Our first EARTH NIGHT and GARBAGE/RECYCLING

This past Saturday night/Sunday morning was our first family EARTH NIGHT.

First, from app 6:55pm to 7:55pm we shut the POWER off at the breaker panel. Grant played Rumoli with the boys (complaining it was too dark to see, so I helped them with a coal oil lantern) and Amanda and I did journal writing. It is something I really want to continue, and not just for environmental reasons. It was so relaxing.

Then, at app 11pm (tho I think it was a bit earlier) I shut down the computer systems, and made sure most other things were shut off, then I threw the switch on the POWER. Grant and I didn't wake up til 8ish, so the power was definitely off for a full 8 hours.

I had planned on checking the electricity meter around 5pm on Sunday (because I'd checked it at 5pm on Saturday) to see how much of a difference it made with everything being off overnight, but I forgot. I think this week if I get a reading from app 5pm Thurs to 5pm Saturday, then one from 5pm Saturday to 5pm Monday, that should be a good comparison of two days with power on overnight and two days with the power off overnight. If it makes a big enough difference then I think we will look at replacing electric clock-radios and have battery alarm clocks for everyone, so that we can power down more often. Grant is still concerned as to whether it will do any damage shutting the power off: I do want to get a more defnititive answer....need to ask an electrician on tht I guess.

Friday was Garbage and Recycling Day: when I took out the garbage it could have squeezed into 2/3 small grocery bags. The black bag was only about 1/3 full. And not as much paper recycling, likely because we are not getting as many newspapers. However, after house cleaning on the weekend the garbage got a bit fuller. We skip a week ths time because Friday is the Good Friday holiday: we will definitely have 1 very full or 2 garbage bags next week.

EARTH HOUR +++

This Saturday evening is EARTH HOUR...when we are asked to shut of our lights for one hour. Why not go one better than this and shut off all non-emergency power for that one hour?

More ideas:

• As a family we have recently started shutting off our entire household power for one hour each Saturday night.
• We are also going to start shutting off all the power from 11pm to 7am Friday and Saturday nights. We will make exceptions if the weather is too cold to go without the furnace on (we don't want frozen pipes!) or if it is too rainy to have our sump pump not running (we don't want a flooded basement!)

Besides reducing our ridiculously high electric bill, we will also be reducing our enviromental impact