As a new (~1 year) homeowner and long-time apartment dweller, I've never really been exposed to the actual energy cost of operating washer/dryer laundry machines. A few months ago, though, I decided to buy a couple of clothes drying racks, for about $20/each, and start hanging up my laundry to dry, rather than running multiple loads through the dryer every weekend.
A few months into this experiment, I've carefully reviewed my electricity bill. With no other major changes (we're not big power users, really) we're now saving about $23/month, just based on that change! So I've already earned back the cost of the racks I bought, and now I'm on track to be saving $276 a year.
Finding $200 here, $300 there is really making it easier to pay off my student loans, mortgage, etc. early. Every time I find a little bit of savings like this, I adjust my monthly debt payments accordingly.