This post is sponsored by Apartment Guide.
You may still have snow on the ground, but summer is right around the corner for we Texas folks. And for us, summer means one thing – extremely high electric bills. Our poor air conditioning units go to work full time by May, and it’s all we can do to balance not sweating while sitting on the couch and being able to pay our bills.
So, here in Lindsay Land, we have a few little projects under way that I am hoping will save us some money and give a little help to the environment in the process. I am partnering with Apartment Guide in their “Green Up a New Space” Blogger Challenge, and making some easy changes that will help us in both the long and short-terms.
“Apartment Guide?,” you are thinking. “Isn’t that the little magazine that features all of the apartments around town? You don’t live in an apartment!” It sure is and I sure don’t. But, AG has tons of tips for decorating, healthy living and making most of your space, regardless of where you live. They have really great information for people living in any sized home.
One thing I’ve learned from them is that going green doesn’t have to cost you a lot of green. There are honestly a lot of little changes you can make around your house that will have a big impact. For instance, adding a cute recycling can in your trash area will help you remember to recycle, thus cutting down on tons of items going to the landfill.
Apartment Guide asked me to make a few changes in my home and share them with you. I’ll be honest, Tom and I had a great time coming up with a list of possibilities:
- Replace our thermostats with programmable thermostats
- Exchange our incandescent bulbs with Compact Florescent Bulbs (CFLs)
- Install a energy efficient pet door to replace our non-efficient door
- Purchase bamboo sheets and/or towels instead of the new cotton ones we were planning to purchase
- Bring in some house plants
- Find inexpensive heat-blocking window covering options
- Buy a new LCD TV to replace the old CRT TV in our bedroom
Okay, so maybe we were pushing it with that last one. One day I will figure out how to make that dream a reality!
If you were asked to make some inexpensive changes around your home to make it more green, what would you choose? I’ll reveal what we did shortly, so you’ll want to check back here. In the meantime, go ahead and “Like” Apartment Guide on Facebook or follow them on Twitter for real-time tips and updates on making the most of your space — you’re going to want to tell me that you’ve already done that very soon (hint! hint!).
Apartment Guide is owned by Consumer Source, Inc. Apartment Guide partnered with bloggers such as me to participate in its “Green Up a New Space” Blogger Challenge. As part of that program, I received compensation. They did not tell me what to purchase or what to say about the products used for the “Green Up a New Space” Blogger Challenge. Apartment Guide and Consumer Source believe that consumers and bloggers are free to form their own opinions and share them in their own words. Consumer Source’s policies align with WOMMA Ethics Code, FTC guidelines and social media engagement recommendations.
Lindsay, to be honest, this stuff annoys the heck out of me. 2 things on your list:
The Lightbulbs. I know the CFL’s usel a lot less energy, but they contain mercury and we can’t throw them away; we have to “dispose of them properly” and God forbid they should break in our home! None of them are made in the USA; we only made incandescents and now we’re done doing that, so the jobs are overseas and the lightbulbs are being shipped halfway around the freaking world. Is that really best?
The Bamboo Sheets. Bamboo is a tree, or a grass, more specifically. It’s not really a fabric, and from what I understand, while it grows really fast and you don’t want it in your yard, it requires tons of chemicals to make it a useable fiber.
No offense to you, because everyone harps on these ideas of being green, but to me its a false type of “greening.” I’m still using the sheets I got for my wedding 24.5 years ago. That’s green. The old 3 r’s seem the best to me: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle.
Sorry for the rant.
AMEN!!!!!!!
Sorry to start your morning off annoyed! LOL 🙂
At any rate, I tend to agree with you about the CFLs. It’s not the primary reason we decided NOT to make that change at this time, but I do understand the concern. It seems that there has to be a better way to make a more energy efficient bulb that’s not potentially dangerous. It concerns me that people will never dispose of them properly – let’s be honest, people throw batteries in the trash all the time, too. What are you going to do when the incandescent bulbs are phased out next year?
As far as the sheets- kudos to you for being able to use the same set of sheets for that long! That’s pretty amazing. We only use one set of sheets, and I just wash them and put them back on the bed. Mine have holes in them. 🙂 Maybe it’s due to the fact that a) we have 2 big dogs with claws that sleep on the bed and b) I use bleach on them (again, the dogs). So, my sheets only last about 5 years.
I’m glad to read your comments that bamboo isn’t as ‘green’ as was once thought. I hadn’t been following the news on that one, so it’s good to read your argument. Maybe organic cotton grown and made in the US is the way to go if you buy new?
For what it’s worth, my baby has an organic bamboo crib sheet, and it’s the softest sheet I’ve ever felt.
Loved Sara’s honesty here! THAT makes sense! I am all for conserving, and that includes my eyesight! Does any one absolutely HATE those ‘new’ flourescent bulbs? I cannot find one that looks warm and is efficient for me to be able to SEE (what a concept)! Green schmean… I am currently on a mission to buy up all the old incandescent bulbs I can get my hands on befoer they stop making them. Honestly, Lindsay- if you love the new CFL light bulbs , please share which ones you buy- what ‘wattage’ , what color, etc. I’m all for saving and conserving, but hate those lights!
