My first LED light bulb

I bought my very first LED bulb, which was for a nightlight, quite a while ago not realizing there had been  change in light bulb technology.  We keep a nightlight on at night near the bedrooms so that if someone gets up, they don't bump into walls.  The light bulbs I used were about 6 or 7 watts.  When I went to buy replacement bulbs I found some that were LED  and only used 0.6 watts so I decided to give them a try.  LED's also have a long lifespan, which will mean less waste going to the landfill.  

low energy LED light bulb

It wasn't until recently, when I was talking with a coworker, that I discovered that a low energy light bulb had come on the market that was better the CFL curly fluorescent bulbs.  I bought some CFL's when they first come out but I found them to be expensive, they didn't always last as long as advertised and some brands gave off a dim light.  For these reasons, I went back to buying incandescent bulbs.

Now there is a whole array of low energy, long lasting LED bulbs and I am in the process of converting my light fixtures to LED.  The LED equivalent of a regular 60w light bulb uses around 9 watts.  I even saw LED replacements for fluorescent tubes.  I am not going to throw away perfectly good light bulbs, even if they are incandescent,  so as my incandescent bulbs burn out, I am replacing them with LED's.  I can also give some of my incandescents to my children who are living in apartments.  They don't pay for electricity and since these LED bulbs aren't cheap, why spend the money to leave them behind when you move out?  For money saving coupons, go to Save On Energy.

Green Highlights:

• reducing energy consumption
• sending less to the landfill

Have you started switching your light bulbs to LED?

-TJ   

Take-out extras

When we get take-out, there are extras that are put in the bag like ketchup, salt, sugar, napkins, coffee cup lids and so on.  How often do we get more of these extras than we need or even some that we don't use at all?  These unneeded or unwanted extras will most likely end up in the garbage which is such a waste.  

When placing your order, why not take a proactive approach.  When I order Chinese take-out, we always have over half a container of sweet and sour sauce left over that gets thrown out.  Now I ask them for a smaller container.  They also include packets of soy sauce which we never use, so I am going to start asking them not to include the soy sauce.

Tim Horton's has a Take 12 coffee that you can order.  It is a large container of coffee that comes with cups, lids, stir sticks, cream and sugar.  If you know your group will not be using any of these extras, why not mention it when you place your order?  I did some tidying up in an organization's kitchen the other day and found a stack of these lids that had never been used.  They went in the recycle bin, but it would have been even better if they had not been included with the order in the first place.

unused coffee lids

  If we start speaking up and asking for only the extras that we need, we can make a difference.  Maybe the restaurant industry will take the hint and start asking customers if they would like any of these extras included with their order.  The restaurant will save money and there will be less going to the landfill.

Green highlights:

• reducing waste
• sending less to the landfill

Are you proactive when you order take-out?

-TJ         

Green smoothies that are green

I went to a ladies event on the weekend called "New Year, New You" with a focus on how to be healthier.  The finale of the event was a demonstration on how to make a healthy smoothie that was green because of the ingredients that went in it.  We got to taste test which I was glad to have the opportunity because I never would have made one of these otherwise.
This smoothie was made with a water base, 2 stalks of celery, a splash of orange juice, about half a banana and 2 handfuls of spinach.  The orange juice and banana tone down the taste of the other ingredients so it doesn't taste like a liquid salad.
I have been wanting to eat healthier and this is where I am going to start.  I am going to have one of these smoothies for lunch a couple times during the week and on weekends replacing the carbohydrates that I usually have.
One of the reasons I am writing about this here is because of how the produce is stored.  I don't buy much fresh produce because it doesn't keep long and I don't want to have to eat a whole lot of it at once to use it up and I don't want to have to throw any out because it has gone bad.

Here is the beauty of this smoothie:
- you can freeze the spinach and take out only what you need.
- you can freeze the bananas which is great because I do not like them when they get too ripe. I am going to freeze them (peeled and cut in pieces) when they are just the ripeness I like.
- I am also going to try freezing the celery in whole stalks.

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Another ingredient you can add is plain or Greek yogurt which will add protein.  It might take me a while to use up a container of plain yogurt because I need to acquire a taste for it, so I am going to try freezing what I cannot use by the expiry date in ice cube trays then store in a plastic container.  All I will have to do is pop a yogurt cube or two in my smoothie.

