Category Archives: Eco Friendly Home

How Does a Family Cope with Just One Car?

Having two cars in a family (or more) is so common these days that many families just cannot imagine living any other way. The sheer convenience is hard to beat. Why would anyone give that up?

using just one car

I can think of a few reasons.

For one, it’s better for the environment, provided you are actually driving less. It’s less gas used. Fewer oil changes. Fewer car repairs in general. It makes you think before you drive anywhere.

It’s also a solid financial decision. The points above that are good for the environment are also good for your pocketbook. You can add in that it cuts back on your ability to shop, since you have to plan your shopping trips better. That does help with saving money.

My family has been living with just one car for close to a year and a half now. It’s not easy, since the city we live in does not have great public transportation. But it is doable. Just takes extra planning at times.

As gas prices go up, this has been more and more a benefit to us. I work at home, and drive much less now that I don’t have my own car. Frivolous trips are much harder to make. But it’s still not easy.

For example, my son has speech therapy on the other side of town. I used Google’s transit website to check the bus schedule. The buses here would get me about halfway there; the rest I’d have to walk. You can see where there’s a bit of a problem. The walk is very long for a 3 year old.

But in many areas, public transportation is one of the big keys to coping with just one car. Need to go somewhere and not take the car? Know how to research your local bus schedules. Most cities have them online now; if not, get a supply of the paper ones and keep them in a safe place.

Scheduling helps a lot. Whenever possible, I schedule things around when I will have a car available. This is easy for things like grocery shopping and other errands, but more challenging for doctor’s appointments and such.

If nothing else works, there’s always borrowing someone else’s car. I don’t like to do this, as the people I can most easily ask this of live a distance away and so there’s a lot of extra gas used. Kind of takes away from the whole point of having just one car. But done only when there’s no other solution, this can be a valid solution while still cutting back on your total use of cars.

This brings up another possibility that the person who needs the car most should consider. Carpooling. A good carpool can cut back even further on your use of your car and make it available for other needs.

You can’t forget the biggest challenge, of course. What if the one car breaks down? Suddenly there’s no other car to replace it. A plan for getting to work or any other places that you have to go to become vital. You’ll need to know your alternatives. If you carpool, you have a big advantage.

And of course, there’s always biking or walking. Either of these is good for you and for the environment. A bike with a basket is great for local errands, and you’re limited in your shopping to what you feel comfortable carrying on your bike. That’s more limiting for some than for others.

If you want to walk to the store, you can bring a rolling basket or your kids’ wagon along. I don’t know how stores would feel about a wagon being brought in, but you can always ask the manager or find the bike rack and lock it up there.

Overall, this can be a workable possibility for many families. If you aren’t sure that it would work for yours, just try driving like your family has only one car for a time. Keep one car at home at all times, and you’ll know if it’s possible.

Wow It’s Hot Today!

Here we are, late April in southern California, and we’re somewhere around 101-109 degrees F, depending on which source you want to believe. It’s really hot.

san diego heat wave

But we haven’t yet turned on the air conditioning.

We’re coping by dressing cool, first of all. I have a ceiling fan over my desk, and we’re going to have to start pulling more out if this keeps up.

We’ll also have to pull out the cardboard and blankets to cover windows, so that we can keep the heat out.

These are things that have worked well for us in the past. We often get by with very little air conditioner use even on the really hot days.

Some of it is just adaptation. My indoor thermometer is showing 86 degrees, and I’m comfortable. It really doesn’t seem that bad.

Another factor is that the attic air hasn’t warmed up all the way yet, so the house isn’t retaining so much heat through the night, giving it an early start in the morning. At least that’s my best guess for what’s happening. The house certainly seems to heat up faster when we have a lot of hot days and warm nights, but give equally hot days but compare a warm night to a cool night, and the house doesn’t seem to heat up so much the days after a cool night.

My husband went out and gave the garden some water this morning, and we’ll no doubt have to keep a sharp eye out for wilting if this heat keeps up. I’d sure hate to lose the garden this early. But it’s going to take some careful watering in the mornings and evenings to manage things well.

And yes, the picture was taken near my home. We’re this hot and slightly cloudy, which makes things outside really deceptive.

Oh, and the outside temperatures are now claiming 104 degrees as a minimum. It’s changed even since I started typing this.

Bisphenol-A is the Word

At least, it’s the word I’m hearing more and more about these days. It has come to the attention of a lot of people that plastics made with it may not be as safe as claimed. In fact, Canada is looking at regulating or banning it.

Sounds good to me. It seems like we’re taking an awful chance by insisting that it’s safe enough.

Now I know it probably isn’t leaching into my food or drinks enough to matter. But the trouble with saying it’s probably safe is that it’s admitting we don’t quite know. And when there are alternatives that are more likely to be safe, it just makes more sense to me to go with those.

It’s going to mean some changes for me. My desk water bottle is made of Nalgene, which contains Bisphenol-A. Once I have the money, it’s getting replaced. I learned long since not to use a glass often at my desk. I ruined two keyboards that way. I’m thinking of getting a Klean Kanteen when the time comes, or maybe a Sigg, although I gather Sigg won’t say what their liner is.

I particularly want you to think about this quote from Energy and Commerce Chair John Dingell that I read over on TreeHugger:

“There are serious health concerns about whether Bisphenol A is safe, not only for adults, but for children and infants,” and is concerned that the Food and Drug Administration’s policies on BPA are “entirely dependent on two studies’ that are both funded by a subsidiary of the American Chemistry Council, which represents plastic resins manufacturers.”

It seems to me that we’ve been burned by that kind of a situation before.  Of course the manufacturers’ studies show that it’s safe enough. So long as the dangers aren’t too obvious, it’s easy to say that. But what about long term?

