Last week I wanted to make the family Indian Food over brown rice, but I was short on time and brown rice takes 40 minutes to make. I can’t tell you how many times something like this has come up for us. I’ve considered buying instant rice, and I have bought a microwave in bag […]
Should I Replace My Windows?
Have you ever asked yourself Should I replace my leaky, drafty windows? When I talk to people about weatherizing their home, a very common thing that I hear is “I need new windows.” My first question, is “why?” There are reasons why windows need to be replaced, I once had one break off and fall out […]
Why Should You Cloth Diaper?
For a couple of years now I’ve been describing myself as a cloth diaper evangelist. I feel strongly that cloth diapers are better for the environment, better for your baby and you, and cheaper overall. If you know a few tricks, you can get started with cloth diapers for next to nothing. Sure you have […]
What is Important When Buying a New Room Air Conditioner
This is for Jen. Earlier this week was the hottest day in our area all year – by far – and it was only June. That day I was picking my kids up from my friend’s house, and she told me that her air conditioner had decided to leap to its death – literally. […]
How Vacuuming Can Save Energy and Lives
Lint Clogged Dryer Vent at Alicia’s Folks This past weekend, I got to a project that has been bothering me for some time, I cleaned out the dryer vent at Alicia’s folks house. Clogged dryer vents cause FIRES, so either hire someone to clean your dryer vent or do-it-yourself (DIY). If you think this is […]
Too Many Chemicals on Your Clothing? Vinegar as a Fabric Softener
Vinegar as Fabric Softener In addition to trying to protect our environment and use less energy, I’m always looking for ways to simplify and save money. Last summer I discovered that instead of fabric softener or dryer sheets or balls, many people use vinegar in the rinse cycle of their laundry. This isn’t a new […]
Going for Solar – The First Year
Happy New Year! View from under our Solar PV Awning In our first full year with our solar awning, we generated 5,816 kWh of solar energy, which is 16% more than we expected. I’m not sure if that is a normal fluctuation in the amount of sunny days we had this year or a trend […]
Stay At Home Moms: Save A Little More on Heating Bills
Most Stay At Home Moms I know are always looking for little ways to save a little more. They also tend to be in and out of the house on an irregular basis: today home for laundry, tomorrow out to the grocery store and then the next day, one quick errand has you out of […]
Do-It-Yourself Halloween Decorations
My neighbors put out a number of Halloween decorations and my children wanted some too. I politely explained to them how I don’t believe in using electricity to shine lights on decorations or to blow fans to make decorations stand up. I also explained that it wasn’t good for the environment to go buy a […]
Replacing our LAST two incandescent lights with LEDs
Lighting technology has come a long way in the past ten years and I can now proudly say we are beyond incandescent lights in our home. Today, I swapped out the last two incandescents with LED bulbs that Alicia won in an Earth Hour Facebook giveaway from Philips – EnduraLED 12W 2700K A19 Dimmable lamp […]