the low down on green living
April 24th, 2008
Five Clever Tips to Lower Your Impact
Here are five easy ways you may not have thought of for living a more low impact life. They’re simple to do and will save water and energy, and lessen your contribution to global warming.
1. Put a bucket in your shower to catch the water as the water warms up. If you don’t have a tankless water heater or you don’t want to go to the expense of a re-circulating water pump, then just put a bucket in the shower and save the otherwise wasted water. You can use that water for your plants, for your animals, for dishes… it’s easy!
2. Don’t use bags for your fruits and veggies at the grocery store. A lot of people take reusable shopping bags to the store now (and thank you for doing so!), but they still get the little plastic bags for their fruits and vegetables. Did you know you can just throw those in your basket and then weigh them at the counter in separate piles? No need for those little baggies.
3. Eat by candlelight one night each week. It’s romantic, it’s fun, and you just saved thousands of watts of electricity each year. You might even go so far as to forego TV one night a week. Talking or reading– imagine the carbon-free possibilities!
4. Turn your water heater down– but wait there’s more! A lot of people have heard that they should turn down the temperature on their water heater….but have you turned it down to the point that you don’t have to mix in cold water when you shower? Think about it– if you have to mix in cold water, you’re wasting the heat that was used to make your hot water its scalding temperature. So turn it down all the way until it’s comfortable to use the hot water by itself. (And then get an aerating showerhead to cut your use of water even more.)
5. Use the microwave instead of the oven. Did you know that your microwave is much more energy efficient than your oven? And admit it– you were looking for an excuse to use the microwave anyway.
Comments
Dagny McKinley
April 26th, 2008 at 12:22 pm
There are great tips. Thank you. The only thing I worry about is the radiation from the microwave. I use the stove to reheat foods even when my microwave is staring at me. I love the idea of using a bucket in the shower and will start doing so.
Dagny McKinley
www.onnotextiles.com
organic apparel
Mcark
April 26th, 2008 at 8:17 pm
I was just thinking ” I don’t have to have a bucket for water because my shower gets HOT quickly” and then you mentioned mixing cold water with hot water and the need to lower the tempt for the hot water heater.
ErinH
April 28th, 2008 at 12:00 pm
I wonder how turning down the water heater affects the dishwasher’s effectiveness.
Greg
April 29th, 2008 at 8:16 am
Thanks for the good suggestions. Do you have the data that shows a microwave is more effective than an oven? I had presumed that stovetop using natural gas was more effective for simple heating based on the comparative mass balance. I’d appreciate any input.
Megan Miles
April 29th, 2008 at 8:21 am
I have a question about the water heater suggestion. I was considering doing this, but I recently read that if you turn the temperature below 130 degrees, it may not kill all the bacteria, especially those that cause pneumonia. I also read that turning it down too low can increase operating costs on your dishwasher. I’m a little confused by all the conflicting reports. Anyone have a suggestion for a happy medium?
Sarah
April 29th, 2008 at 9:08 am
One word about putting your fruits and veggies in the cart. My mom read a study about major salmonella germs in grocery carts (from the previous users’ meat packages, etc.) So that made me nervous about laying my bare fruits and veggies right in the cart. Now I lay out my canvas bag in the baby seat place and put the veggies on there.
Leslie @ the oko box
April 29th, 2008 at 9:12 am
These tips are totally awesome, although I can’t help but always think the microwave is not healthy - a convection toaster over uses less energy then a regular oven, so i use that to quickly heat up food instead.
Is there any re-usable bags for veggies & fruit, for people with serious food allergies letting your produce touch the same suface all the other food touches can be really bad … I would love to have re-use veggie bags in addition to my grocery bags I bring.
Jessica Jensen
April 29th, 2008 at 11:01 am
HI folks– great questions.
On the issue of hot water temperature related to bacteria, the US Department of Energy recommends turning the temp to 120 degrees F. I have also done some reading that bacteria cannot grow at that temperature and that the real danger for bacteria growth is at lower temperatures (around 100 degrees and below). I AM NOT AN EXPERT ON HEALTH ISSUES so please do more research for yourself. You can read more on the topic from the Department of Energy here:
http://www.eere.energy.gov/consumer/your_home/water_heating/index.cfm/mytopic=13090
Jessica Jensen
April 29th, 2008 at 11:03 am
And if you’re looking for reusable bags for your veggies and other groceries, here are a couple of resources:
http://www.lowimpactliving.com/products/Housewares/Shopping-Bags/439
http://www.reusablebags.com/
A few neat things and a request « The Greening Tree
April 29th, 2008 at 3:17 pm
[…] Impact Living’s blog has a great list for the person who thinks they’ve read every tip out there on going green. (Although, why […]
Kimberly
April 29th, 2008 at 6:06 pm
I love the tips, but I agree with the other readers who avoid the microwave in favor of the stove. Microwaving breaks down nutrients in food much more quickly than heating on a stove does, and has potential for other negative health effects.
Cheap Like Me
April 29th, 2008 at 6:09 pm
These are great tips! I use my “shower bucket” to flush the toilet (save it up and dump it in the bowl to make it flush).
I need to get some reusable produce bags … I am not daring enough to annoy my grocery checkers by throwing all my produce in the cart together. They can get persnickety as it is …
Victoria
May 2nd, 2008 at 4:15 pm
You can either take your ‘naked’ produce to the checkout, or you can use their bags. They will probably not allow you to use outside bags. The reason for this is that the store’s produce bags are officially sanctioned by the Department of Weights and Measures who closely monitor the accuracy of the scales at the checkout counters and the ones provided by the store are tared to exacting specifications for the scales.
I had this argument years ago, wanting to use my own bags for produce, so the managment explained this to me. The alternative is to use their bags once, and then bring them back and keep using the same bags over and over again until they are worn out. Recycle, then grab a couple of fresh ones.
Also, nothing is stopping you from washing your fruit and veggies when you get home. You should anyway due to all the germs in shipping and handling and the molds from the fields.
I’ve been using the shower bucket intermittently for years. Usually just in cold weather when it takes a really long time for the water to get warm. Also I often keep a bucket in the shower with me and collect the soapey water to flush with or to water plants with. Its also good for pre-soaking clothes with stains. The shampoo helps get out oily food and beverage stains.
BTW, microwaves are very unhealthy.
jim elmer
May 4th, 2008 at 11:00 am
I saw the add about using microwave rather than oven. Why not use a slow cooker and let food cook all day on low then come home to completed dinner. works for chicken, ribs, beef, chili, soups. Have a good day.
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