Negative fine system for leaving lights on
by Cheryl Spencer
(Upper Arlington, Ohio)
My kids kept leaving lights on when they walked out of a room. I got tired of nagging them, so I came up with a positive motivator that really worked.
- I went to the bank and bought four rolls of quarters - $40 in all.
- I told my kids I would fill up the jar with the $40 of quarters at the start of each month
- I told them that every time I saw a light they'd forgotten to turn off, or the TV or stereo left on, I'd take 50 cents out of the jar
- I told them that at the end of the month I'd count up the remaining quarters, and if at least half of them were left - $20 - we'd spend that amount on a special thing - their choice. A movie, dinner, dinner and a movie, pizza delivery, whatever that much money could afford.
- I told them they could add a dollar back every time they caught me leaving lights on.
In the first two days I think we used up about $3, and over the next week another $3 ... at the end of the first month we had enough to order in a pizza. The second month, we had over $30 left, enough for a movie out for the three of us, and the third month I don't think I found lights left on more than two or three times. The kids even decided that one month's worth of the savings should be used to buy energy efficient lights - we were able to buy 6 compact fluorescents with what was left in the jar.
After half a year I told them I'm so pleased with how they're doing that we wouldn't even bother with the jar any more - they turn off lights when they leave a room, and we spend $40 every month doing something fun.
I'm sure I haven't saved enough money off our electricity bills to pay for all the pizzas, restaurants, movies, trips to the Reed Road water park, and other fun stuff we've done, but we would have done many of these things anyway, and my kids have changed - not only are they more careful with the lights, but I've heard them telling their friends and cousins to do the same when we're visiting.
Comments for
|
||
|
||
Feel free to link to this page to spread the word about energy efficiency
© Green Energy Efficient Homes 2009 Privacy policy