The other reason that makes this smoothie green is that I am going to buy organic spinach and celery.  Celery is known for being grown with a lot of pesticides and I want to pass on that.  I was surprised to learn that celery is very good for you.  Check here to find out more about celery.  The produce has to be dry before freezing so it doesn't clump together, so instead of trying to wash and dry spinach, I am opting for organic.  Plus, it's got to be a challenge getting all the pesticides off every spinach leaf.

I am excited about making these changes and improving my health.

Green Highlights:

• freezing produce to eliminate waste
• buying produce that wasn't grown with pesticides or herbicides

How green is your smoothie?

-TJ     

It's not garbage yet

I have an aversion to throwing things out that are not garbage.  Why fill up the landfill with stuff that someone else can use?  Instead of throwing it in the garbage, why not see if there is someone that would want it.  

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I had a large bag full of bubble wrap so I posted it on Kijiji to give away for free.  In no time 3 people had responded to the ad.  I wanted it give it to someone that would put it to good use and not use it just to pop the bubbles.  I figured someone would want it for packing, but this person wanted it for insulating windows.

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I googled bubble wrap for a picture to use in this post and to my surprise using it for window insulation came up.  The person I gave the bubble wrap to says he puts it between the windows or you can click on the source link above, to find out how to apply the bubble wrap directly to the window.   

The next time you have something you no longer want or need, try posting it on Kijiji and see if someone else can make use of it.

Green Highlights:

• giving something away instead of throwing it out
• another use for bubble wrap
• reducing energy use

Do you have something you can give away instead of throwing it in the garbage?

-TJ

Timed just right!

Houses look so pretty this time of year decorated with Christmas lights.

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 But what I am also noticing is that some homes leave their Christmas lights on all night and some even all day too.  Why not use an outdoor timer and have them come on when it is starting to get dark and them have them turn back off later?  That way, you don't have to think about it turning them on and off and it is one less thing to think about at this busy time of year.  I like to set the timer so my Christmas lights come on around 5:00 in the evening and then turn off at 11:00.  That's plenty of time to enjoy them without excessive use of electricity and it will cost less.

Green Highlights:

• use less electricity
• save on your electricity bill

Do you have your outdoor Christmas lights on a timer?

-TJ

A green gift exchange

Whether is it with family, co-workers or an organization we might belong to, it's the time of year when we get asked to take part in a gift exchange.  This year, why not make it a green gift exchange?  Instead of going out and buying something brand new,  have everyone give a gift that is used.  It could be something you already have and don't want, but someone else would appreciate or you could shop at a resale store or website.  You can find anything from china, crystal, books, tools, sporting goods, art, music, movies, jewelry and the possibilities go on.

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Here is a list of some organizations that have stores in my area (London, Ontario) to get you started.  I've included links to their websites for more information and so you can see if they have a location near you.

• Good Will
• Value Village
• Kijiji
• Bibles for Missions
• Salvation Army
• Talize
• St Vincent De Paul
• Kid Cents
• Mission Services of London

Many of the stores in this list are non-profit organizations so your purchase will be helping other people.  You could even put a bit of a twist on your gift exchange and have everyone donate something at the same time.  You can do some decluttering  and shopping all at once.    

Green Highlights:

• reusing items instead of buying something new
• donating items

Will you do a green gift exchange this year?

My new energy efficient window

One of the unfortunate events mentioned in a previous post, TJ's series of unfortunate events, was that the window beside my front door got smashed.  It was a while before I had a chance to shop around for a new window so we spent almost the whole summer with the window boarded up.  I learned a bit about energy efficient windows in the process.

The window we had was a single pane 5 mm sheet of obscure glass that was not energy efficient.  It was replaced with a thermal unit made up of 2 panes of 4 mm glass which I had tempered.  Since it is right beside  the front door and goes almost to the ground, I wanted something strong that wouldn't break easily.  We went with obscure glass again for privacy and I wanted it to be low E. 

Low E is a film that reflects light and heat back to its source.  That means it reflects heat into the house in the winter and outside in the summer.  This is great for energy efficiency, but I found out that low E has to be applied to the inside pane and cannot be applied to obscure glass.  Since my inside pane was obscure, we had to forgo the low E.  The new window is still more energy efficient than what we had.  I like the look of the new window better than what we had before and I am happy that it is more energy efficient.

Green Highlights:

• replaced a single pane window with a thermal pane

Do you have any low E windows in your home?

-TJ