Secretly, while you are at work or in bed, your appliances are stealing from you.  Yes, it's true.  Your computer, TV and cell phone charger are all vampires, sucking money out of your wallet and wasting precious energy resources.  Silver bullets...garlic...Holy water...all useless against these ghouls.  The only way to stop them...DA DA DAAAAAA (imagine appropriately scary music here)

Just unplug them!

Some estimates put vampire energy use at 10% of the average family's annual electric usage.  By unplugging the energy sucking vampires in your house, you'll save money and help the environment.  And you can save the garlic for your spaghetti sauce.
  
Your PC is not all that "PC."
Turn off your computer when you're not using it.  Even if your PC's in "sleep" mode, it still draws power.  Turning your entire system off does the most good.  That's your computer, printer, fax, scanner, etc.  You can even turn your modem off.  Worried about convenience?  It takes only an average of 90 seconds to power-up.  

Your big screen is a big energy hog.
According to the U.S, Department of Energy, a plasma TV, with a cable hook-up, DVD player and remote can consume roughly $185 of stand-by power per year.  Turning it off can save you $15 per month on your electric bill.  For convience sake and to avoid damage to delicate circuits, plug all components into one or two power strips and turn the strips off when the appliances are not in use.  A UPS back-up by APC, made for heavy duty use will protect your investment.  Prices range from about $98 to $165.00, depending on specs.  You can find them at places like Staples, Best Buy and Dell.  Or search the web for the best current prices.  Replace the power strip every six months or so.

The cell phone charger to nowhere.
My husband is the worst about this.  He'll hook his phone up at night to charge and in the morning - rushing to get out the door - he forgets to UNPLUG the cell charger.  Current still flows to the charger, and out to nowhere.

Your Lonely Appliances
Unless you use the clock on your coffee-maker as an alarm, you're better off unplugging it after you've had your morning cup.  The same is true for your toaster oven, your food processor, your juicer, and any other appliance you aren't using.  The fancier the appliance, (or the older) the more energy it sucks out of your wallet.  Every appliance that is plugged in uses some power.  In this same line of thought, it might be a good time to think about upgrading appliance like your fridge or washing machine.  The newer models are designed to use less energy.  Look for the "Energy Star" label when making your purchase.  You might also get a nice tax break for buying it.

Want to know exactly how much your vampires are using, and how much you can save?  Try Kill A Watt EZ by P3 International ($40-50 at home repair stores and online).

Get In On The Discussion.  What have you done to take the bite out of your energy vampires?