On-peak and in the dark

I'm writing this post in the dark.

I'm trying to conserve electricity.

Kind of ironic as the last post I wrote revolved around the fact we got new lights installed.

We use them sparingly as we are trying to conserve electricity. I'm trying to fight the urge to turn off the new dining room light, but it wouldn't be fair to darling daughter or dear husband as they need light to colour.

This past weekend, there was a letter to the editor in the paper, about a woman who does all her laundry on the weekends. She was torn between visiting her family or doing the marathon of laundry so she can take advantage of Ontario's time-of-use electricity pricing as the rates are 5.1 cents a kilowatt-hour. I understand her plight. I visited family over the weekend and now I'm faced with laundry catch up. Darling daughter is down to her last pair of underwear. I can't find any socks and we are in desperate need of clean towels. If I was to turn on the washer right now, I'd be charged 9.9 cents a kilowatt-hour. The countdown to 9 p.m. is on as I can turn on the dryer, the washer and the dishwasher. All are primed for prime time off-usage. The dishwasher is filled and has a detergent tablet. The dryer is filled with wet clothes. (I broke down and washed clothes during the afternoon, where I will be charged the mid-peak rate of 8.8 cents a kilowatt-hour). And the washer is filled with clothes. Once the clock strikes 9, I'll be pressing buttons, trying to get as much done in a two-hour period before going to bed.

I'm not too sure how I feel about this. It is hard to break old habits. But I don't want to get in the habit of doing laundry at 3 a.m.