Going Green To Save Some Green

    


     It all started with a $753 electricity bill last January. Like many other people, I’m concerned a about global climate change and understand it to be a real scientific phenomenon rather than just a scare tactic dreamed up by Al Gore. Time will tell. But good intentions for the earth weren’t really what got me into energy-saving mode--basically, I’m a tightwad, and as such I hate to spend money I don’t have to. So I decided to put my household on an energy diet.

     The morning after receiving my paperless statement from Reliant Energy’s 100% Wind Plan, and still reeling from the shocking news it contained, I turned OFF both central air units when the family left for school and work instead of letting the programmable thermostat do its own timed routine. Yes, it was a little chilly when we got home that evening, but the house warmed up quickly enough. The kids got used to turning off the upstairs unit each morning, and at the end of the month I saw about 10% savings over our same-month-last-year cost. An easy $75, which emboldened me to expand my energy crusade.


     Now, turning off the heater each morning is a relatively simple and painless procedure, but the next phase threatened to affect others in my household more directly. I began looking with a critical eye at other energy-guzzling conveniences: the old dishwasher, the electric clothes dryer, and that 2nd refrigerator in the garage that only holds beer and soda. Right away, I emptied the outside fridge, put the drinks on the garage shelf, and turned the unit OFF. After all, it was like an icebox in the garage anyway so the cans still stayed pretty cold without benefit of Freon and electricity. Some re-education was required, but kids and husband adapted rapidly.


     On to the dryer. I cajoled my husband into stringing a clothesline across the narrowest end of our yard, between the house and fence, and out of view from the living area windows. We compromised on a single line, with a hook to allow its removal in the event of a party where our city friends might see it and laugh at the sight of such a countrified implement. In appreciation of my teenagers’ social sensibilities, I also agreed that there would be no drawers flapping in the breeze—only “safe” laundry. The clothesline has been a great success. I am not so compulsive to have calculated the exact cost of drying a load of sodden pool towels in the machine, but over time it’s got to make a difference. And sheets dried on the line are crisp and smooth without ironing. The biggest problem I’ve had is our dog’s tendency to “use” the area directly beneath the clothesline. I have to step carefully while putting out the wash and once had to redo a batch of towels when the overloaded line collapsed into the landmine zone.


     The dishwasher has been the trickiest of the three to abandon. I bought a nice stainless dish drainer, and a fancy dishsoap-fillable scrubber wand. I emptied the last load from the machine and advised my family that henceforth, unless we had a dinner party, we all would wash our own dishes by hand and put them in the drainer. No outright protests have been voiced, but I still have to be vigilant in the plan’s enforcement. The kids have perfected the stealthy plate- and- fork drop before running away upstairs under the guise of impending homework. Several times I’ve even found dishes secreted inside the dormant washer. No one will confess to this trickery--maybe the dog did it. As with the clothes dryer, I haven’t figured out exactly how many pennies this saves per day, but eliminating a two-hour wash cycle five times a week has to count for something.


     My earth-and-money saving zeal hasn’t stopped with the assault on the electricity bill. Since spring I’ve dreamed up other plans to annoy my beleaguered family: a hot-water recirculation pump, low-flow shower heads, and even a brick in the toilet tank. (I had to abandon that idea when the water began turning pink.) I gave the kids a timer for their showers, but quickly realized the folly of that strategy and took to banging on the bathroom door every five minutes instead. We dug a small garden which ultimately only fed the neighborhood’s wild rabbits, but did get a handful of tomatoes and cucumbers from potted plants stationed on the patio. Next year’s crop ought to be better though, because now I’ve installed a compost bin where I can make fertilizer out of the science experiments lurking in my remaining refrigerator. Too bad I can’t compost the dog poop--that would solve two problems at once.


     Almost nine months after this obsession started, I’m not sure how much money I’ve actually saved for all my efforts. I’ve spent money on products that I think will save money, and don’t know if I’m in the black or red on that score. But we’re trying, and my family is getting on board with the plan. There is certainly more, much more, we can do to reduce energy consumption, at home and otherwise. It’s a slow process to change a lifetime of wasteful habits. Our summer electricity bills have still been outrageous, but then it was 100 degrees for about 47 days in a row and with school out we couldn’t just turn the A/C completely OFF. Hmmm, maybe if I didn’t have to open and close the back door for the dog so often…