This afternoon I found myself walking downhill straight into the sun, while above the sun there was a dark snow cloud. And yes it snowed, and the snowflakes where lit up by the sun. With the dark cloud behind it this created a beautiful sight. I do not think i have seen this before.
Is that the way to go? When there are dark clouds focus on something that enhances beauty.
The other day i spoke with friends who live a simple life like i do, they where fussing over their power bill. But i was all happy that they had a powerbill like mine, very low. When i complemented them on that, and said this should be possible for many more people shouldn't it, to my surprise they took side of the higher end consumer... I have come upon this before. i wonder what i say 'wrong'. Or what i say that makes people defend spending.
How often do you wash your clothes?
How often do you shower?
Do you have a clothes dryer, or instead of running a humidifyer you dry your clothes in the house?
Do you wash every kitchen item after single use?
I am sure there are many more ways to use a little less electricity
What do you do to use a little less electricity? and what i hope that you actually have more time for leisure, going for walks...or?
What did you see on your last walk that was quite lovely?
4 comments:
We wash clothes when there's enough for a decent load of the washing machine. But I think you are asking here what is considered dirty enough to wash. It depends, really. We certainly wear clothes longer than just for a day unless there's been too much sweat or dirt to remain acceptable. But we no longer have to go to work, so it's easy to hang around in old clothes all day.
We shower roughly every second day. Our water is heated with solar power and in case of low sunlight, wood pellets, so almost no electricity is involved. Our main concern is to save water.
We don't have a dryer. If it's warm enough, clothes dry outside - and smell lovely afterwards - or in the basement. Most houses here have basements with a laundry room and windows, which we keep open, so it's easy to dry clothes quickly. This is how it was done in my childhood.
We don't need a humidifier.
We wash kitchen items when the dishwasher is full. We used to wash by hand until my brother showed us that far less water and energy is used by the dishwasher compared to hand washing with hot water. Again, our main concern is to save water, electricity is not a problem as it's supplied by the sun. I time the dishwasher and other gadgets like washing machine to run when the sun shines.
On my walk yesterday I watched the flotsam from the last floods float downstream, mostly tree trunks and branches but also bits and pieces from ships/barges. There were many birds messing with it, it was very noisy but looked like they had a great party.
Seeing the sun through the snowflakes sounds so pretty. I've never seen anything like that before. Everyone has different priorities in their life. While saving electricity may be a priority for some, for others their main priority may be keeping the house warmer for health reasons. Or some may use a clothes dryer for time convenience so they can get more sleep after working long hours. Or maybe someone else doesn't walk everywhere because they have a bad knee. We just never know the ins and outs of everyone's life. However, that's not to say that there aren't people out there who waste things for no good reason. But usually, when they know better, they do better.
Anyway, we try to wash only full loads of dishes or clothes. I like to hang clothes outside for a freshening, if the weather permits, instead of washing them. This can extend the wear by a couple of times before washing.
Thank you both! for reponding in such detail and for having caring habits. And indeed when we know better we do better. and yes that is different for all of us. I will try to make that clearer in my next post.
That sunlit snow sounds lovely! I don't think I've ever seen something similar. I think I keep my electricity usage to a reasonable amount, as I consistently use less than I am allocated at the lower (Tier 1) rate. It's my water and natural gas usage that I worry about - my stove/oven, furnace, water heater, and clothes dryer are all gas appliances. I try to minimize my usage, but, I admit to feeling cold and keeping the house warmer than others do. On the other hand, I don't bother to air condition the house in the summer!
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