Hung out to dry

The first month that Chris and I moved in together, was in January.  I got a nice little shock when I received the Hydro bill in Feburary, and our electricity usage had almost doubled.  I'm happy to report though, that we (I) immediately ceased our wasteful ways, and have been reducing our usage ever since.  That month, we used about 480 kWh of electricity, which cost us about $70.  In April, we used under 190 kWh, which was have the cost, even with the increase in rates.  Complain if you like about the increasing rates, but we are really lucky in that we live in a country so abundant with natural resources.  If paying more means that you are supporting more sustainable methods of obtaining energy (yes we support wind power), then I'm all for it.  I mean, I pay twice that just to have a cell phone!  Where's the logic in that?

Keep in mind that the furnace would have been running at full tilt in January, but other than that there was really no excuse for so much consumption.  But considering we both work from home quite regularly, our laptops are almost always needing to be charged, it can really add up.  So for two people to consume that same amount (or less) of electricity as one person previously, it's pretty amazing what you can do.  So what was the difference?

We stopped using the dryer.  Yup.  That's it!  We just plain stopped using it, seems like a no-brainer, I know. I used to hang my clothes to dry about half of the time, more in the summer, less in the winter.  Dryers are the most inefficient appliances in the home.  There really isn't such a thing as an "energy efficient" or energy star rated dryer, they just use too much power, and ours is heated by gas.  That's just how inefficient they are. 

We permanently plopped our drying rack in our tiny dining room and Chris diligently took on the role of hanging the clothes.  We haven't totally abandoned the dryer, in cases of emergency we still use it.  I often use it when the clothes are 90% dry, to finish them off and fluff them up.  But for the most part, we are just using it as a storage shelf ;)

Here are some things to keep in mind:

• If you use fabric softener, stop immediately.  You are just soaking your clothes in gross chemicals.  Instead, pour a cup of vinegar in your rinse cycle, or downy ball.  It will get rid of the soap residue so your clothes don't dry with that crispy feel.
• Hang your clothes inside in the winter, it adds moisture to the air.
• Hang your clothes outside in the summer, they dry in a snap.  Be careful not to leave them out in the sun too long as the UV rays will fade your clothes, or dry them in a shady spot.  Better yet, hang your whites in sun, as it naturally whitens!
• If you've left the clothes on the rack and they are super wrinkled, pop them in the dryer for a few minutes with a wet cloth (or sock, or anything) and the moisture will steam the wrinkles out a bit. 
• Hanging your clothes to dry will help them last longer, and prevent fading and shrinking.

Happy (free) Drying!

Irreplaceable

It's been over a month since our last post... but do not fret my fellow hummingbirds, we have been dabbling in lots of ways to green our home.  And with the amazingly warm weather we had last month, we saved 20% on our electricity bill just from being able to turn the furnace off.  That was a nice plus!

My microwave died a few years ago.  Well, actually, it still worked, but when I would go to microwave something, sparks would fly.  So, I sent it away to be recycled.  I was looking forward to the additional counter space because I always knew how bad microwaving can be for your food.  It is pretty much common knowledge, I think, that when you zap your food, you zap the nutrients.  While any type of heat will reduce the nutrients, steaming your veggies, for example, is a much better way to go.  You should NEVER microwave plastic, even though I foolishly bought "microwave safe" plastic from Tupperware many years ago, there is no such thing!  I don't care what the FDA has approved.  With the unknowns of exactly how bad it is, I decided it was truly irreplaceable.

I've read that the microwave was invented by the Nazi's, for their soldiers convenience.  Obviously anything coming from those guys is bad!  Some countries have even since banned the things.  There is some research that I've read that says that microwaving food changes the molecules and forms carcinogens, absorbed by your stomach and bloodstream.  Whenever there is controversy around whether a product can cause cancer, I'd always rather err on the side of caution.

Some people think it's a little weird.  I'm pretty much the only person I know who doesn't have one, and I'll admit, I still use the one at work for lack of other options.  But at home I'm quite content to heat up my food in a cast iron pan, or in the toaster oven.  I think when Chris and I moved in together, he was a little annoyed, but he's used to it now.  About the only thing that we can't do, is reheat coffee.  I have done it on the stove, but if you're going to that effort, you might as well just brew a new one.  Or have a glass of water.

