We have, again this month, received some great comments. Thank you to the following people for their ideas and input.
Marion said ... great blog, love it. Well one of the things I do to help our planet is I hang dry the laundry instead of using the dryer. I used to think it's so much work but now I can't imagine doing it any other way. August 3, 2008 5:31 PM
Marion said ... forgot to mention ... I did eat my veggies, eat them every day ... We are a vegan family. August 3, 2008 5:33 PM
Marion said ... Often the water heater is far far away from the bathroom or kitchen sink and one has to let the water run for minutes to finally get some hot. Well we have a tiny water heater right under the sink. So the hot water is there instantly. Our big water heater is set to be on at night only, when electricity is cheaper, and the water stays hot all day. Also we cut down on the showers altogether, we shower every other day only. We have barrels set up in the yard for catching rain water, which we use to water the plants. August 3, 2008 5:45 PM
Marion said ... I use reusable bags, but what I do use as well are the boxes my grocery store provides. They are the boxes the products come in and they have an area in the store where they keep them for people to use. At home I use them to stack in the newspaper and then it's easy to take the old papers to the recycle center. August 3, 2008 5:49 PM
Marion said ... actually there are these handy dandy drying racks that are smaller than my bathtub and hold at least one huge load of laundry, maybe even more. I keep it in my bedroom by the open window so the clothes get air. In the winter the house is very dry from the wood stove and the wet laundry serves as a humidifier. August 3, 2008 6:04 PM
Kelly said ... This is a great post. I work in the Asheville tourism industry (for a local vacation rental/property management company Carolina Mornings), and with the economy and gas prices the way they've been, we have seen a lot of people visiting from close by and taking shorter trips. Tourism is still growing, just in different ways! I think it's great to explore near home :) I write a blog all about what's happening in and around Asheville. If you are interested, the link is http://carolinamornings.blogspot.com/ Take care! :) August 17, 2008 9:26 PM
Anonymous said ... I have a shoe dryer sitting in the kitchen in an out-of-the-way corner. In addition to using it to dry shoes (which we take off at the kitchen door when we enter), it is great for quickly and totally drying our washed plastic bags which can then be folded and carefully reinserted into the box for their next use! August 24, 2008 9:42 PM
As always, I love hearing from you ... and now we have an additional avenue for you to reach us. Our email address is posted on the left sidebar. If you'd prefer not to have your comments posted, please let us know.
Friday, August 29, 2008
Wednesday, August 27, 2008
Need a little more motivation?
While saving the earth is, all by itself, reason enough to reduce the amount of energy we use, it's real nice when we see other benefits as well ... like saving money. The energy company in my area has a great website. On it, I can track my energy usage and see how my efforts are working.
I'm happy to report that in the last year, our average daily kWh usage has dropped by 45%. And that translates into dollars and cents. Wow!
The effort wasn't all that difficult, either ... unplugging electronics when not in use, turning off lights, twisting off light bulbs in the bathroom (who needs that much light), using ceiling fans instead of air conditioning, and the biggie ... switching off our water heater for all but 30 minutes a day.
So I ask you ... if you could cut your electric bill in half, what would you do with the money? Now that's motivation!
I'm happy to report that in the last year, our average daily kWh usage has dropped by 45%. And that translates into dollars and cents. Wow!
The effort wasn't all that difficult, either ... unplugging electronics when not in use, turning off lights, twisting off light bulbs in the bathroom (who needs that much light), using ceiling fans instead of air conditioning, and the biggie ... switching off our water heater for all but 30 minutes a day.
So I ask you ... if you could cut your electric bill in half, what would you do with the money? Now that's motivation!
As always, I would love to hear your ideas for reducing, reusing and recycling. Just click on the comments link, located at the bottom of each post ... or click on my email address located in the left sidebar under "Contact us" ... and let me know what you think and how you conserve.
Monday, August 25, 2008
Grow your own ...
Today I was in my patio garden, collecting herbs and vegetables for a salad. It always amazes and delights me that fresh picked veggies smell and taste so wonderful. There is absolutely no comparison to the store-bought varieties. And while I'm no expert, I can't help but think that the nutrition of local foods is greater than foods which take days to get to my table. After all, vegetables begin to lose their nutritional value the minute they are picked so ... closer to home means more vitamins.
Whenever possible, we opt for local foods. When I wrote a post on the subject (click here to read it), I concentrated more on why it's a good idea and offered ideas on how and where to buy it. Today I'll talk about growing your own (that's real local).
