GOING GREEN: Project Celadon.

As I get older, I seem to be going further out on the fringe.   I find myself with more to say, a little less patience for ignorance, a bit more germaphobic and less prone to house work than ever…and cheap(er).

I’m not reusing plastic wrap yet, but I’m cheap nonetheless.  I have dreams of moving off the grid and living with solar panels and wind power…growing my own vegetables and making my own goat cheese. 

I not a child of the 60s.  I love 4″ heels and modern architecture.  But more and more, I am conscious of the cumulative effect of my environment on the quality of my life. 

Over the past 14 months, I have removed most processed food from my diet as a function of shedding an excess 65 pounds.  And, I have kept the weight off for half a year now by committing to whole foods.

So, where is this all going?  My point is this…I seem to be motivated to do things healthy and green for all the wrong reasons…but I at least I am doing them.  I have been motivated, once again, to take action.  I am going green…well, maybe just celadon, to reduce my electric bill.

I am going to reduce my family’s energy consumption at home by 30% by October 31st of 2010 (approximately 6 months).  I lived in Winnsboro, SC for around 3 years where I received a single utility bill for electric, gas, water and sewer because the city owned the utilities. 

My utility bill was consistently $300 – $400 per month or more despite efforts to make my historic home more energy efficient.  At the time, I was grateful for the bill because it was reduced from the bills I paid in Columbia, SC.

When I moved to Gatlinburg, I was shocked when my first electric bill in May of 2007 was less than $100.  I moved into a smaller house with more energy efficient appliances, but the real difference was attributed to the Tennessee Valley Authority by all of my neighbors.

My electric bill has gone up over the past 3 years, but it usually falls between $100 and $160.  Extreme weather occasionally adds $20 to this number.  I pay approximately $65 per month for water and $0 for sewer because  I have a septic system.

I have taken measures over the years to keep my bills low by removing the energy-sucking outdoor hot tub as well as the water-sucking indoor jacuzzi.  Many of the bulbs in my house are compact flourescents, and we only run the dishwasher and washing machine when they are full (due to laziness–not energy conservation).

Well, it is time to take better measures to reduce my utility expenditure.  Here are the steps my family has agreed to take over the next 6 months:

1. Turn down the temperature on my hot water heater.  FREE. I don’t know where it is set, but I regularly scald my hands–that can’t be good.

2. Insulate my hot water heater.  APPROX. $40.  It is easy to tell that I am losing heat due to the excessively high temperature in the closet where it resides.

3. Replace my thermostat.  APPROX. $30.  My thermostat is around 20 years old.  It is time.

4. Insulate the back of my thermostat.  APPROX. $10. The wall that comprises closet that houses my hotwater heater also houses the my heat pump thermostat.  It is not a brilliant design, and I can’t fix that as a non-owner; however, I can build an insulated box to prevent the excess heat given off by my soon to be insulated hot water heater from making it run unnecessarily.

5. Replace west-facing window coverings with thermal curtains.  APPROX. $200. My house faces west, and the back wall is all windows.  I suspect that adding insulated curtains to the 48 square feet of window in the apex of my partial A-frame chalet will go a long way to reducing my AC energy expenditure.  In addition, I have two sets of sliding glass windows and two additional windows in my art studio.

6. Finish replacing all bulbs with compact flourscent bulbs. APPROX. $50.

7. Only use lamps and light fixtures when NEEDED. FREE.

8. Quit leaving the TV on as background noise for people OR pets.  FREE.

9. Reduce use of the diswasher.  APPROX. $2.  This one is hard, folks.  Because we cook almost every meal at home, we produce lots of dirty dishes.  We run the diswasher at least 7 times per week…sometimes 9.  Ouch.  I am going to try to reduce the use of my diswasher to 3 times per week.  First, I have to buy a stopper for my kitchen sink so I can revisit hand-washing, ugh.  In addition, I must only run the dishwasher when I am home so that I can open the door instead of running the dry cycle.

10. Reduce use of the washing machine & dryer.  FREE.  We do about 5 loads of laundry per week.  I could rewear more clothing…or quit being too lazy to hang it up, and probably reduce my loads to 4 per week.  The biggest drain is the dryer, though.  By removing clothing when it is done and not rerunning it 3 times to remove wrinkles, I imagine I can conserve a considerable amount of energy.

11. Seal doors and windows.  APPROX. $20.  I can see outside under my front door and the draft around my sliding glass doors and windows is shocking.  Weatherstripping and an addition to the bottom of my front door should do the trick.

12. Shorten showers.  APPROX. $10.  We take approximately 21 showers per week at my house–3 people x 7 days, and that isn’t going to change (although my 11 year old would love to give that a try).  We are going to buy a water-proof clock with timer for the shower to find out how long our showers are now, and reduce that number by at least 25%.

Okay folks, that it the list for now.  I know this blog is supposed to be about my art, but I’ll keep you updated on Project Celadon and the result.  Wish me luck!

My move toward being more energy conscious has been motivated by my stinginess…but not my stinginess alone…

…Thanks to Toni’s Treehouse for Green Living Tips of the Week
and a HUGE COMMITMENT to being kinder
to her family by being kinder to the environment.