use of electricity doesn’t make the product any better, it just appears to be higher technology. Worse yet, since you need an outlet to operate it, the design of the gadget limits where it can be placed in a room.

Electricity doesn’t necessarily make things better. It seems to me that my disposable razors, mechanical pencil sharpener and manual paper stapler work just fine. They won’t be improved with the addition of electricity.

It’s up to each of us to make good decisions about how much electric cord, how many outlets, and how much electricity we’re going to dedicate to having a plug-in and rechargeable world all around us. In many cases, energy conservation starts with what we purchase and how it operates. For me, many of the traditionally designed manual items work just fine and don’t need a cord or a battery pack.

Clair Schwan is an expert in frugal living and writes http://www.frugal-living-freedom.com where the motto is, “…living well, and well within your means…” See his many ways to save energy that are simple and effective, and provide good return on investment of your hard-earned money.