Metateps

Wash heavily soiled clothes in warm water, and lightly soiled clothes in cold. Use detergents that are made to be effective in cold water. Rinse everything on cold. Warm or hot rinses don't make clothes cleaner. Wash full loads, not partial loads. If you're drying multiple loads, do them one right after the other. Don't let the dryer cool off between them. Don't overdry loads. It's expensive and it's not good for the fabrics. Dry heavy and light fabrics separately. If they're mixed, the total time the dryer runs will be longer. Clean the lint filter before every load. A clogged filter increases drying time. And remember the lost art of hanging clothes out to dry?

Hot Water

Turn your water heater thermostat down to 120 degrees. If your dishwasher doesn't have a temperature booster, set it at 130. If you're leaving the house for several days, lower the temperature until you get back. It's possible to set your electric heater on a timer so it heats only during the times you are most likely to need hot water, or so it turns off completely during the night.

Wrap your water heater in an insulating blanket or tape some fiberglass insulation around it. Some newer heaters are already insulated. As mentioned before, it's also a good idea to insulate hot-water pipes.

Repair leaky faucets as soon as possible. Use low-flow or flow-control showerheads in the shower.

Dishwashing

Rinse dishes with cold water before loading them, and start the dishwasher only with a full load. Consider allowing the dishes to air-dry.