I saw this piece on The Marilyn Dennis show, featuring Naturopath, Bryce Wylde.  I'm a big fan of her show, and I especially love that she features guest experts like him. These are his reasons to avoid it. Click here to watch.

Electric city, finally!

Here's the deal: somehow we managed to almost double our electricity usage last month.  It worked out to about an extra $20.  I'm not exactly sure what happened, I think it could have been me using the "heated dry" setting on the dishwasher (bad idea), but according to our daily rate we have been back at an average amount since the beginning of February.

On February 25th, our hydro was switched to "Smart Meter" billing, really behind the times there London.  I've been getting into the habit of running my dishwasher and laundry during off peak hours for over a year now, but now this is serious business.  I read a tip on the hydro company's website that if you use a Smart strip power strip for your TV, you could reduce some of your phantom power usage.  Basically, you plug in your TV, and all of your accessories (DVD player, speakers, etc...) and when the TV is turned off, the power gets cut to all of those other things.

I thought this would be a great idea, so for $45, we went and picked one up.  What I didn't realize was that it doesn't cut the power to your TV, and since we only have one accessory, we realized it was hardly worth it.  This could be worth it if you have a lot of gadgets, but I'll be returning this thing on my next trip to the hardware store, and just putting in a cheap-o power bar, and turning it off manually instead.  We'll spend the money on insulting our hot water heater instead.

Any other idea's on ways we could reduce our electricity?

Reduced plastic, on toast

Who doesn't love the smell of fresh baked bread?  We sometimes go through two loaves of bread every week.  That's more than 100 plastic bags a year!  If I started baking our own, this would be a great way to reduce our plastic consumption.

I was lucky enough to inherit a bread maker from a friend who was not using hers (thanks Jennie!), but it was only a few weeks ago that I actually brought it out to make a loaf.  The key ingredient I was missing was vital wheat gluten, which is responsible for the stretchiness of dough, and is very high in protein.  You can make bread without it, but this is one of those secret ingredients that really make the difference.  So after I picked some up in the health food section at the Superstore, I was ready to go.

Pro's

• No plastic bag to throw away
• You can make the bread as healthy, vegan, and organic as you like, depending on what ingredients are chosen
• No preservatives

Con's

• Energy efficiency, surely the bread makers on a large scale are doing it more efficiently than we could
• Time - is this too much effort?

Since we are now Bullfrog powered, I argued that at least we know we are using green electricity to bake our bread.  I've been making it for about three weeks now, and it honestly requires very little time.  Maybe ten minutes per loaf, maximum.  If you don't have a bread maker, you can always make it in your oven, or check out your local bakery or farmer's market, and remember to bring your own bag!

Looks good, doesn't it?

Whole Wheat Bread:

(For bread machine choose 1.5 lb, light crust)

• 3 C whole wheat flour
• 1 TBSP vital wheat gluten
• 1/4 C sugar (you can also use honey)
• 2 TBSP oil
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 tsp active dry yeast
• 1/2 C rolled oats (optional)
• 1 1/2 C water

I'm going to keep experimenting with the recipe - adding flax seeds, or nuts, just to keep it interesting!

Every cup's a winner - unless it's disposable

From this day forward: No travel mug = No coffee. If I forget the mug at home, in the car, or on my roof - then no coffee for me. This will reduce waste, keep my coffee warm AND get me a 10 cent discount (when applicable).

Sadly I did not realize that Roll up the Rim was starting when I agreed to this challenge - So I'll have to find another way to win Boston Cream doughnuts.  I wonder what the winner of the Boston Marathon gets? Probably a shitload.

To the guy behind me at Timmy's who wins the flat screen - You're welcome.

Chris

I heart hummus

While Chris has been busy trying to scare the flyer boy (or girl) away with his shotgun (kidding!), I have been busy in the kitchen.  One of the biggest problems that we have is our addiction to plastic, it's almost unavoidable.  You can't buy cheese, bread, crackers, rice, or anything it seems without it!!  Or can you?

