Category Archives: Eco Friendly Home

Making the Shift Away From Being a One Car Family

One of the thoughts that kind of caught me off guard about having another baby is the realization that we can’t get by with just my husband’s car for much longer. While I don’t drive much, I will need to do a bit more when my daughter is born and has all the usual doctor’s appointments.

Not to mention that our current car is a 4 seater, incapable of seating a family of 5. The middle seat in back is cupholders. The car is also too narrow for another car seat.

So we need a car that can seat 5 comfortably, two of which are legally required to be in car seats, and the third who really doesn’t mind having a booster seat make it easier for her to see out the window. That’s perilously close to needing a minivan, which is one possibility we’re considering for the sheer comfort. I know my oldest daughter won’t be too comfortable being squeezed into even a wide backseat with two car seats beside her. But she may have to cope.

A lot depends on our budget, which is minimal to say the least. We’re trying, but it takes time to save up, even with my inlaws being willing to help out. They’ve suggested that they provide a down payment for something new, but I don’t trust my husband’s job stability enough to want to risk monthly payments. It’s just pushing things a little too far.

I did have to tell my husband that saving a mere $50 a month, his first suggestion, wasn’t exactly going to get us anywhere towards a decent car. Too little time.

We do intend to mostly live as though we only have the one car, assuming it will still be the most fuel efficient. The goal is to only use the second car when we need the space or I have to do something while my husband’s at work. We figure we can at least minimize how much gas we use that way.

Besides, I have a very solid habit of driving very rarely just now, and I’d like to keep it that way.

I had considered the possibility of using public transportation, and selling our current car once we have a second one, but I can’t see that working with my current obligations. One child in first grade. Another in speech therapy 10 miles away, no good bus route to it. Add in doctor’s appointments, which have a slightly better chance of being reasonable by bus, and things get difficult due to time.

We currently cope with the speech therapy by having my husband work the latest shift possible at his job. That means he starts at 11 am and leaves work at 7 pm. That sucks for family time, though. Our daughter in particular resents it because she sees so little of her daddy. They both got a little spoiled during the time he was out of work, I think.

Overall, I don’t feel too bad about this. We’ve coped as a one car family for more than a year and a half. It’s been hard at times but we’ve learned a lot about planning our needs more carefully. It’s a lesson I feel confident we’ll take into the future.

Why Not Try to Eat Less Meat?

Cutting back meat consumption can be a difficult thing to do, at least in the United States. Eating meat is so much a part of how I was raised that it’s really hard to break the habit or slow it down. But there are a lot of good reasons to do so.

1. Better for your grocery bill.

This is a reason that many of us can get on board with these days. Beans, lentils, brown rice, barley and so forth cost much less than meat and are great sources of protein. They’re also nicely filling. All you have to do is learn to cook them in ways you enjoy.

2. Better for the environment.

Another great reason, even if it’s less of a motivator for many people who are far more concerned with their budget. Grains have a much lower environmental impact than meat. Animals eat a lot of grain, but the amount of meat you get from them is much less.

You will also significantly cut your carbon footprint. Meat production overall is very hard on the environment.

3. Less handling of raw meat.

While the big salmonella stories recently have related to foods such as spinach, the mishandling of raw meat is a very common source of food poisoning. Just think of how quickly you reach the ‘use by’ date of any meats you buy, versus how long grains last. A part of the food poisoning risk with meat is how fast germs can grow in it.

4. How many farm animals are treated.

If the ethics worry you, then the treatment of farm animals is a big deal. There are farms that treat their animals far better than the factory farms that produce the more affordable meats. And of course there are all the hormones and antibiotics used on factory farm animals.

5. It can be healthier.

This one really depends on you. It’s possible to eat unhealthy without meat, but if you’re trying to eat well and eat less meat, it’s pretty healthy. You’ll probably have less fat in your diet, for one thing. You can cut the odds of getting many health problems simply by eating less meat. It’s not a guarantee, just lower odds.

If you want to cut back on meat but still like to have it every day, just work on how you serve it. Go heavy on the vegetables when you stir fry, for example. I’ve found chopping the meat into pieces can make it look as though there’s more on my plate as well, so I eat less of it.

You can also try just having meat no more than once a day. I enjoy vegetarian lunches many days, and just rarely take the time for any meats with breakfast. I don’t miss it most of the time.

Plan regular vegetarian dinners too. My husband isn’t much of a fan of vegetarian meals, but I have some recipes he enjoys well enough, despite his regular suggestions of meats I could add in “to make it better.” He eats them, so that’s good enough. My kids aren’t big meat eaters, so some vegetarian meals go down much faster that ones featuring meat.

It’s really not as hard as it seems to cut back on meat. Just pick steps that you are comfortable with and go from there.

Tweaking My Clothesline Usage

I had to do a ton of laundry yesterday. Much of the time right now I’ve been having to do a load a day. Pretty standard routine when you have a child who isn’t quite perfect about not wetting the bed. It’s easy to make up a full load when you have bed sheets to start it off and young children who love to play with dirt.

clothesline

We had been just drying the sheets and mattress protector outside, but I’ve found that if I try I can fit a whole load on there, even with the sheets taking a lot of room, so that’s what we’re doing now.

