For those doubtful that I’d follow through … we had our electricity free night last Friday (click on this post link for why we were doing an electricity free night) and it was lot’s of fun.
- Lights out once the little bubba went to bed
- Dinner cooked to perfection on the BBQ outside – vege burgers, mushrooms & haloumi for me and my 5 year old and red meat for hubby
- And eaten by the soft glow of tea candles
- Then oh so scary ghost story for the 5 year old (about Casper the friendly ghost who creeps into the kitchen at night to eat all the lollies – this was as scary as we could get with her!)
- Shadow hands on the ceiling with a torch (I just expand my repertoire)
- And hubby managed to keep the computer switched off until I went to bed so a success all round
Next week we may have a backyard fire with marshmallows as part of our electricity free night. Does anyone else have electricity free nights and if so what do you do?
It was with great trepidation that I opened our quarterly electricity bill today. And deservedly so for on the good news front, it is down 5 kWh from same period last year. Bad news is that is a jaw dropping $347. And this is despite all the efforts I’ve made in turning off lights, using the heater sparingly, turning off at the powerpoints, etc…
Yes I know that reducing electricity consumption is good for the environment but without seeing a tangible outcome in the form of a reduced bill it is hard to maintain the enthusiasm and justify the nagging I give my family to be conscious of their behaviour.
So I’ve decided to think of ways to make conserving electricity fun. Here are my top three ideas …
1. One night a week have a “no electricity night”. Dinner by candlelight, perhaps a fire with toasted marshmallows, BBQ, reading nighttime story book by torch, tell ghost stories, daggy disco dancing, lie outside and look at the stars …. Not sure how my hubby will cope with this though unless he invents a pedal powered computer but hopefully he’ll embrace the challenge!
2. Showering in the dark. Whilst I’m a morning shower person usually there is a certain peace and tranquility that can be attained via showering in a dark room and once or twice a week I will switch off and gain some serenity. It also means that I have more time in the morning to get breakfasts, make lunches etc. And for those showers in the morning I really don’t need to turn on the lights especially now I have a lovely, freshly painted bathroom.
3. Play – find the power switch – with my 5 year old and turn them off practicing counting at the same time! The TV switch will be a challenge as I can’t for the life of me find the switch!
Does anyone have any other ideas?
If a tree falls in the forest does anyone hear it? Well if it is pulped down & repackaged into a weighty door stops (aka phone books) then I have a resounding yes.
The other day I was snuggling with my little darling and I heard a big thump as our phone books arrived at our front door. I honestly can’t remember the last time I looked in one either what with the internet or my iphone at my fingertips 24/7 there is no need to have a cumbersome tome taking up space. I’ll be immediately putting ours in the recycling bin and next year calling Sensis on 1800 810 211 to opt out.
Did you know that 22.5 million of these directories are printed each year in Australia and there were only 1311 requests last year not to have these delivered? Hopefully next year those who opt out will increase.
In the meantime here are 6 things you can do with your phone book …
- Shread and use for mulch for the garden
- Firestarters – not sure about this one as it does create some more pollution but …
- Paper Mache – create your own Pinata for a child’s birthday party
- Use to clean windows / mirrors – I have fond (?) memories of cleaning all the mirrors and doors at 7am on Sundays (after getting home at 3am!) in the cafe I used to work at in my early 20′s. Extremely effective.
- Shread and use for the packing at the bottom of your own gift baskets
- Alternate food source for babies – joke! But little Ellie seems to enjoy
Any other ideas? Will you be opting out in 2011?
This little post is on behalf of my cousin Megan who is infinitely more environmentally conscious than me and lives a substantially more sustainable life! Megan & her partner John have just launched a campaign to raise awareness of what they are dubbing a potential “ecocide” at a currently ecologically rich & pristine mountain site in India which is under threat of being mined for Bauxite by Vedanta Resources, a British Mining Company. Have a read about the cause on their website http://niyamgiri.net/
Their cause particularly touched me as I spent the first 7 years of my life within close proximity to one of the world’s largest open cut mines – Panguna – which was situated on the tropical island of Bouganville in Papua New Guinea. Back in those days (I was born in 74) there wasn’t a great deal of pressure on companies to be environmentally conscious and unfortunately operations caused severe destruction to the landscape including damage to the rivers and ocean. Even today, the mine site is obvious blight on Google Earth.
