Flip 'Em Off!!

Lights that is ;)

I am a lover of light. I NEED light... I like my house to be bright... not dark and dreary.  At one time, I was the girl that had to have every light on in the house. I was a perpetual light "leaver onner." I'd walk into a room and my hand was like a magnet to the light switch... flip... and on would go the light(s). Sure... I always heard, "You're wasting electricity. AND money." That line never phased me. Then I saw a picture and learned where some of the power comes from to keep my lights on...

Yes, that is a picture of what mountaintop removal looks like. AND...That used to be a mountain. :( The saying, "a picture is worth a thousand words"... couldn't be more true because it was a picture that put the wasting of electricity into perspective for me. From the moment I realized that in order to keep my electricity running... mountains were being destroyed for coal... I changed my thinking. If I leave my lights on....No longer am I just wasting electricity or money... I'm wasting mountains (amongst other things).

Check out this link to find out: What's YOUR connection to mountaintop removal?

Of course, by habit, I often reach for the light switch when I go into a room. Then I stop and pull my hand back from the switch and head to the windows to open up the shades/blinds to let the light IN.  There is no better light than the light of the sun :)

Now... turning off lights has become like picking up litter... habit... I can't walk past a light left on just as I can't walk past a piece of litter without doing something about it.  SO...I go in someone's home, my kids schools, restaurants, model homes (it is possible that realtors LOVE light more than anyone ;))... you name the place... I've turned off a light there :)

Also, one of the biggest things that I do-- and am trying my hardest to teach my children-- is when I go into a room, I judge whether or not I need a light on based on if I'm able to see my hands in front of me. I think about how much light I really need to do what I'm doing... for example: doing laundry or brushing my teeth does not require much light.  Reading, on the other-hand, does ;).

So instead of saying to my children, "Turn off the lights, you're wasting electricity."

We say, "Turn off the lights, we love to visit the mountains... go camping.... and we want to keep them ALL beautiful."

Here I am with my daughter at Beech Mountain, NC :)