Part 6 in a 2011 series of reycling tips courtesy of my dayplanner. Because it's finally warm out!
Tip of the Month: Rethink desktop technology and invest in an energy-efficient laptop. Laptops can save almost 50% more energy than their desktop counterparts.
Week 22: Replace single-glazed windows with double-glazed (*and check with your local historic preservation council first if applicable, to save yourself time and needless cost if you're not allowed or need to install a particular kind!)
Week 23: Ditch the meat. Cows produce an enormous amount of methane- the second most significant greenhouse gas. For a greener alternative, fill up on fruits and vegetables (*this is one of those health tips that annoys me, because if you're not going to eat cow, I'd hope you'd do it for ethical reasons. Not to mention that if you are going to skip cow for fruits and veggies, you're still killing the environment if you buy the grocery-store ones shipped from 3500 miles away. Bottom line? Go local as much as possible.)
Week 24: Go gas! A gas oven with an electric ignition is 50% more efficient than an electric oven. (*just don't put one of those methane-producing cows near it)
Week 25: Walk or bike to work two days every week. You'll save about 1,590 pounds of CO2 emissions a year.
Week 26 (Halfway through the year!): Experts estimate that by not eating a pound of beef, we save more water than by not showering for one year. (*Bizarre, but who knows? I'd love to see this study).
Wednesday, June 1, 2011
Sunday, May 1, 2011
Tips from the Calendar- May
Part 5 in a 2011 series of recycling tips courtesy of my dayplanner. Because being friendly is good, and being eco-friendly is better.
Tip of the Month: Take shorter showers, and skip baths. A 5-minute shower uses approximately 15-25 gallons of water. Most baths require 40 gallons of water. (*Hard one for me as I love a good soak. My fix? Shorter showers to save the most water, then if I do indulge in a bath, using the "leftover" water to keep the houseplants happy. Doesn't work if you're a fan of bubble baths, oils, or so forth, but it works for me!)
Week 18: Try making your own purees and baby food. (*Unless you don't have a baby, in which case, no need.)
Week 19: Encourage your local schools to go green. Raise the issue at your next PTA meeting (*Ummm....not to knock green issues, but if I thought my local school HAD a PTA, I think they'd have just a few more pressing things first. But good tip for others?!)
Week 20: Install a low-flow showerhead (*and feel even less guilty about the occasional bath due to all the extra water you're not using otherwise)
Week 21: Skip bagged salad. Instead, buy whole lettuce from local farmers.
Tip of the Month: Take shorter showers, and skip baths. A 5-minute shower uses approximately 15-25 gallons of water. Most baths require 40 gallons of water. (*Hard one for me as I love a good soak. My fix? Shorter showers to save the most water, then if I do indulge in a bath, using the "leftover" water to keep the houseplants happy. Doesn't work if you're a fan of bubble baths, oils, or so forth, but it works for me!)
Week 18: Try making your own purees and baby food. (*Unless you don't have a baby, in which case, no need.)
Week 19: Encourage your local schools to go green. Raise the issue at your next PTA meeting (*Ummm....not to knock green issues, but if I thought my local school HAD a PTA, I think they'd have just a few more pressing things first. But good tip for others?!)
Week 20: Install a low-flow showerhead (*and feel even less guilty about the occasional bath due to all the extra water you're not using otherwise)
Week 21: Skip bagged salad. Instead, buy whole lettuce from local farmers.
Wednesday, April 20, 2011
Tuesday, April 19, 2011
The Scene In Which We Buy (Another) House, and Life Is (Still) Pretty Normal
If I haven't posted much over the past few weeks, it's because things around here are starting to seem a little....repetitive.
The dogs are blowing their coats....still.
I'm cleaning out closest for Goodwill and trying to purge a bunch of crap before we move.....still.
I'm doing admin on Mondays, cleaning on Tuesdays, meetings on Wednesdays, creating on Thursdays and Fridays, and setting up weddings on Fridays and Saturdays. And while I love my job (I LOVE MY JOB!) this will pretty much continue from now until the end of October or the first week of November. So.....still.
We're working on planning the wedding....still. (Get back to me this time next year. We'll be three days out!)
We're buying a house! ..........again. Yep, we've made an offer that's been accepted on another house in an area we love! Now it's just time to wait for the inspection and cross our fingers that these people aren't murderers who have hidden the bones of their prey in the walls, since that's pretty much the only horror left to find during an inspection process for us. Or that they have mice.
