Use Blackout Curtains to Cut Your Power Bill
Jan 16, 2012 Eco Friendly Home
Whether it’s the cold of winter or the heat of summer, your windows are a major energy leak for your home. Having double paned windows can help quite a bit, but good quality blackout curtains
Quality matters with blackout curtains. If you check the reviews on Amazon, you can see that some curtains are far better than others at blocking light. There’s not much point in putting up blackout curtains if they don’t do the job well.
Cost of Blackout Curtains
Blackout curtains
You can also make your own for a reasonable cost, and it doesn’t have to be complex. Dark colored fleece can do pretty well, for example. The main thing you want to look for is a material that will block a lot of light. It doesn’t necessarily have to be a dark color, so long as it doesn’t let much light through. Layering the fabric can work as well. If you don’t sew, fabric glue may also work, although I don’t trust it to be as strong.
If you don’t want to spend money on all your windows, just get blackout curtains for the ones that gain or lose the most heat. You can pull the curtains back on warmer winter days to let sunlight in, and close the curtains when the day cools down to keep the heat in.
Alternatives
If you don’t want to put up curtains, there are other ways to block heat in your home. I use flattened cardboard boxes in some of my windows. We have a number of them from when we moved a few years ago. We’re a little discreet about where these go, as we have a picky homeowner’s association to deal with and I don’t want to hear anything from them.
You can also use Mylar in your windows. You can buy some that is designed for use in windows, but you can also get it in the form of emergency blankets such as you might keep in an emergency kit, and cut that to size. It blocks quite a bit of energy, yet it’s thin enough you can open the window over it. That’s nice if you’re happy with your window coverings aside from how they keep the heat in or out.
Tags: blackout curtains, mylar, saving energy
11 Ways to Save Water and Energy While Doing the Laundry
May 23, 2011 Eco Friendly Home
When you have a family, you do a lot of laundry. Laundry uses a fair bit of water and energy, so I decided to share some tips to help you make it a more efficient process.
1. Don’t wash clothes more often than necessary.
Clothes aren’t dirty the instant you put them on. Something you’ve worn for only a short time during the day may not be dirty enough by the time you take it off to go into the laundry pile.
It can be especially hard to convince children that clothes don’t automatically go into the laundry. They may try a shirt on, immediately take it off and throw it into the laundry basket. If you have kids, work with them on that habit. Help them to see that it takes more time than that to get an outfit dirty.
Clothes are of course dirty if they look it or smell dirty. You can also go by the old “if it’s doubtful, it’s dirty” rule for those times you just aren’t sure.
2. Wash full loads whenever possible.
Most washing machines make the best use of water and energy when they’re running a full load. Do your best to wait for enough clothes or other items to make up a full load rather than wash a partial one.
If you need to wash a smaller load, make sure you adjust the water settings on your machine accordingly. There’s no reason to wash a small load of clothes with enough water for a full load.
3. Wash in cold water when possible.
Many times cold water will get your clothes clean enough. This saves on the energy required to heat the water. It’s also more gentle on your clothes. You should be aware that not all laundry detergents work well or dissolve properly in cold water. You can dissolve a powdered detergent in warm water and add it to the machine if necessary. If you’re getting a residue left on your clothes, you may need to continue washing in warm water or try a different detergent. I get good results with Country Save
If cold water isn’t good enough, warm probably is. You should very rarely need to do a hot water wash.
Most modern washing machines always rinse using cold water because there is no reason to rinse the clothes out using hot or warm water.
4. Use an extended spin cycle in your washing machine.
Many washing machines offer an extended spin cycle, which removes more water from your clothes, so they will dry more quickly in the dryer. This takes less energy than running your dryer to get to a similar level of dryness, but you will still need to run them through the dryer to finish the job.
5. Sort clothes by drying time.
Some fabrics dry much faster than others. If you sort by drying time as well as by other factors, you can keep the load in the dryer for the right time for all the clothes, rather than overdrying the clothes that dry quickly.
6. Take advantage of the moisture sensor in your dryer if available.
Many dryers have a moisture sensor, and will dry your clothes only as long as it takes for the load to get dry. Use this option to avoid overdrying your clothes.
7. Remove clothes from the dryer immediately.
Taking the laundry out of the dryer immediately and hanging or folding them promptly helps to limit wrinkling, which means much less time and energy spent on ironing your laundry.
8. Keep the dryer lint trap clean.
Cleaning the lint trap on your dryer after every load doesn’t just make your dryer work more efficiently. It’s also a safety issue, as lint burns relatively easily. You should also regularly check your dryer vent for lint.
9. Line dry when possible.
Line drying your laundry saves a lot of energy and it’s pretty kind to your clothes. It takes a bit of time, but I always chalk that up under “exercise” rather than “inconvenience.”
If you’re worried about crunchy jeans and such, take them in a little before they’re completely dry, and let your dryer finish the job. The fabric will soften up nicely.
10. Move each new load into the dryer as soon as possible.
If you move your freshly washed clothes into the dryer while it’s still warm from the last load, it will use less energy reaching the right drying temperature. It’s a small difference, but you may as well take advantage of it.
11. Buy an Energy Star washer when it’s time to replace your current washer.
No clothes dryers are rated as Energy Star at this time because they all use similar amounts of energy. Washers, on the other hand, can be Energy Star rated
Front loading washing machines are very efficient with their water use, which is a large part of why they have become so popular.
Tags: laundry, line drying, saving energy, saving water
20 Things Your Kids Can Do for the Environment
Jun 28, 2010 Eco Friendly Parenting
It’s not just adults who should be doing the best they can for the environment. Kids can help too. Take some time and teach them to do their part.
