Hello - this is Scott, again: We installed solar energy on our home a few months back - and we have had several requests to find out more about the impact on our overall energy usage (and our associated electric bills), so...Now that we finally have seen a couple months of our electric bills - we can report: It is going GREAT!!!THE PREP: Before we ever considered solar, we followed the 5 R's. We "refused" unnecessary usage by donating most small appliances (coffee maker, food processor, vacuum cleaner, microwave) and turning off electronics when not in use. We also tried to "reduce"...
Zero Waste Camping - if it wasn't for cling wrap
Hanging out at Joshua TreeWe're back from Spring Break! Rested and tan (unintentionally). Having rented our home for the whole period, we decided to "rough it" for a profit and spend ten days camping our way down the California coast, an experience that Scott and I had longed to share with our boys.This trip was a first for our Prius too, and I must say, its trunk capacity exceeded our expectations, accommodating the belongings for our family of four with ease.This is what we packed:Dining: 4 mugs, 4 bowls, 4 plates, 4 forks, 4 spoons, and each of us carried a personal pocket knife. Drinking:...
Eggs!
One way to forgo packaging when buying eggs is to purchase them from a farmer's market egg stand and reusing cartons or an egg carrier week after week (if you know where to buy a stainless egg carrier, please let me know). Unfortunately, that's one option that is not always viable. Farmer's markets are sometimes not available, or are hard to reach, or simply do not host an egg stand (ours seems to come and go).Another way to reduce the egg carton is to raise your own hens.Scott and I contemplated that idea at one point. The family was excited at the thought of adopting new pets: I discussed care...
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