Anyone really enjoy being a lab rat?

Yes, I suppose this does sound a little paranoid or some such. But I’ve given this a lot of thought, and it just makes sense to me to allow caution to rule.

Greening Your Spring Cleaning

It’s spring, a favorite time for people to clean out their homes. But for a lot of people that means using all kinds of chemicals that are harsh on their hands as well as the environment.

spring cleaning supplies

Good thing there are plenty of alternatives.

Start your spring cleaning by decluttering. Get rid of the stuff you just don’t need. Whenever possible, resell it or donate it to a thrift store rather than throw it away.

Don’t get rid of things you can reuse just because they’re getting old. Think about creative ways to repurpose things that have broken, and remind yourself you don’t need new versions of things that still work.

Cleaning Without Harsh Chemicals

Have a supply of white vinegar, baking soda, olive oil and lemon juice on hand for cleaning. Vinegar cleans in the kitchen and bathroom by itself or watered down remarkably well. Combine it with baking soda if you need something a little stronger.

The basic way I mix baking soda and vinegar is to sprinkle the baking soda on first. I keep a spray bottle of vinegar so that I can spray the area with the vinegar to get the reaction going. The baking soda also provides a mild abrasive good for scrubbing.

This mixture also works on cloth furniture and carpets. Just work the baking soda into the stains a little with your fingers first, then add the vinegar. I’ve heard it’s safe to run through steam cleaners as well, if you want an easier time cleaning carpets. I haven’t tried that much myself yet, but spot cleaning has been amazing.

With a 3 year old and a 5 year old, we have plenty of spots to test this on. I’m quite delighted with our results.

The olive oil and lemon juice are for your wood furniture. Mix a cup of olive oil to 1/2 cup of lemon juice in a squirt bottle and use just as you would other furniture polish.

Vinegar diluted with water works well for cleaning mirrors, and gives you a chance to use your old newspapers. Newspaper works amazingly well for cleaning glass, and no worries about leftover lint. You can use a little isopropyl alcohol in the vinegar and water mix if you like. This is the combination I’ve used:

1 cup isopropyl alcohol
1 cup water
1 tbsp white vinegar

Mix in a spray bottle and you’ll never miss the blue stuff!

Finish Off Your Spring Cleaning By Planning for the Future

There’s little point to decluttering year after year. As you finish your spring cleaning, promise yourself you’ll think before you buy, and you’ll buy less stuff.

When you buy, buy with the future in mind. This is why buying from thrift stores is good, and buying quality products that won’t wear out quickly makes sense. It’s why buying sustainably produced products matters.

As individuals, the differences we can make are small. But we can have an impact on what is socially acceptable, and the long term impact of that matters.

Technorati Tags: , ,

Simple Ways to Get Ready for a Greener Summer

Spring is here and I’m already thinking about summer. In my area that’s easy, since days get over 80 degrees F with some regularity already. But summer presents some challenges to living a more environmentally friendly lifestyle. Today I’d like to share some of my tips for keeping cool during the summer without using a lot of electricity.

summer

Tip #1: Set the air conditioner thermostat to 78 or higher (if you use it in the first place)

The higher you set the thermostat, the less energy you’re going to use, obviously. If you’re finding it difficult to endure a warmer house, work your way up to it. Remember that people got along for a very long time with no air conditioning at all.

My own thermostat is typically set somewhere over 80, but the air conditioner is also generally turned off. You can get used to very warm temperatures if you don’t insist on adapting to air conditioned temperatures.

Tip #2: Try to keep the house from getting hot in the first place.

Good insulation really helps, but another key is to keep the heat from coming in through the windows. I have old cardboard boxes from the last time we moved. As the days get warmer, they get put into windows to help keep the heat out. More ambitious people cover cardboard with black cloth or aluminum foil to keep still more heat out.

Curtains also help. My office gets direct sunlight all morning in summer through the French doors, which are much harder to block with cardboard. But heavy curtains, sometimes supplemented by a sheet or blanket on really hot days, do quite a bit to control the heat.

Tip #3: Use fans.

While fans don’t really cool a room, they do make it feel cooler, and they use much less electricity than air conditioners. Ceiling fans are my own preference, but portable ones are nice if you don’t have a ceiling fan available.

Tip #4: Dress in cool, light clothes.

Should be obvious, but sometimes it’s easy to forget that lighter and more breathable fabrics really are more comfortable in warm weather. Cotton can be wonderfully comfortable.

Tip #5: Install or start using a clothesline.

In some areas this is more challenging than others, as homeowners’ associations often have rules against clotheslines, but do the best you can. If you can’t have one outside, take advantage of the warmth of your house and use clothesracks indoors. Line drying is gentler on clothes and is very kind to your power bills.

Tip #6: Think before you cook.

During the summer my crockpot gets a lot of use because it doesn’t heat the house the way the oven does. And of course there’s always grilling outside or even using a solar oven. There are a lot of resources online on how to build your own solar oven, or of course you can buy one.

Tip #7: Drink a lot of water.

You will feel better if you keep yourself well hydrated. Get a good quality water bottle that you can keep filled throughout the day. You can keep a bottle of water in the fridge or just use tap water and ice cubes to ensure easy access to a cold drink of water all day long.

Obviously, don’t buy individual plastic water bottles from the grocery store if you’re trying to be green about it. If you’re concerned about the quality of your tap water it’s better to get a filter for it. Filtered water is still cheaper than buying it from the store.

There’s plenty more you can do, depending on the commitment you want to make, but these tips should help you to get started. Long term possibilities include things such as planting trees or adding insulation to your home. Now is a good time to start so you’re ready before the weather really heats up.

Technorati Tags: ,