This is sponsored content from BlogHer and GE.
If you've been following this blog experience o' mine for an extended period of time you might remember when I posted about reupholstering this $10 chair from Salvation Army. With the help of my mom I recovered it and loved it but after a few years, I'm kind of over the pattern. Next up: re-re-upholstering this chair! I'm thinking of going with a light, neutral color but then I think I'm crazy because I have a little boy who likes to climb on furniture with buttered-toast hands. Sigh. I just love "upcycling" old furniture. It feels really good (and cheap).
I wouldn't say that I'm obsessed with being "green". I will say that I try because I care about our environment but I also really care about being frugal. To me that means that I try to use reuseable bags at the grocery store (when I remember to grab them out of my car before I run inside the store), only run the ceiling fan when I'm sleeping (did you know it does no good if you're not in the room?), rarely run our air conditioning (a real luxury in San Diego) or heater, and turn off the lights when I'm not in the room. I also give myself a really hard time when I leave the curling iron on all day. I hate that. When we moved into our current place David and I switched all our lights to energy saving LED bulbs. I'm not sure how many years they're supposed to last but I can safely say that they will outlive us in their experience here.
Rules:
- No duplicate comments.
- You may receive two total entries by selecting from the following entry methods:
a) leave a comment in response to the sweepstakes prompt on this post.
b) tweet about this promotion and leave the URL to that tweet in a comment on this post.
c) blog about this promotion and leave the URL to that post in a comment on this post.
d) for those with no Twitter or blog, read the official rules to learn about an alternate form of entry.
- This giveaway is open to US residents age 18 or older.
- Winners will be selected via random draw, and will be notified by e-mail (so leave your e-mail).
- You have 72 hours to get back to me, otherwise a new winner will be selected.
- The official rules are available here.
- Here's the round-up!
Also, this GE ecomagination Challenge is really cool. Basically, the folks at GE are trying to figure out how to bring big, new ideas to the area of clean energy saving. Got big ideas? You can submit them to the GE ecomagination Challenge. I think that's awesome. I mean, I'm trying to make small changes in our home but whenever I hear about ways that other people save energy in their houses, I'm all ears. So speak up!
Ready? Go!
52 comments:
The biggest energy problem at our house is air leaks in the doors and windows. We've replaced some of the tubing in the door fram and installed a draft guard but I think it's the windows that are killing our bills the most.
We moved into an older house and changed out the windows and it's made a big difference. My husband grew up in a place where energy and resources were not so readily available and with him, I am learning to turn the lights off (constantly), not serve myself more water than needed, ration everything. It's amazing how much we take for granted here in the U.S.
Our biggest energy problem is my husband...OK...more like his habit of leaving lights on all over the house. The cat does NOT need to have the light on...he'll be asleep in 3 minutes anyhow! Or maybe I'm the only one who knows how to turn off lights...
Hi, one of our problems was air blowing through our patio doors on windy days so we put in new energy efficient patio doors recently. We also use a programmable thermostat and timers on our lights to save energy.
maddiemb {at} comcast (dot) net
Tweet link: http://twitter.com/#!/shala_darkstone/status/39313438559842304
maddiemb {at} comcast (dot) net
We have old drafty windows, I've been putting old towels along the bottoms to help keep out some of the cold.Hopefully we will get new windows this summer that are energy efficient.
http://twitter.com/Ziggywag/status/39511281140498432
Tweet
My energy bills always seems to be really high, even in the summer. I often wonder because if it's because we leave the blower from our heating and ventilation system on all the time, but my husband says it's supposed to be on. I remain unconvinced! We also have gaps around our garage door (the interior one) that I know lets in cold air. We have a stock of high-efficiency light bulbs but because of their awkward shape they won't fit in most of our light fixtures, so we still use traditional bulbs! This GE bulb looks like the fit wouldn't be a problem.
Our biggest energy problem is the age of our house. It was built in 1883 and is far from energy efficient. We have good storm windows and energy star appliances. We also compost, recycle and shop with cloth bags so we do what we can.
ky2here at msn dot com
Here's my tweet: http://twitter.com/#!/ky2here1/status/39636860456280064
ky2here at msn dot com
unplugging items is great but the biggest energy saver so far is insulating sealing the windows- it amazing how much you can turn down the heat when everything is caulked and sealed and you open the drapes in the winter to let sunshine and light in and close it at night- some serious money saving
We are trying to get our electric bill costs down so we try to make sure everything is off when we leave a room. We are also replacing our bulbs with EF bulbs as the other ones go out so it’s not so expensive!
hebert024 at aoldot com
We wash and dry a lot of clothes, so we switched to a energy saving washer and dryer.
lenz.nicole(at)gmail(dot)com
Not having the most energy efficient appliances. We live in an apartment so we can’t buy and replace them. So I make them as efficient as possible. I use only cold water in the washer. Clean the lint filter and the back of the dryer regularly. We open the curtains wide on sunny days for light and close heavy curtains to keep cold out.
My problem is that the windows need to be replaced. We're saving up for it.
Tweet:
http://twitter.com/clc408/status/40028563726008320
The biggest waste of energy in my home is 2 teens who waste water and leave lights on. Is there a fix for them?? lol
whit1966@gmail.com
I've had solar panels on my roof for 10 years -- I bought my system but now you can lease panels for zero-down from sungevity.com. Big electricity savings! Also, your school can raise money through the sungevity.org Beyond the Bake Sale solar fundraising program.
