Two small changes

Taking a break from practicing democracy...at home we are focusing on reducing our energy use. One thing we are taking at look at is how we cook.

Here are two ways we are using less energy when we cook:

1. Using a pressure cooker. Not just to cook beans...but also rice and root veggies. Not sure why it took me so long to realize that it takes less time to boil potatoes in the pressure cooker. They are easy to use and save you time.

2. Bake in smaller size pans. This cuts down on baking time. We bake quick breads and cakes in smaller pans. Another save energy and time.

I love when being sustainable saves me time too :)

How much energy do you use?

Ever wonder how much energy your fridge uses? Or what about the difference between a light with a regular bulb and a florescent? It's easy to find out.

My friend John wrote a comment telling me about Kill a Watt. ( I love when people write comments by the way!!) It's an energy meter. You plug an appliance in and you can see how much energy it is using.

We did do this once..by checking out an energy meter from the Madison Public Library ( I love libraries!!) Now the library has newer ones called Watt's Up.

March Action: Reduce our Energy Use

Better late than never! Our goal for March is to find ways to reduce the amount of gas/electric we use.
We brainstormed ideas over dinner.

• Turn the lights out when we are not using them
• Get an energy audit of the house
• Continue to use our drying rack ( which Ben is pointing to)
• Continue to use flourescent bulbs
• Put a power strip on my computer so we can turn it completely off
• Graph our energy use for the past year on the MG and E website, so we can see what our use has been.