walk in, walk out, light off

This week's tip was inspired by my boyfriend and his geeky fascination with little projects around the house.

If you have the best intentions of turning off a light when you leave the room, but just can't remember to do so, you can purchase inexpensive occupancy motion sensors, which replace standard light switches. Simply set how long you want the light to stay on once it detects motion, then set the switch on auto. Now you don't have to remember to hit the switch, because the light will go off automatically. The boyfriend's bathrooms and kitchen are motion automated, making it convenient and conserving, since he rarely turns lights off himself.

Though I don't have kids or a foyer, I would imagine these would work well such a room, so when your kids come home at night, the light will see them safely in (before or after curfew!) My parents also always leave a lamp on in the house so when they return after dark, they don't stumble into a dark house. These motion detectors would help with saving energy while no one's home, yet still allowing light when it's needed again.

I've thought about getting one of these switches for my closet light, since that's the one I have the most trouble remembering to turn off, but since the switch is facing my bedroom, I'd be inadvertently turning the light on much more often than necessary.