Turning off the lights...I'm getting better! Awesome chair redo Liz :) maceycoupon (at) yahoo (dot)com
My energy challenge is my teen daughter! She doesn’t turn stuff off… lights, tv, stereo, chargers, water…. the only thing that’s seemed to help with tv/stereo is that if she leaves it on and leaves the room, it’s OFF for the rest of the night! She doesn’t like that, and is a bit better about turning off, but so far to go! You'd think, since she's doing a class project on saving water that she'd bring it home, but no luck so far!
sksweeps (at) earthlink (dot) net
My biggest challenge at home is getting the kids to turn off the lights. I am queenesperfect at yahoo.com
I unplug appliances, use curly lightbulbs, keep the thermostat low, use a heat pump, recycle and repurpose. However, it wasn’t until I found a triple window leaking cold air that I was able to lower our out-of-control heating bill. I covered the windows in plastic, and the bill dropped dramatically. I’m still amazed at how much money and warmth one sheet of plastic managed to save.
Thanks for a great giveaway!
Tweeted you!
http://twitter.com/Ida_Sessions/status/40874200692568064
Our biggest problem is windows and doors leaking air. DH has promised to do an overhaul this Spring. mcgillrmcgill(at)charter(dot)net
Ours is remembering to turn off lights and things when we aren't using them.. oops
My challenge is getting my family to compost everything that can be composted. I am always taking stuff out of the trash that could be composted
s8r8l33 at yahoo dot com
tweeted
http://twitter.com/#!/s8r8l33/status/41395632157499392
our house is surrounded by trees. this means it is dark all day even when the sun is out. our option is tripping over things or using lights. we go through so many lightbulbs (and wasted electricity) a year it isnt even funny. :(
ferriza2(at)yahoo(dot)com
It lasts 20 years...wowza! Lately, we've been unplugging everything that we aren't using.
My energy use problem is that I seem to be the only one who remembers to turn things off and unplug stuff when it's not in use. I'm always reminding everyone else to do their part.
I tweeted http://twitter.com/#!/kittycardero/status/41912415155261440
We have installed faucet aerators and low-flow shower heads to cut water heating costs, but the biggest problems is that all of the members of my family REALLY love taking long showers. We occasionally indulge now, but most of the time we limit our time in the shower.
Our energy use problem is that we still need to install energy efficient bulbs in the rest of our home. We're only about half way finished. Thank you for the lovely giveaway.
sewmuchstuff at ymail dot com
Tweet:
http://twitter.com/SewMuchStuff/status/42056909867585536
sewmuchstuff at ymail dot com
We compost, reduce, reuse, reuse again, and recycle! We also reduce heat in winter and unplug items we dont use regularly. I also limit hot water use. OUr biggest energy problem is the a/c in the scorching summer. It HAS to be on.
our energy use problems are having old appliances that use too much energy, we plan on replacing them as we get the money to do so
susansmoaks at gmail dot com
I need a more energy efficient dishwasher, and my refrigerator is old enough that it probably is not as good as it could be. But the first thing I want to get is one of the new power strips that will leave items like the DVR on while turning off the other electronics plugged into it. I have been replacing my light bulbs as they burn out, and most of them now are CFL bulbs. About the only ones left are the high ceiling ones and a few smaller wattage ones that haven't had appropriate CFL replacements up to now.
cgclynsg0 @ gmail dot com
We have leaky windows, and have covered some of them with shrinky plastic to keep the cold out. Thanks!
dwellenstein at cox dot net
our biggest challenge is overuse of hot water!
ardy22 at earthlink dot net
tweet
http://twitter.com/#!/Ardy22/status/42294054679089152
ardy22 at earthlink dot net
Our biggest problem is air coming through doors and windows that are too thin or not sealed well enough.
lazybones344 at gmail dot com
Even though we are extremely conservative in our energy usage (all lights are CFLs, turn lights off in all rooms not being used, keep thermostat set to 65 in the winter, etc.), our power bill is still over $100 this month. I would love to see how this new light bulb helps. I can't wait until the price comes down!
Angie
14earth at gmail dot com
I tweeted here: http://twitter.com/#!/FotoMacro/status/42328373040652288
Angie
14earth at gmail dot com
keeping house costs to a minimum is important when one is unemployed.
I turn the thermostat down to save on fuel & $$! And I turn it lower when we are not home.
Thanks for the giveaway!
email in blogger profile.
tweet: http://twitter.com/js22222222/status/42334162262294528
email in blogger profile.
Shut off lights when you leave a room, use daylight rather than turning on lights at all when possible, wash all your laundry in cold water when possible , line dry your clothing when possible, set your thermostat high in the summer and low in the winter, use energy efficient appliances and light bulbs, unplug things that are not in use, etc. We do all of these things and wish the whole planet did! Our power bill is still high to me, but to other people its insanely low. I wish I could afford solar panels for my roof!
Scott
nynekats at gmail dot com
tweet http://twitter.com/#!/RePurrPussed/status/42332503108886528
Scott
nynekats at gmail dot com
My biggest problem is getting the kids to turn off the lights when they leave the room.
donna4444444@yahoo.com
I tweeted:
http://twitter.com/donnak4/status/42364835849175040
donna444444@yahoo.com
My biggest challenge is my husband. He can't turn a light or a TV off, despite loudly proclaiming to the world what an environmentalist he is. I've given up - I just turn them off whenever he leaves a room.Email address is in blogger profile
I tweeted http://twitter.com/bsw529/status/42386331988537344
Email address is in blogger profile
We don't have sufficient natural light so I am forced to use lamps. I love light! I need to make sure they all have energy saving bulbs :)
lelaboyd@gmail.com
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