28. Change your refrigerator and freezer settings
Many of us rarely glance at the temperature settings for our refrigerators and freezers unless our ice cream is soft or our lettuce is frozen. It’s smart to pay more attention to the settings, though, because if you’re keeping your appliances colder than they need to be, you’re wasting energy and dollars.
Another tip is to defrost frozen food in the refrigerator instead of on a counter because you’ll not only face less risk of bacteria growing, but the frozen item will help keep the fridge cool, reducing its work load. Check your door seals, too, to make sure they’re not worn and leaking air. One way to do so is to close the door on a dollar bill while holding onto it. Then remove it and see if there’s any resistance. If it slips out from the door with no resistance at all, your door’s gasket might not be doing its job any more. Do the dollar test all over the door, checking the seal at every point.