For Week 5, we’re doing a bit of “home improvement.” We’re not talking about buying a new sofa or building cabinets; by “improvement,” we mean bettering our energy-efficiency and making more “eco-friendly” lifestyle choices.We already consider ourselves reasonably “eco-friendly,” but there are certainly many more things we “should” do, several things we “could” do, and at least a handful of things that I’m really resistant to that I have to give more thought.
Examples of what we’re already doing include, but aren’t limited to: (Full disclosure: Some of these things we do because they ARE eco-friendly, more of these things we do because they’re the norm or convenient where we live, many we do because they’re economical. So, our halos are slightly dented.)
- We own an energy-efficient front-loading washing machine. And seldom use the dryer; most of the time we line dry our clothing (we live in Europe, the line dry thing is more normal than in the States).
- Despite the fact that I grew up differently, with the exception of bedding, we now wash everything in cold or, at most, warm water. We use biodegradable washing detergent mixed with baking soda and never use fabric softener (without using the dryer and no softener, yes, sometimes our clothing is a bit “crunchy” at first).
- I always have my nylon or cloth shopping bags with me, so I almost never have to ask for either plastic or paper bags. Nils usually takes his backpack grocery shopping.
- We (with almost no exception) use rechargeable batteries.
- We recycle all glass bottles and jars and almost 100% of our sheets of paper (meaning all printer or notebook paper) are used double-sided and put in the recycling bin. Don’t ask about our other paper products — we have a ways to go there.
- We use no aerosol products. Oh wait, no, that’s not true! I have one aerosol hairspray container in the bathroom. It’s been in there for ages and I use it only once in a blue moon, which is why I forgot about it. I’ll have to figure out how we’re supposed to properly dispose of aerosol containers.
- We live in the city, so while we have access to a car (through Nils’ work), we almost exclusively travel on foot or via public transportation (underground or buses) for work, errands and social events.
- We do not have air conditioning (neither central nor unit). No, we’re not saints — for the most part, we don’t need it in our area. If I still lived in swamp-like Washington, DC, I’d be singing a different tune, no doubt.
- I get lots of exercise running after Nils turning off lights behind him in the apartment. (Note to self: work on this with him).
This week will be all about further small steps we can take toward shrinking our carbon footprints. There are several questions we’ll be looking at as well, including:
- is recycling of plastic really the most eco-friendly thing for us to do? We live in a city where a Waste-to-Energy plant (waste incinerator that generates energy) provides approximately 292,000 residential customers with heat, while also supplying 85% of these with hot water and serving 5,809 commercial customers as well. Since our waste doesn’t go to landfill, but is turned into energy, we honestly don’t know what’s the best thing to do with our plastic.
Please check out our February Monthly Impact Challenge and consider participating by giving us suggestions, tips and tricks on how we can Green Our Home.
Don’t know if you already do this stuff, but here are a few things:
1. Change to energy-saving flourescent lights
2. insulate your water heater and hot water pipes
3. Clean the condenser coils on the back of your frig and freezer
4. Set your thermostat at max 68 degrees F. Try putting it down a half a degree every couple of days — no one may notice. Set it to 55 degrees when you’re sleeping.
5. Unplug electrical items when not used, or use a power strip
6. Check water faucets for leaks and repair.
We live in the country so it is easier to be green. One thing we are trying is turning the hot water tank to the lowest heat setting and off at the breaker box until 1hr before our peak usage time. It is on for 2hs and that is enough. We have two in the household so it would probably vary some with more people. What gave me the idea was seeing a program on new energy saving ideas. One was a timer that is wired in and sets on top of your hot water heater and they suggested about the same timing schedule.
Thanks Ray, for this idea. We, personally, cannot use it in our apartment since we have a gas heater for instant hot water, but we will pass it on to people we know who have a hot water tank system — whom are many.