Dryer Balls

Yep, the title of this post is Dryer Balls.

I used to love line drying clothes, but when our little guy came along I just couldn't make the time. Since then, we've been using the dryer without fabric softener sheets. It's been fine, but in the winter I find our clothes a little static-y. I learned that wool dryer balls can help prevent this. By drying clothes with dryer balls (some people use tennis balls), you can reduce the amount of time required to dry, naturally soften laundry, and reduce static.

My original plan was to make my own. When I started shopping for wool yarn, I discovered already made organic wool dryer balls for cheaper from The Willow Store. So I bought some, and tried them out tonight while drying A's diapers.

They are obnoxiously loud (but our dryer is directly below our living room), but they did the job. The diapers came out dryer and softer. I'm looking forward to seeing if they help dry our clothes faster, but laundry day isn't until Friday night. 

My Prius Buddy!

The absolute highlight of my week is that my brother got a Prius! My republican, conservative, military "all man" brother got a Prius! I'm practically giddy with "I told you so" attitude. He claims that it has nothing to do with being green, but I know I'm rubbing off on him. He says it has everything to do with the cost of gas. He figured that with how much he and his wife drive, he'd safe over $1800 a year! I told him he'd have to burn a lot of plastic chairs to compensate for all the good he's doing on this planet by driving a Prius.

I'm so thrilled to be such a good influence on my family :)

Buying American

On my drive home from work yesterday, I caught the middle of a report about KEEN shoes and how they were opening a factory in the United States. It got me thinking about the economic aspect of social responsibility. The reporter was polling people asking if they knew products were American-made, were they more inclined to buy the product? Most of the consumers in the report stated that yes, this was important to them. I realized that without really thinking about it, this has become something I look for, in addition to environmental and health responsibility, as well.

A few years ago my brother and sister-in-law requested gifts that hadn't been made overseas. My brother had just returned from a military deployment in Korea, and there was a scare with chemicals in some toys with China. It was nearly impossible to find reasonably priced toys that were American made, or even simply not made in China.

Since then, I've been more inclined to buy from company's that proudly boast their American made products. With my brother's recent deployment in Iraq and the economic downturn of our own American economy, I continue to find it more and more important to support manufacturing in the U.S. In addition to financially supporting my home country, I find it more environmentally responsible because the goods don't have to travel quite as far.

I bought my own pair of KEENs this summer simply because I wanted the toe protection while walking my dog. Now I will wear them even more proudly this coming summer, knowing that KEEN is doing more to invest in American manufacturing.

E-Reader Vs. Library Card

 

We never owned a ton of books, but I was a voracious reader as a child, because my mom and I would go to the library weekly. I'd come home with armloads of books, and organize them from shortest to longest to decide which one to read first because I just couldn't decide where to start and that seemed the most democratic. (Looking back, I guess it's a more socialist notion).

Within the last year, my mom purchased a Nook because her local library started providing books electronically. I also downloaded the Overdrive app on my iPhone, which allows me to borrow electronic library books. However, the selection is limited and I find myself still reserving the hard copies through the library.

My husband keeps saying I should buy an e-reader because we'll save money, and I keep telling him we will spend more money because I'll have to buy the books I want to read rather than borrowing them from the library. But it made me wonder about the economic impact of reading library books versus buying them on an e-reader. So I did some research. I found the following:

Taken from Good.is

Okay, so once you've purchased 20 brand new books, you'd be better off with an eReader. How does this translate to the library? For me, I need the library to have the books I want electronically in order for it to be worth it to make the switch (both for my interest and for my wallet). So, I'll continue to browse my e-library, but I think it will be a while before I make the full electronic switch. However, if you are a book buyer, I'd recommend an e-reader for you! 
 

Home Energy Audit

We just got done receiving a home energy audit from Tom Nolz with the Neighborhood Energy Connection. Tom was full of information about how to improve our home's efficiency. We were excited and proud to be told that we are currently in the top 5-10% for our minimal energy use. But we also know there's always room for improvement. 

Tom's biggest task was to complete a blower test. He sealed a big blower into our front door and then essentially sucked all the air out of the house. Then he and Nate walked around to literally feel all the spots where air can get into the house from openings in our home. Our furnace had hot air being sucked in like a wind tunnel. In addition, our patio door is warped and a strong breeze made its way through the cracks in this door. This might be a replacement we'll take care of in the near future.

Tom suggested that we do regular, annual tune ups on our furnace, but it probably wouldn't be the greenest option to replace it because our heating use is so low. 

I would highly recommend getting an energy audit done on your home. Tom was extremely knowledgeable. He was very positive and supportive, and he provided realistic suggestions that we could handle making. He didn't make us feel bad about the giant leaks in our patio door and furnace; he just helped us to see how we could realistically make these problems better. When he suggested a swinging patio door and I said I wasn't interested, he was able to provide another option that would still be an improvement on our current situation (a wood frame sliding door will be less likely to warp than a vinyl frame door). 