Last month, I was on a mission to find a good recipe for hummus, because we eat a large container of it a week.  Sorry about the garlic breath.  Since they run at about $6 a pop, it seemed like a great challenge to save some money, and reduce a little bit of our plastic consumption.  Now, I recognize that the plastic container is recyclable, but if you never have something that needs to be recycled in the first place, that isn't so bad.  At the very least, I'm not throwing away that little film that covers the container, and we're saving $5 a week!

I know what you're thinking, the ingredients that I  had to buy to make the hummus came in plastic.  The plastic bag of chickpeas, not recyclable, the olive oil, came in a glass jar with a non-recyclable top.  Yeah, I know, not so great.  Baby steps.  We're going to try and address those things later in this blog.

Hummus is one of those recipes that varies depending on your taste.  This version is adapted  from my favourite cookbook, Veganomicon.  I highly recommend you pick up a copy from your local library and see if you like it - a lot of their recipes are now in my regular meal rotation.

Hummus

4C chickpeas (or 2 15 ounce cans)
3/4C olive oil
3/4C lemon juice
3 Tbsp tahini
3-5 cloves of garlic
1/2C water
Salt and pepper
Spoonful of cumin
Lots of paprika
A little bit of cayenne pepper (or hot sauce)

Serve with everything!

Mix the ingredients together in a blender, or food processor.  The results will be smoother in a blender, but make sure you have a good one.  I killed the motor of the cheap one that I bought, so I'm back to the food processor.

The recipe isn't really exact.  I have also doubled the recipe, because I usually freeze half.  If you don't want to make this much, reduce the chickpeas to 2 cups, and olive oil and lemon juice to 1/4, etc... and add as you go.   You will need to taste it to make sure, and every time it is a bit different.  I also prefer using dried chickpeas, because they are a fraction of the price of canned.  But if you haven't mastered cooking your own beans yet, just stick with the canned.

It's not you, it's your flyers.

Our mailbox may be ugly, BUT, it's empty. After a few modifications - we no longer receive those unwanted flyers on flyer day.

Now we fully accept that our flyers are likely being thrown out at the end of the route. BUT, I have to believe that if everyone who hates getting those flyers put up a big ugly sign, the people paying for the printing would be quite foolish to continue. So if enough of us step up to the plate, we will, in time, put that 13 year old delivery boy out of work. That's what it's all about people.

Get yours here!

Brought to you by Bullfrog Power

"The planet has 7 billion people on it, and they all want iPod's" Chris likes to say. I cringe when he does because I have three, and an iPhone. We don't claim to be perfect, but we want to do better. Last summer, we watched Dirt! The movie, and we were inspired by the story of the hummingbird. We certainly don't want to be like those other animals, just watching as their forest burns to a crisp. For the last seven years, I have made an effort to make some changes to the way that I live, and Chris is on a mission to save the planet. Together we're a great pair, aren't we?  So I said to Chris a little while ago "maybe we should try and give ourselves challenges?" and the idea of our blog was born (yes, I'm pretty much saying it was my idea)!  .

The first step was to tackle the biggest chunk of our carbon footprint, our home.  We talked about the idea of signing up for Bullfrog Power for months.  I was hesitant at first because I wasn't too familiar with how it works, and wasn't sure how much it was going to cost.  In December, I cancelled the cable, so we figured that we were breaking even with the cost.  We haven't received our first bill yet, but I anticipate it will cost us less than $30 a month (this includes hydro and natural gas).  Basically, you are buying green energy to pump into the grid (reducing the use of coal, nuclear and other nasty sources of energy) in the amounts that you use every month.  Since we live in a small home, it's pretty affordable. Although, I'll admit it's the natural gas that is really pricey, if you want to start small, buying Bullfrog powered hydro is a great way to go, you can choose. Of your usage, you decide how much you want to be Bullfrog powered, it doesn't have to be an all or nothing deal.  Every little bit helps.  And, for those of you who know me, you know that I work for a pretty great company that supports earth friendly initiatives, so I was lucky enough to snag an employee discount (and many of you can too)!

Now that we've gotten that out of the way, we're ready to move to our next challenge, and tell you all about it on our Bullfrog powered blog!

The inspiration