This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Project Envolve. All opinions expressed in this post and blog are my own and may not reflect the opinion of Project Envolve and its sponsors.
There are days when I wish I were Amish just so I could save money on my electric bill. Seriously, is my addiction to reality television, well-lit bathrooms and the convenience of a microwave oven really worth it? (The answer is a resounding “yes,” but there are ways to spend less on those 21st century comforts.)
I’m very happy to report that I’ll be experiencing some of those savings this month and throughout 2014 thanks to my participation in Project Envolve. The project, which is sponsored by PPL Electric Utilities, was created to help inspire people to adopt a more energy-efficient, green and eco-conscious lifestyle.
The first lesson I learned from Project Envolve is that when it comes to energy efficiency, it’s all about the lights. And when it comes to saving money on lights, there’s no better season to start than during the holidays.
Here are a few quick tips, followed by a fun holiday light project inspired by the folks at Project Envolve.
- Switch to LED lights – According to the U.S. Department of Energy, LED bulbs cost only 27 cents to power for 12 hours a day for 40 days compared to $10 for regular incandescent bulbs. For those keeping score at home, that’s a savings of $88 per year (or roughly six bottles of wine).
- Use a timer – Timers plugged into your outlets will ensure that your lights turn on and off when you need them to. In other words, you’ll never waste electricity because you forgot to turn off the lights.
- Get an LED night light – An LED night light that unplugs to become a flashlight is double money saver. How does it save double? No more spending money on the batteries you’d normally waste in regular flashlights.
As a Project Envolve participant, I’ll be embarking on special “missions” (fun, crafty projects) every three weeks or so throughout the next year. My first mission: Creating fun, yet easy “Ping Pong Ball Christmas Lights.”
To make the Christmas lights above, all you need is a strand of LED lights and some ping pong balls. Drill holes in the balls (just big enough to insert the lights), insert the light bulbs and add a bit of hot glue to hold them in place. (If the holes are snug enough, you won’t need glue. Also, if you don’t have a drill or aren’t “drill savvy,” you can poke holes in the balls using a screwdriver, which is what I did.)
NOTE: This project should ONLY be done with LED lights because the lights’ cool running temperature makes them safe for use with the ping pong balls. If you add an outlet timer to your new lights, you’ll save even more money!
In the spirit of sustainability and savings, you can also save money on wrapping paper by making these fun newspaper gift bags.
Visit the Project Envolve website for more information about Project Envolve, including energy-saving tips and projects.
I love this project so much. Your light strand turned out super cute!
LED lights are really nice, and they do make a difference in energy usage.
What a fun project! I’m sure the end result looks great!
It’s amazing how much more economical LED lights are. We’ve been trying to use them more.
Oooh, I love this idea, so cute and easy. Love LED lights
This is so adorable!
These are so cute! What a great way to change up Christmas decorations.
Loves these ideas and the ping pong balls! Awesome!
Thanks for the DIY! I have a ton of extra LED lights!
I am so loving this diy project! I would have never thought to use ping pong balls like this.
These lights are so cute, I think they would look perfect in my front window (the kitchen area). I really like how simple they look, very classic!
I love how simple this is, they would be great outside in the garden during the summer (maybe to light the way to the fire pit!)
What a great idea and I love what Alecia suggested, with the summertime use.
I am so trying this!! My little guys love when we do fun Christmas crafts :)!! I might put glittler on them to see if it gives them a sparkly look 🙂
What a great idea! I love how simple and brilliant it is!
This is such a cute and fun DIY project! I love how environmentally friendly it is, too!
I love this idea, looks so beautiful! Thanks for the tutorial, neato!
Those are so cute. I love that LED lights allow us to do so many more creative things with the lights now.
You are very creative!!! Love this new idea of adding ping pong balls to it..
We’ll probably try this out 🙂
I need these tips, specially now that our provider will be charging higher electricity rate. Thanks for sharing!
this is awesome. and how random??? my nephew found a case of ping pong balls when he moved into an apartment a few months back. wonder if he has them still
Too cute, I love this idea!!
I keep seeing these around for the holidays. I love it and they are so darling, I love it. They look like little lanterns and my boys would be so thrilled if I put these up. Thanks for sharing.
Not only do LED lights save energy, but I also think they are prettier.
Those lights are beautiful! I love LED lights too.
I think I’m definitely going to have to try this! I love the way they look!
This is a really creative idea! Love it!
It is always a good idea to save electricity, especially during the expensive holiday season. I love the ping pong DIY idea, super cute.
These ping pong ball lights are really neat and they look great! Trying to be more energy efficient is important….I’m not willing to give up electricity (lol), but I know there are so good ways to be more frugal! Thanks for sharing!
So creative! I love the colors, I totally need to do something like this at my house 🙂
these led lights look so cool!
You dont worry about them melting??
Note this should only be done with LEDs due to their extremely cool running temperature.
I love how that came out! What a cool change for the light strand. I do use timers on mine too. It helps a lot, plus it’s a pain to unplug everything each night manually.
This is such a neat idea! I had no idea this was even possible!?!
Oh gosh, my husband would love this idea. I didn’t realize the LED lights were safe like this.
This sounds like a fun project. I don’t have my Christmas decorations up this year but I’ll definitely use LED lights next year.
What a gorgeous project!
Those are super cute and they look so easy to make.
We still have to dig out our Christmas tree.
OOPS!! LOL!!
What a cool idea.. I bet the kids will get a kick out of this and I love how it changes the look… LOVE it..thanks for sharing
Ping pong balls are so unique and smart.
That is a really cute idea. I have never seen that before.