Life is at a blissfully normal, still-going pace right now, and while it doesn't leave me much to blog about, I'm happy to take a break now because I know there are more blog-worthy tales coming up in my future.
Because one of these days we are going to GET a house, inspect a house, and actually CLOSE on a house.
And then, my friends, Cute Boy and I are going to pack up all our crap and move.
Into our house.
Together.
So if you'll excuse me...I'm going to go nap while I can :)
The dogs are blowing their coats....still.
I'm cleaning out closest for Goodwill and trying to purge a bunch of crap before we move.....still.
I'm doing admin on Mondays, cleaning on Tuesdays, meetings on Wednesdays, creating on Thursdays and Fridays, and setting up weddings on Fridays and Saturdays. And while I love my job (I LOVE MY JOB!) this will pretty much continue from now until the end of October or the first week of November. So.....still.
We're working on planning the wedding....still. (Get back to me this time next year. We'll be three days out!)
We're buying a house! ..........again. Yep, we've made an offer that's been accepted on another house in an area we love! Now it's just time to wait for the inspection and cross our fingers that these people aren't murderers who have hidden the bones of their prey in the walls, since that's pretty much the only horror left to find during an inspection process for us. Or that they have mice.
Life is at a blissfully normal, still-going pace right now, and while it doesn't leave me much to blog about, I'm happy to take a break now because I know there are more blog-worthy tales coming up in my future.
Because one of these days we are going to GET a house, inspect a house, and actually CLOSE on a house.
And then, my friends, Cute Boy and I are going to pack up all our crap and move.
Into our house.
Together.
So if you'll excuse me...I'm going to go nap while I can :)
Saturday, April 2, 2011
The Scene In Which If You Are What You Eat, I'm An Astronaut
Sooooo.....among the disproportionately long list of completely unhealthy things I've been feeding myself lately as I've worked long days getting all the centerpieces done for tonight's event would be today's lunch: a hot dog from Dairy Queen.
Seriously, they are SNEAKY FOLKS, those DQ people. They KNOW you want to check out the drive thru line. They KNOW you won't committ if it's too long. So what do they do?!? PUT A BARRIER UP. I literally HAD to order food, after turning into the parking lot.
So I got a hot dog. On the scale of unhealthy things I could have eaten for lunch, this probably ranks about a 6.
Fortunately, here in the state of Indiana we still surprisingly allow some things to not be deep-fried, so I avoided that. But I couldn't avoid the little hot dog factoid on the DQ box, which informed me that "In a single year, Dairy Queen sells enough hot dogs that if placed end to end, would reach from the Earth to the International Space Station and back....six times."
Huh. Really. Cool.
-stops. thinks. -
Wait.
-stops. thinks. -
Gross.
-stops. thinks.
- I mean, really. That's a LOT of hot dogs.
-stops. thinks. -
And they're cheap, too.
-stops. thinks. -
WHAT AM I EATING?!?!
aaaaaaaand there you have it. Whatever the reason may be, whatever provokes you, it's time to start thinking about these things we're eating that we call food. And maybe stop eating some of them.
Seriously, they are SNEAKY FOLKS, those DQ people. They KNOW you want to check out the drive thru line. They KNOW you won't committ if it's too long. So what do they do?!? PUT A BARRIER UP. I literally HAD to order food, after turning into the parking lot.
So I got a hot dog. On the scale of unhealthy things I could have eaten for lunch, this probably ranks about a 6.
Fortunately, here in the state of Indiana we still surprisingly allow some things to not be deep-fried, so I avoided that. But I couldn't avoid the little hot dog factoid on the DQ box, which informed me that "In a single year, Dairy Queen sells enough hot dogs that if placed end to end, would reach from the Earth to the International Space Station and back....six times."
Huh. Really. Cool.
-stops. thinks. -
Wait.
-stops. thinks. -
Gross.
-stops. thinks.
- I mean, really. That's a LOT of hot dogs.
-stops. thinks. -
And they're cheap, too.
-stops. thinks. -
WHAT AM I EATING?!?!
aaaaaaaand there you have it. Whatever the reason may be, whatever provokes you, it's time to start thinking about these things we're eating that we call food. And maybe stop eating some of them.
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