Joanne- I am SO with you on that! You don’t know how many CFLs we’ve purchased, brought home, put in our light fixtures, and then returned to the store. I absolutely hate the color of the light that they output, and we’ve tried all the different light spectrums. We do have a few of the CFLs in lamps, and the color is much better when diffused through a shade. Those are lamps that we leave on 24 hours a day (in our kitchen), so it makes sense to use them there. For our overhead lights, though? I don’t love them.
We’ve decided not to replace our bulbs at this time, and I kinda sorta wanna stockpile incandescents, too! 😉
I’m with you ladies with just saying NO to the CFLs. Ever check out the EPA’s directions on how to clean them up when they break (not If, WHEN). Scary stuff. And then let’s talk about how they trigger seizures, migraines…pesky things like that. I have a hard enough time with migraines to risk one for a light bulb. Our incandescents do last forever it seems (except for the one over the stove for some reason).
I just learned myself about all the chemicals they have to use on bamboo…we have one set of the sheets that I bought for my son’s bed and I won’t be doing that again. The only dog we do let on the bed is my little shih tzu. The cattle dogs have to stay on the floor (if only Little Miss would remember that) and my groomer buffs their nails when she clips them. It’s a fabric/skin saver.
I had no idea that a lot of the things I’ve done for years were green, I just thought they were sensible and frugal. Who knew? I’m just really tired of the incessant green bandwagon that has steered the junk science global warming train.
What about some solar panels? Or is that too much green for green? 🙂
I assume you having AC in the summer is not a luxury it’s a must, like me having heat in winter in Ontario. Panels could help you offset the electric bill, or at least heat your water.
For my house new windows are on our list. Ours are ridiculously drafty and we’re losing a lot of heat in the cold months. We don’t run our AC often, just sometimes when it’s ridiculously hot and humid in July/August and again, with drafty windows it’s a waste.
I think your thermostat, new pet door, plants and new window coverings ideas are pretty quick, easy and inexpensive. Plus new window coverings might involve some sewing/fun fabrics 🙂
I bet new windows would make a huge difference!
Yes, A/C is a must – just like your heat. I think we could probably do without heat around here. 😀
I only “green” when it saves me green, not when it costs. I use the swirly light bulbs, but only because they last so much longer. I only replace the old bulbs when they burn out, not before.
I live in MI, so we recycle because we get our can deposit back. Honestly, I don’t know why so few other states have taken up the can deposit practice. You NEVER see a can or bottle lying on the ground in Michigan.
As for other green practices, I am not going to spend money on them unless they prove themselves to beneficial to our family’s bottom line. Installing a programmable thermostat is a great example.
Basically, my motto is: Use it up, wear it out, make it do, or do without.
I wish we got a deposit back for our cans/bottles. We always recycle and it would be nice to get some money back!
My cheapest way to save some green is to seal the air leaks in my home with caulk, removable caulk in winter for the winters, and draft blockers on the doors. I was surprised to feel a draft coming from my wall outlets. I insulated the outlets on my outside walls with gaskets cut from fun foam (the store didn’t have enough so I made the rest) and child proof plugs in the outlets we don’t use often. It made it big difference on my heating and cooling bills too.
I’m out with the swirly bulbs, too. Can’t stand them. So, I’m buying up the incandescent bulbs. Solar panels are unsightly. We just recycle like crazy and reuse and reduce. I’m from the deep South and lived in Texas, air conditioning is not an option trust me. When we retire and move back to our beloved San Antonio energy bills will be a major concern.
Yeah, it’s ugly – and gets worse by the year as the cost of energy goes up.
I am curious about your baby’s bamboo sheets. I am a Longarm quilter and have used bamboo batting in quilts, after about 10 washes it sounds like it has a paper bag inside. Are you finding your sheets are still soft after several washes? The poster above is right about the process of making bamboo soft, lets just say the way it is accomplished is NOT good for the environment.
Oh, yes. It’s extremely soft even after washing it a bunch of times. I’ve been wishing I had some for myself, but if it’s so bad for the earth to have soft bamboo, I’ll just stick with cotton.
We actually have seen a small difference in our power bill this month. Last month we changed all the light bulbs and my husband installed a new thermostat! It was only about $30 difference but it is a start! We hope to put a clothesline outside when it warms up!
That’s great! We get weekly summaries of our energy consumption via email from our energy company, so I can’t wait to see what the difference is after we made our changes.
I think my cheapest solution is to plant one more herb in the garden. Have a lovely weekend, Kellie xx
Its so funny all the hate for CFL’s out there. Did ya’ll know they are now making LED bubls? Have no clue of cost er bulb or light, but this will be our next step. I am think we have about 75% of our light comes from CFL’s. Some are the old swirly ones, and some are newer nicer looking. They most def. work best with the lamps.
The LED’s are supposed to use less energy and have no mercury in them. They also are supposed to last longer than the CFL’s.
Anyway — our simple go green. 1. we never change too many things at once – the changes won’t stick if you do too many. 2. We recycle most everything we can (go MI deposit on cans!!). This includes: paper, plasitc (1-7), cardboard, cans, styrofoam, and foil. 3. we use reusable water bottles. 4. We have switched to cloth napkins a couple months ago – and I use a lot or rags (vs. paper towels). 5. We just switched to a programmable thermostat.
Being green can be easy – it you take baby step. 🙂