All you need to do to get started is contact your energy company (We just called Xcel Energy). 

Let us know if you get some new ideas for efficiency after your audit!

A picture of the Blower Door Test. This man is not Tom :)

Snowblower, Part 2

Our electric snowblower arrived Thursday, 2 days before the 5th biggest snowfall in the history of the Twin Cities metro area. We couldn't be more proud of its inaugural performance. Watch it throw 20 inches of snow like it thinks it's a gas-powered snow blower.

Nate was also impressed that he could pick it up with one hand and blow out the stairs as well. Can your gas snowblower do that?

The Snow Wins

3 years ago when we bought our house in the middle of winter, Nate and I enthusiastically (okay, maybe I was the only enthusiastic one) dug into the snow in our driveway with a shovel after every snowfall. I told myself how healthy it was to get out and shovel, and how eco-friendly it was to avoid the gas-guzzling snowblower.

Since I'm pregnant this winter, Nate is on full time shovel duty. Needless to say, it took one big snowfall for him to get online and find an eco-friendly snow blowing option.

He placed the order Sunday night. We are excited for the latest electrical addition to our household, a Toro Electric Snowthrower. We have our friends with gas-powered snowblowers on speed dial just in case we need some help getting our new toy out of a snow bank.

Going Green in Winter

Nate found two more ways to make our house more efficient this winter, and is making improvements as I type. First, he bought a reusable air filter for the furnace. Once it's installed, you just clean it regularly and then reinstall.

Second, he is insulating the hot water pipes. It's just a wrap that looks like a small version of the insulation you'd put around the water heater; wrap it around the pipes and start using less energy to keep the water heated.

Easy changes that will improve our efficiency this winter.

Ready for Earth Hour?

Saturday, March 27th, people all over the globe will be participating in Earth Hour, when millions of people around the world will turn out their lights for one hour as a testimony against climate change. Beautiful symbolism--people working together to stand for a greater goal. 


Earth Hour is scheduled from 8:30 to 9:30 in your local time zone.

Getting ready for the garden

I got so excited to see seeds at the store this weekend. My big plan this summer is to start a garden. In Minnesota, this means starting the planting season indoors. Since I just planted my first flower garden last spring and have no idea if it will even survive the winter, I guess I'm being a bit presumptuous to assume I should start a vegetable garden before the snow melts.

Despite the possibility that my gardening skills may cause more harm then good, I eagerly walked into Bachman's to buy all things necessary for indoor gardening. I boldly chose a variety of heirloom* and organic seeds without help from staff. As I checked out, I casually asked, "so when should I start these seeds?"

Turns out, I really am overzealous. Of the seeds I selected, only the tomatoes, broccoli, and bell peppers need to be started indoors. And, they don't need to start until at least the end of March. Like I so often did in high school, I guess I started my countdown to summer too early. But in order to hold on to my sunshine bright glimmer of hope, I bought the seeds anyway. Now my indoor garden sits in its packaging in a window, waiting for my gardening countdown to reach 0.


*Heirloom seeds are seeds that have been handed down from generations passed. Often, people save their heirloom seeds from year to year and may hand them down over generations. Over time, many of these cultivars have died out, much like an extinct species. By planting heirloom seeds, gardens are given greater variety and flavor. In addition, genetic diversity (which I view as life-enriching) is protected. And overall, I like the connection to a deep sense of history I get by planting such old varieties of food.

Got Snow?

Today's simple tip:

Skip the snowblower. Reduce your carbon footprint and get some exercise. If I can shovel snow onto piles literally as tall as me, I have confidence that you can too!

On the List

We are now eagerly anticipating a new addition to our ever greenified household...a Chevy Volt!

Our name is on the waiting list at a local Chevy dealer. We had set a goal when we purchased our last car (in college) that our next car would be a hybrid. We are planning to not only meet our goal but to surpass it within the next year. The Chevy Volt, anticipated to be released in November 2010, runs about 40 miles on pure battery power. When that runs out, the energy to keep going comes from a range-extending gas generator. This will allow us to continue to use vehicles in the same we we always have, but most of the time we will be emitting zero emissions. When we do take longer trips, we will continue to benefit from using gas more efficiently.

Check out the details on Chevy's website.

What We've Done So Far

We spent about a year "greenifying" our house before deciding to formally share what we're doing (though many of our friends have gotten several earfuls about our green adventures).

So here's a bit of our socially responsible conversions in the past year:

• Installed rain barrels
• Composting
• Line dry all our laundry (yes, you can line dry in the winter!)
• Insulate our windows with plastic
• Hypermile
• Always take the more fuel efficient vehicle
• Clean with Seventh Generation products
• Consult the Better World Shopper for purchases 
• Easing into buying grass fed beef and free-range organic chicken
• Install fluorescent or LED lights throughout the house. Our back porch light is a solar powered LED. 
• Run the fan in reverse to circulate heat

Not so hard, huh?! We do have a long way to go, but social responsibility is an ever evolving journey which we have enjoyed so far.