1. Reduce
The 3 Rs apply to your kids, and reduce is the first one to teach them. Help them to learn the difference between need and want. When you go shopping with them, and they start begging for whatever it is they see on the shelves, discuss why they want it. If it’s needed, talk about what makes it needed. If it’s just something they want, talk about when you buy things you just want and when you should skip them.
2. Reuse
Kids who enjoy crafts are great at reusing things. They can make wonderful projects from things you might have otherwise thrown into the recycle bin or thrown away.
3. Recycle
Teach them from a young age to sort items into the recycle bin. Once they’re old enough to recognize the types of paper, plastic and metals that can be recycled in your area they can help put recyclables in the right place rather than in the trash.
4. Walk or Bike to School
If your child’s school is at all within a reasonable distance, why not have them walk or ride a bike there. Odds are good that you did the same growing up if your school was near enough. It never ceases to amaze me how many people I see driving less than a block to bring their child to school. With the crowd of cars around the school, walking would be faster for many of them, including the time to return themselves home if the parents went with the kids.
5. Pick Up Trash
We love to go hiking as a family. One thing we include in our hikes is picking up trash if we pass some. It’s easy to carry a bag for trash as you go walking. This can be done at neighborhood playgrounds as well.
6. Turn Off Extra Lights
There are some ages where kids will be really good at this one. They’ll give you a hard time anytime you forget to turn off a light as you leave a room. Other times, they won’t be so good at it.
7. Turn Off Electronics When Not in Use
Kids these days spend a lot of time with electronics these days. Television, computers, video games, kids love them.
Some of these you only need to teach the kids to turn off when they’re done with them. For others, you may want to consider adding in a power strip so that the electronics can be turned completely off, and not use any extra power at all, even for displaying a clock. You can also buy a smart strip
8. Plant a Garden
Whether you plant a serious vegetable garden, a few herbs, some flowers or a tree, it’s all good for the environment if you keep it organic. Kids usually love gardening, and any produce grown is good for them too. Remember the bees when you choose your flowers!
9. Help Compost
While dealing with much of the compost pile may be an adult or teen job, kids of any age can throw fresh vegetable scraps into the compost pile.
10. Volunteer
It can be hard to find age appropriate volunteer opportunities when the kids are young sometimes, but it gets easier as they get older. Volunteering helps your children to see how fortunate they are in what they have and that others make do with far less.
11. Use Reusable Containers to Bring Lunch to School
Many school lunches aren’t so healthy, so having your kids bring their lunch to school is a great idea. Don’t use paper bags or plastic bags for their lunches. Buy reusable lunch containers for them. I particularly like my daughter’s Klean Kanteen water bottle.
12. Donate Old Clothes and Toys
Have your kids help you to go through their old clothes and toys and find the ones in good enough condition to donate to a worthwhile charity.
13. Shop Resale and Thrift Shops
If you don’t teach your kids this one while they’re young, you can get a lot of resistance at first. Keep it up and they will realize how many great outfits are available for a lot less money. This teaches them to be thrifty and to look for used items before buying new.
14. Use Homemade Cleansers
Kids should start doing chores around the house as soon as they’re old enough. But why expose them to the harsh chemicals of store bought cleansers when you can teach them how to clean with healthier products such as baking soda and vinegar? Better for them and for the environment.
15. Eat Less Fast Food
Kids love fast food, but most of it is bad for them and the environment. Talk to them about why eating out too much is a bad habit.
16. Close Blinds and Curtains
This is most important during the summer, when the heat comes in through windows. Closing the blinds or curtains helps to block much of that heat. It’s also a help in winter, to keep heat from escaping the house, however there are times where having even the winter sun come into the house is a benefit, so help your kids know when to let the sunlight into your home.
17. Open a Window
As the day cools, teach your kids to open windows rather than run the air conditioner during the summer. It works really well, keeps the power bill down and doesn’t create any carbon to open a window.
18. Set Up a Bird Feeder
Feeding the birds
19. Use Fewer Toys that Require Batteries
Many children’s toys require batteries. The problem isn’t just the batteries, it’s that many of these don’t encourage creative or active play. Do get rechargeable batteries for those toys that do need them, but have your kids think about playing more with toys that don’t need batteries at all.
20. Eat Less Meat
This comes easier to some kids than others. Some may be ready to go for complete vegetarianism or veganism. Others will struggle to cut back, just as many adults do.
Have regular meatless meals. Explore new recipes as a family. Be amazed at how wonderful some meatless meals can taste.
Tags: environment, family, food, Gardening, kids, saving energy
Check a Kill-a-Watt Out From the Library
Mar 11, 2010 Sustainable Energy
I’ve posted before about using a Kill-A-Watt to keep an eye on your energy usage. They’re useful little devices. But did you know you can check them out from some libraries?
This isn’t available everywhere, but you can check with your local library to see if they have one. They’re available in libraries in Georgia and many other places. You should be able to check the website of your local library to see if you can borrow a Kill-a-Watt from them.
I like this because my one problem with a Kill-a-Watt is that once you’re done, what do you do with it? My mother has talked about getting one for the whole family to be passed around, which is a good way to handle it as well. But once you’ve found your energy wasting electronics there’s just not much more for it to do for you.
Tags: kill-a-watt, saving energy
Insulate Your Water Heater – Green Step By Step
Feb 23, 2010 Green Step By Step
Your water heater can be a big part of your energy bill, 14-25% according to the U.S. Department of Energy. Making it more efficient can be a big help.
There are several ways you can save money on heating water for your home, such as turning down the thermostat on your water heater to no more than 120 degrees F. But insulating it is another great step.
You can buy a water heater blanket
The water heater blanket will help to cut down on the heat loss on your water heater. This is particularly nice first thing in the morning if your water isn’t always hot right away.
Tags: insulation, saving energy, water heater
