Monday, April 20, 2009
Ahhh to be Green!!
Spending less is like earning more. Using less is being Green!
Ahhh to be Green!!! I have always wanted to be off the grid. Not that I want to live like a caveman but to not use all that energy. To not burn all that fuel. The question has always been how. How do I keep from using so much energy and still be able to care for my family in a modern way. I have found a few things that have actually saved me money and still allows me to live a normal life with out taking up too much time and energy.
First I have learned how to read my meter! I know this sounds like something any mild mannered idiot could do but I will tell you with all those spinning wheels and numbers it took a few tries but I am there now. (see http://www.southcoasttoday.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20090419/LIFE/904190313) So I started by unplugging everything I could. Yes that means the computer, TV, stereo, digital clocks, the coffee maker with the LCD clock. I was unable to unplug certain things and realize I would not be able to do this on a regular basis and so I found my absolute baseline.
I starting plugging certain appliances back in beginning with the almighty TV. Certain items use energy even when they are turned off as they are really in a sleep mode. So when we are leaving the house for the day I take a moment and disconnect all of the appliances. I switched from digital alarm clocks to wind up. Which I found on www.freecycle.com. I never used them for the radio anyway and I don’t look at that clock all day long and it is costing me every second it is plugged in. Even my home computer is unplugged during the days I am not home. Which it seems is only four appliances to unplug but they were costing me about $1.00 a day. (do the math it adds up fast) I notice bleeps of large consumption and times of slow use and I isolated what is happening. So that it could be monitored.
I do about 3 loads of laundry everyday. I know it sounds like a lot but living on a farm the children get dirty and I don’t mean messy I mean DIRTY. Now that spring is here and I have erected a clothes line which I hang all the clothes on. It is not always easy but with every load I do I tell myself I have just earned $1.00. Five days a week three loads a day that can really add up. I checked my electric bill it was down $30 last month just from the electric dryer not being used. Now that I have implemented these additional items I have noticed a large drop in my electric bill from $125 per month to just under $85.
Not sure how much it will be by the end of the year but I am thinking PAID VACATION!!!!!
Ahhh to be Green!!! I have always wanted to be off the grid. Not that I want to live like a caveman but to not use all that energy. To not burn all that fuel. The question has always been how. How do I keep from using so much energy and still be able to care for my family in a modern way. I have found a few things that have actually saved me money and still allows me to live a normal life with out taking up too much time and energy.
First I have learned how to read my meter! I know this sounds like something any mild mannered idiot could do but I will tell you with all those spinning wheels and numbers it took a few tries but I am there now. (see http://www.southcoasttoday.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20090419/LIFE/904190313) So I started by unplugging everything I could. Yes that means the computer, TV, stereo, digital clocks, the coffee maker with the LCD clock. I was unable to unplug certain things and realize I would not be able to do this on a regular basis and so I found my absolute baseline.
I starting plugging certain appliances back in beginning with the almighty TV. Certain items use energy even when they are turned off as they are really in a sleep mode. So when we are leaving the house for the day I take a moment and disconnect all of the appliances. I switched from digital alarm clocks to wind up. Which I found on www.freecycle.com. I never used them for the radio anyway and I don’t look at that clock all day long and it is costing me every second it is plugged in. Even my home computer is unplugged during the days I am not home. Which it seems is only four appliances to unplug but they were costing me about $1.00 a day. (do the math it adds up fast) I notice bleeps of large consumption and times of slow use and I isolated what is happening. So that it could be monitored.
I do about 3 loads of laundry everyday. I know it sounds like a lot but living on a farm the children get dirty and I don’t mean messy I mean DIRTY. Now that spring is here and I have erected a clothes line which I hang all the clothes on. It is not always easy but with every load I do I tell myself I have just earned $1.00. Five days a week three loads a day that can really add up. I checked my electric bill it was down $30 last month just from the electric dryer not being used. Now that I have implemented these additional items I have noticed a large drop in my electric bill from $125 per month to just under $85.
Not sure how much it will be by the end of the year but I am thinking PAID VACATION!!!!!
Labels: Green living
// posted by DME @ 9:23 AM 
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