Growing herbs and vegetables is fun ... and the good news is that almost everyone can do it, even if you don't have a large piece of land. In fact, even if one doesn't have a patio, growing herbs and some vegetables is as easy ... perhaps easier ... than growing houseplants. All it takes is a container, dirt, some seeds, a window and some loving care.
I have a small patio ... you know the type ... a small space just outside the apartment. Rather than put ornamental plants out there, we opted for plants that we could eat. It turns out that they are as beautiful as expensive ornamentals. Along the railing, there are long planters filled with herbs ... parsley, basil, and cilantro. We've taken plastic coffee containers, punched a few holes in the bottom, and hung them from the ceiling. They hold habanero peppers, green beans and peas. I've saved containers of every sort and they hold sweet potatoes, tomatoes, mint, rosemary, oregano and thyme. We even have a small fig tree and this year, we have our first figs. Soon, as the weather cools, I'll plant fall veggies: lettuce, spinach, kale and collard greens. All this in a relatively small space.
Planting "your own" is a cost savings. Consider the price of a bundle of herbs ... pretty high for a small bunch. How about the price of tomatoes ... or fresh green beans? For the price of a packet of seeds, one can get an entire season of veggies. And consider the satisfaction that comes with planting and caring for the food you eat. Here's another thought ... when the world is stressing over tainted tomatoes, those of us growing our own will be enjoying them without worry.
And here's the biggie ... growing "your own" will help Mother Earth.
So ... check your closets and garage for any usable containers. Buy a few seeds and perhaps some dirt (if you don't have access to any clean soil) ... and get started. Herbs, gourmet lettuces, green beans and peas are great starting places ... they grow quickly and easily in a sunny window. If you have a yard or some land ... great. Either way ... growing "your own" can be a fun, healthy activity. And if, in your area, it's too late to start a garden right now ... start planning for next spring. The Internet, farmer's almanac, and the library are all great resources for discovering which plants grow well in a variety of situations ... including container planting. I personally like the trial and error method ... I may not always get a bounty but I have a great time.
Here's wishing you a bountiful, fun garden!
Whenever possible, we opt for local foods. When I wrote a post on the subject (click here to read it), I concentrated more on why it's a good idea and offered ideas on how and where to buy it. Today I'll talk about growing your own (that's real local).
Growing herbs and vegetables is fun ... and the good news is that almost everyone can do it, even if you don't have a large piece of land. In fact, even if one doesn't have a patio, growing herbs and some vegetables is as easy ... perhaps easier ... than growing houseplants. All it takes is a container, dirt, some seeds, a window and some loving care.
I have a small patio ... you know the type ... a small space just outside the apartment. Rather than put ornamental plants out there, we opted for plants that we could eat. It turns out that they are as beautiful as expensive ornamentals. Along the railing, there are long planters filled with herbs ... parsley, basil, and cilantro. We've taken plastic coffee containers, punched a few holes in the bottom, and hung them from the ceiling. They hold habanero peppers, green beans and peas. I've saved containers of every sort and they hold sweet potatoes, tomatoes, mint, rosemary, oregano and thyme. We even have a small fig tree and this year, we have our first figs. Soon, as the weather cools, I'll plant fall veggies: lettuce, spinach, kale and collard greens. All this in a relatively small space.
Planting "your own" is a cost savings. Consider the price of a bundle of herbs ... pretty high for a small bunch. How about the price of tomatoes ... or fresh green beans? For the price of a packet of seeds, one can get an entire season of veggies. And consider the satisfaction that comes with planting and caring for the food you eat. Here's another thought ... when the world is stressing over tainted tomatoes, those of us growing our own will be enjoying them without worry.
And here's the biggie ... growing "your own" will help Mother Earth.
So ... check your closets and garage for any usable containers. Buy a few seeds and perhaps some dirt (if you don't have access to any clean soil) ... and get started. Herbs, gourmet lettuces, green beans and peas are great starting places ... they grow quickly and easily in a sunny window. If you have a yard or some land ... great. Either way ... growing "your own" can be a fun, healthy activity. And if, in your area, it's too late to start a garden right now ... start planning for next spring. The Internet, farmer's almanac, and the library are all great resources for discovering which plants grow well in a variety of situations ... including container planting. I personally like the trial and error method ... I may not always get a bounty but I have a great time.
Here's wishing you a bountiful, fun garden!
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