Adjusted!

Years ago, during the summer months I used to keep our air conditioning set on 75° F  during the day and 71° F at night for sleeping  (70° when I was pregnant!!! ;) ).   The past few years, I have been adjusting our thermostat and don't keep our house quite so cold.

So the other day when my son said to me, "Why do you have to keep it so cold in here????"  I was, obviously, completely caught off guard... laughed a bit and said (as I felt his head for a fever), "Are you serious??  It's 77° in here."

But with that, I decided that I should check the thermostat... and while I was there I thought about my son's comment.  Maybe it was time for another adjustment....

Lovely picture, I know ;)  I just felt that proof was necessary ;)

Yup... I did it... I bumped our AC up one degree up to 78°!!  AND... when I changed our daytime temperature... I was surprised to see that we have the A/C set at 76° for the night!!!  

Ok... so what does this mean??

By adjusting my thermostat by one degree it saves us about 10% on our energy bill!!  (Over the past few years, we've adjusted our thermostat by 3 degrees during the day and 6 degrees at night!!!)  Saving energy AND $$!!  Also, I read that by adjusting the temperature by just 2 degrees all year, we save about 2,000 pounds of C02 a year.  YAY!!!

Now the real question you're probably wondering is.... "is my house uncomfortably warm??"  Of course it isn't.  I've come to the conclusion that I want to be comfortable in my house... and by comfortable I mean that I don't want to have to change what I'm wearing when I come inside from the heat.  If it's hot outside, I don't want to have to put on a jacket, get a blanket, or wear socks (what are those again?? ;) ) to feel comfortable!  

SO... take off your socks....kick off the blankets on your bed... and head on over to your thermostat and get adjusting!!

Going Waste-Free Saves (Everything)

A little over a year ago, a reporter came to my home to interview me about our trash... or rather our lack of trash. :)  Everything that he asked me was pretty basic... until he asked me if "being well off made doing everything we do... 'easier'??"  I was completely baffled by the question because by saving resources we save another kind of resource... $$$$.

Think about it.  By reducing and reusing, it's impossible not to save money.

All those disposable products... all of those individually wrapped/boxed convenience products... some may seem cheap... but in the long run they end up being more expensive... not only for our wallets... but for the Earth as well.

Check out these facts that I found on the Kids Konserve website:

Crazy right?!  But here's the thing... that's just children's lunches.   What about the teachers... what about the people who pack a lunch for the office... what about picnics??

Hmmm...  I'm feeling like running some numbers.....

• Bottled water... one plastic single-use bottle of water per day for a year (365 days) at $1.50 per bottle = $547.50* per year!  (And we all know that nobody drinks one bottle of water a day.)
• Reusable water bottle costs anywhere from $12.50 to $22 ... fill that bottle with tap water and.... Shoot...Tap water is practically free it's so cheap. 

Want to see the math yourself?? Check out this Water Calculator :)

On to plastic baggies aka zip-locks or sandwich bags:

• A box of 50 basic zip-lock bags runs around $4 (of course depending on where they're purchased).  Let's say that you use 3 every day for a whole year.  That's 1,095 bags in one year!  And let's be honest... I remember when I used plastic baggies... I went through a lot because I used them for EVERYTHING!  Hmmm... so what does that add up to...well besides a whole lot of waste... around $90* per year for something that's thrown away!!
• Food Cozy 5 for $23.  Use, Wash, Reuse... Repeat.  

Some other common products to check prices are on single serve yogurts vs. tubs of yogurt, cups of fruit vs. fresh, Uncrustables vs. unpackaged made by you PB&J sandwich... the list can go on and on!!

Of course, I pack my kids waste-free lunches for school... but we also pack waste-free for picnics, work lunches, on-the-go snacks and... well, you get the picture.

As the 40th anniversary of Earth Day approaches... make the decision to go "Waste-Free."  There are SO many amazing products out there that make packing Waste-free lunches (and snacks) super easy.  If you're ready to go Waste-Free, check out Kids Konserve.

Reasons why I like Kids Konserve:

• Many of their products are made from recycled materials... including bags made from recycled plastic bottles and containers made from recycled stainless steel!!  (If you're recycling... and you should be... then you should also look for products made from recycled materials to complete the circle of Reduce Reuse Recyle... don't let it end with Recycle :))
• Their products come in convenient kits or products can be purchased separately to make your own personal waste-free kit!!
• Kids Konserve is a company who believes in giving back, their school Waste-Free Challenges give a percentage of every sale back to the school.  Check out their Waste-Free Lunch Challenge.  
• Clean Up Your Act This Earth Day! and Miss Earth Day
• With every order placed in April, you will receive a free 20oz. stainless steel Kids Konserve Bottle (of course, while supplies last ;) )

AND... if that's not enough... just because you've taken the time to read my blog (YAY! You!!)....they've offered a 15% discount code (earth15) valid until April 30 to use at their website!!  Thanks Kids Konserve!!!  

"As Americans we have come to depend on the many convenience products that are available to us, and nowhere is this more evident than in the school lunch room. Most parents pack lunch items in single-use plastic bags, aluminum foil, or wax paper, or they purchase single-serving items that come in their own disposable package. Admittedly, these products are extremely convenient, but what is the environmental cost to a country that relies so heavily on them?"  

-- www.wastefreelunches.org 

*I am not a mathematician ;)  If you see an error... please feel free to do the math :)