Those big piles of spent AAs in your junk drawer are burning your wallet. I understand that the initial cost is quite high, but switching to rechargeables is probably the most significant upgrade a homeowner could make. You are the master of these walls now, stop buying trash on a monthly basis.
The new batteries will have lithium-ion packs capable of staying charged for months. Only reputable brands, like Panasonic Eneloop or EBL should be bought. Those self-discharge models are definitely not needed. They are garbage which takes up space in your junk drawer.
The right time to buy yourself a quality charger. Avoid those ancient dumb bricks which destroy your batteries every night. Such devices as Xtar VC4 or Nitecore SC4 will help you with proper charging and turn themselves off once the battery is fully charged. These chargers may be slightly pricey, but at least you won’t get a fire at home.
A cheap plastic organizer from The Container Store and some labels will be very useful. You have to keep your charged batteries separately from those spent. Combining them will create absolute chaos which no one needs in his/her life. A small red bin for spent cells and green one for the charged will help you.
Fifty dollars will have to be spent on buying all necessary stuff. Fifty dollars may sound as quite a lot compared to six-dollar packs of Duracells. But you will earn them back in four months by using your Xbox controller every day. Then the cells will be essentially free.
The only problem here is the fact that you have to remember to charge them before the blackout. If you forget and your flashlight becomes useless, it will be your own fault. You have to develop a habit of dropping empty cells in the bin for charging.
Recycling of old AAs is the final step which should be done. Don’t throw your used batteries into kitchen trash like any renter would do. There are recycling containers in Home Depot and Best Buy near the entrance. Five seconds will be enough to become a responsible homeowner.
This little adjustment will give you a feeling of being a person who knows what is going on in his/her house. This is a win against the flow of constant bills and obligations. Also, you will no longer have to hear whines about batteries from your kids.