It's safe to say that few people actually look forward to doing laundry, and when you have a poorly functioning washer and dryer, the process is only made all the more painful. This is especially true if you live in a space where you have to share your laundry machines with others and are forced to pay for every load you wash. Sending your clothes through a dryer twice is a waste of quarters that you could be saving for your next load - not only that, but running your dryer more times than you need to is sure to start taking a toll on your electric bill.

You have a few options that you can look into to address this issue. If your dryer isn't heating up as much as it should be to actually remove the moisture from your clothes, don't jump to the conclusion that you need to replace it. Many homeowners will make the mistake of buying new appliances, spending hundreds of dollars picking out a top-of-the-line model, only to find that it too isn't adequately drying your clothes.

Daylight saving time has ended and winter is on its way. That means you're using your household lighting much more often, and if you're still using incandescent light bulbs, it could also mean a noticeable jump in your electrical bills.

But it doesn't have to be that way -- if you're willing to make an investment now, you can actually lower your energy consumption this winter and lock in those savings for years. And it's as simple as changing a light bulb.

LEDs are the most energy efficient light bulbs on the market, and thanks to increased demand and expanded manufacturing, their prices have dropped considerably in recent years. Most LED bulbs now cost less than $10, and smart shoppers can usually find them for less than $5 each.

That price may still seem steep to someone accustomed to buying incandescent bulbs for $1 each, but LEDs are built to last for more than 20 years!

You've Come a Long Way

The affordability of LEDs isn't the only thing that has changed. The array of colors, styles and features has expanded substantially, giving homeowners more choices than ever in the lighting effects they can achieve in their homes.

Colors like "soft white" and "warm white" are popular because they replicate that warm feeling of an incandescent bulb, which is what many consumers missed most when they switched to CFL bulbs. Some bulbs are even capable of displaying multiple colors and can be controlled with a remote.

The most sophisticated LEDs are equipped with smart technology so that they can be controlled from anywhere with a smartphone or tablet. The apps used to control these lights are also some of the most user-friendly interfaces for setting up detailed lighting schedules.

A Few Differences

Picking out LEDs isn't too different from choosing among incandescent bulbs, but there are some other key differences.

An important one is that while LEDs are labeled in watts to offer an idea of their energy consumption, that rating doesn't correlate directly with brightness as with incandescents. LED brightness is measured in lumens, which will range from about 400 to about 2500 in most bulbs. A 100 watt incandescent is equivalent to about 1600 lumens.

It's also important to make careful decisions when choosing LEDs for use with dimmers. If your dimmer is more than a few years old, it's likely to be incompatible with most LEDs, and you'll need to pick out special dimmer-friendly bulbs. You could also replace your dimmers with modern, LED-friendly versions, which allow you to dim any LEDs.

Long sunny days won't be back for a while, so consider replacing those old bulbs with new, long-lasting, energy efficient bulbs this winter. And if you need help redesigning your lighting scheme, reach out to your trusted local electrician.

We live in a wired world, appliances, lights, computers, and more need to  be plugged in.  All of those wires can become unsightly  depending on where they need to be run.  Think of a flat screen TV with the mess of wires hanging behind it, instead of being hidden—which would look better?

Unfortunately, phone and cable providers generally will not run wires based on a homeowner’s preference, and many of these companies will only wire on the exterior of a home. They will do things the easiest way possible, which usually involves running cables on the outside of the house and drilling in at the point of use. This may leave you with wires and cables placed along your walls not to your preference.

Some homes have certain wires—phone lines, typically—that are built in, but very few homes have cables for TV or other networks hardwired.    These phone and cable wiring issues could cause problems with connectivity and performance of certain devices.