It certainly seems like the theme for our current era is “everything costs more,” and our energy bills are no exception. Utility companies around the country are planning to hike prices (which are already high), and the cost of electricity and natural gas may go up even more in the coming months. If you’re already stretching to afford your utility bills, that’s ominous news, and you’re probably already doing the basic stuff to keep your bills under control (programming your thermostat, turning down the AC, etc).If that’s not cutting those bills down enough, there are some easy things you can do around the house to cut your energy costs even further. All it takes is some thoughtfulness and a few minor lifestyle adjustments, and you can save a surprising amount of money on your next utility bill.Unplug appliancesYour home is full of “energy vampires”: Appliances that are constantly sipping electricity even when they’re not being used. While some of these vampires need to be plugged in all the time, unplugging devices and appliances when they’re not in use can have an impact on your energy bills—as much as $100 a year. That’s not a ton of cash, but unplugging stuff like TVs, coffee makers, printers, and other stuff when you’re not actively using them is a tiny inconvenience that’s worth the reward.Reduce detergentTake a moment to consider how you do laundry. Do you just pour detergent in with reckless abandon? Then you’re not only wasting detergent (which costs money to replace)—you're also wasting energy. Using too much detergent in your washer makes the machine work harder, uses more water, and might even require extra loads to get rid of that slick, slimy, too-much-soap feeling.You can look up the guidelines for your specific washer, but as a general rule, less is more when it comes to detergent. A tablespoon of liquid detergent or a quarter-cup of powder per load is plenty. You can experiment, starting with minimal detergent and seeing how things go until you figure out the absolute least that gets your laundry clean.Wash in coldWhile some loads of laundry might come out better if you wash it in hot water, these days, you can wash just about everything in cold—and doing so can save you a lot on your energy bill. As much as 90% of the energy your washer uses goes to heating up the water, so there’s no doubt that washing as much as you can in cold water will make a dent in your bills.Clean your fridgeA simple way to cut down your energy use is to thoroughly clean out your refrigerator. A fridge crowded with expired condiments and ancient leftovers won’t have the airflow necessary for efficient cooling, and a grungy fridge with clogged vents and dirty coils will have to work a lot harder to keep everything chilled. You should clean your refrigerator regularly (every few months, or any time you’d be embarrassed for guests to see the state it’s in) anyway, so if you’ve been neglecting this appliance, your energy bills are a good reason to get on that.Check your filtersYour air conditioners, furnaces, and other appliances have air filters that keep particles, debris, and pet fur out of their inner workings. If you haven’t cleaned or replaced those filters in a while, your appliances might be working extra hard and extra hot, draining more energy. Change those filters (or at least clean them) regularly to make sure you’re not wasting money—changing air filters on your furnace can save you $150 annually, for example.Skip heat-generating appliancesEvery appliance you use generates heat as a byproduct—called “waste heat.” If you get up close to your TV or the back of your fridge, you can feel that passive heat, and appliances like dishwashers and dryers use heat to dry out your dishes and clothes. And then there’s your oven, which is obviously designed to generate heat.All that heat has to be dealt with when you’re trying to keep your house cool, so using these appliances less or at different times can help save energy by making your home easier to cool down. Using heat-generating appliances (e.g., the oven or dishwasher) at night when it’s cooler and using alternative appliances (e.g., cook with the microwave instead of the oven when possible) reduces the waste heat your climate control has to pump out.Hang laundry outside to dryIf you’ve ever used solar energy to charge anything, you know that it’s literally energy from the sky that you get for free. You don’t need fancy devices to use it, either—if you’ve just finished a load of laundry, hang it out to dry on a line or on a drying rack in the sun instead of running the dryer. Using a clothesline can save you up to 20% on your energy bill.Extra tip: Don’t leave your clothes in the dryer for hours (or days) so they become a wrinkled mess that now need to be dried again or ironed, wasting additional energy. By grabbing freshly-dried clothes immediately and folding or hanging them, you can avoid that scenario.Use the dishwasherIf you think hand-washing your dishes is cheaper because there’s no electricity involved, think again. A relatively new dishwasher will use less than half the energy that hand-washing does, and will use a lot less water, to boot. It seems counter-intuitive, but using the dishwasher will cut your energy bills and save you money (and conserve water at the same time).Clear ventsWhether you’re heating or cooling a home, a central system using air ducts means there are vents throughout the house where the cold or hot air enters each zone. If these vents are blocked in by furniture or other home decor (like heavy curtains), they can’t do their job very well. Your furnace or air conditioning will have to work extra hard to maintain the temperature, using more power. Auditing your home to ensure that all the vents are clear will save you money in the long run.You also shouldn’t close off vents. If there’s a room or area of the house that’s much hotter than the rest of the place, for example, you might think closing the vent will help—but most HVAc systems are designed for a specific square footage, and closing off vents can unbalance it, leading to less efficiency and higher costs.Install motion sensor lightsLeaving lights on in a room you’re not using is just draining electricity from the grid and money from your account for no purpose. We all forget to turn off lights from time to time, and sometimes you need that light to stay on until you’re out of the room to see where you’re going. The U.S. Energy Information Administration estimates that lighting accounts for about 6% of household energy use, so keeping those lights off as much as possible can have a big impact on your bills. Installing motion sensor lights where possible can help, because you won’t have to think about it: The lights come on when you’re using the room, and go off when you’re not.Use blackout curtainsDuring the warm weather, your home heats up in a variety of ways. One of those ways is solar heat gain—the energy of the sun pouring in through your windows and turning the place into a sauna. Hanging heavy blackout-style curtains can block out the sun and reduce that heat gain by as much as 33%, making it easier (and cheaper) to cool down the house.Turn down the water heaterIf you’ve never paid attention to your water heater’s thermostat, now’s the time. If it’s set higher than 120º, you’re wasting energy. Not only does a higher setting increase your risk of getting burned, it’s hotter than you probably need, and it’s costing you as much as an extra $61 per year.You should also consider insulating your water heater. If it’s warm to the touch, it’s bleeding heat and working harder to keep your water hot. Wrapping it in an insulating blanket can save you as much as 16% of the cost to operate the water heater.Use off-peak energyYou can also contact your utility company to find out if they offer an “off-peak” or “time of use” plan. Under these plans, electricity costs more at peak times when people are using a lot of it—say, the middle of the day on a hot afternoon—than at lower-use times (at night, when temperatures cool and air conditioners are turned down). If you adhere to a rigid schedule and use your appliances only during the off-peak period, you can save as much as 40% off your energy bills.