It’s really not that hard to do, even if the weather out is 90+ degrees still. A little time consuming, but I’ve already warned my husband that I probably want a second line hung soon.

But eventually the time comes that you have to do ALL the laundry. The bed stays dry for several nights and things just pile up.

When you have just one clothesline and the day is warm and windy but not hot, you can’t count on clothes drying fast enough for each load. So what I did was to put on the clothesline what would fit of each load, let it dry in the sun and wind as the next load washed, then move it to the dryer.

This worked pretty well.

You really don’t want to fully dry denim or towels on a clothesline; they tend to end up really crunchy feeling. But a half hour on the line cut their time in the dryer about in half, and they came out quite nicely.

The challenge is that this is a full extra step in the laundry. I’ve been trying to cut our power bill, so I really don’t mind that much, but I could definitely see that it was adding to the time the task took.

On the plus side, it’s a bit of exercise for the arms.

6 Simple Ways to Save Energy at Home

Saving energy may be one of the simplest things you can do to go green. While you may spend a little money for some of these ideas, many are simply a change of habit.

1. Switch to CFLs as old bulbs burn out.

While compact fluorescent bulbs do typically cost more than incandescent bulbs, you can get them more affordably in many places.

Some electric companies offer discounts on them. These may be available in local stores. I can often get my CFLs for about $1 per bulb. This is of course just for the basic ones, and if you have dimmer switches, ceiling fan lights or closed fixtures you may have to pay more.

However, each CFL should save you money over the life of the bulb. They use significantly less energy than incandescent bulbs and last longer in most cases.

2. Turn off unneeded lights.

Old advice, but still good. Even young children can be taught to turn off lights in rooms that aren’t being used. Takes just a moment, it’s free to do, saves money and energy.

3. Unplug appliances.

Many appliances use power even when they’re turned off. Many of them really don’t need it, unless you need the clock still running or something.

If unplugging is too much effort, consider buying a smart power strip. These will shut down the power to electronics that are connected to each other. You can set one up so that shutting down the computer cuts to power to your monitor, printer and any other accessories, for example. Or turn off the TV and have the DVD player shut completely down. You’ll probably want cable boxes and/or DVRs on a separate strip if they need power while the TV is off.

4. Use fans instead of the air conditioner.

Summer’s over in some places, but not near me. We’re still getting plenty of weather into the 90s.

A good fan works wonders for cutting down our use of air conditioning. It still gets plenty hot in the house, but by combining existing fans with building a tolerance for warmer weather we use the AC relatively little.

You can also figure out which of the windows allow the worst of the heat in. We block those windows with Mylar, and in one case even have a shade on the outside of the house to keep the heat out. Simple, but it makes a huge difference.

Similarly, in winter you can cut down on your heater use by dressing more warmly.

5. Buy Energy Star appliances when you need new ones.

It can be hard to say when it’s worthwhile to replace an appliance that hasn’t yet broken down. Sometimes it is, sometimes it isn’t. But when it’s time, get the most efficient one that meets your needs. Energy Star products cost you a bit more upfront, but over time they will save you money.

6. Use a clothesline.

Yes, old fashioned, and yes, it is forbidden in some areas to have clotheslines in your back yard. Silly rule in my opinion, but a reality some people have to deal with.

When the weather permits, a clothesline dries clothes fairly quickly and can be gentler on them than the dryer. It takes a bit of extra effort to get everything on the line and back down when it’s dry, but you’re not using any electricity by doing so.

Some people put clotheslines in their garage as well. This means you can line dry clothes regardless of the weather or HOA regulations.

It’s amazing what you can do to save energy without spending a lot of money. But even more amazing is how quickly you can save enough to pay for what you’ve spent. Doing your bit for the environment can have some great advantages.

Enjoying My Clothesline More and More

The weather has continued here so warm, and my energy level has been picking up some again. Add in the nightly bed wetting phase my son is going through right now, and my clothesline is really getting some use at last.

clothesline

We had been just drying the sheets and mattress protector outside, but I’ve found that if I try I can fit a whole load on there, even with the sheets taking a lot of room, so that’s what we’re doing now.

It’s really not that hard to do, even if the weather out is 90+ degrees still. A little time consuming, but I’ve already warned my husband that I probably want a second line hung soon. It’s southern California, after all, which means the weather is perfect for drying clothes outside much of the time.

I also figure this will help to ensure that smells have a hard time building up. Washing does quite well, but I trust the sun quite a bit.

I had to smile when my daughter asked me when I’d gotten the laundry basket. It’s been sitting unused in the garage since we moved in here, a relic of when my husband and I lived in an apartment and had to carry loads to the laundry room. I don’t bother with one when I can just pick up anything I drop.

Going outside makes the laundry basket make sense again. Don’t want my clean clothes on those dratted wood chips. Bad enough getting splinters in my feet. Don’t need them elsewhere.

My husband has been teasing me that I could just start using the bathtub and the antique wash board we got from my grandma. He knows I have no interest in adding that much labor to the job, although I gather it’s quite the arm workout. Still not going to happen. Fun to not take everything seriously in life.