What am I doing?

I know it's a little late for a New Years resolution, but this isn't really a New Years resolution because no one ever keeps those any ways. This is more of a conscious effort to lessen my families impact on the environment. Here are some ways I am already trying to save energy and money...

1. Attract birds to our yard to work as natural pest control.


2. Use cloth diapers


3. Dry laundry on the clothes line (weather permitting)


4. Bought a more fuel efficient car (my Focus gets twice as many miles to the gallon than my Jeep did)


5. Buy energy saving light bulbs


6. Use a motion sensor on outdoor lights


7. Unplug cell phone chargers when not in use


8. Use power strips to shut off your computer when not in use


9. During the heating season, leave shades and blinds open on sunny days, but close them at night to reduce the amount of heat lost through windows. Close shades and blinds during the summer or when the air conditioner is in use or will be in use later in the day.


10. Wash only full loads in your dishwasher, using short cycles.


11. Clean the lint filter in the dryer after each use.


12. Turn off lights when I leave a room.


13. Try to consolidate my trips to the store.


14. Reduce, reuse, recycle


15. Drive the speed limit (this one is the hardest of all!)


16. Wash all the laundry in cold water (except the cloth diapers)
    

And here are the things I'm hoping to implement this year...

1. Buy a new energy star water heater


2. Plant a garden


3. Recycle rainwater from the new shed to water the gardens


4. Replace the upstairs toilet with a low flow


5. Buy an energy star dishwasher when we remodel the kitchen


6. Replace our old heat pump with a more energy efficient model


7. Composting for fertilizer for the garden
   

There are so many other things I would like to be able to do, but some just aren't feasible. I'd love to get a push reel mower but with 2 acres to mow that's not going to happen. It already takes over an hour to mow it all on the riding tractor. We do try to mow the back acre less frequently. We'd also like to buy a hybrid truck for Chad when we get my car paid off. Because of his business he needs a truck, but with two girls, we need one that we all can ride in. Hopefully in a few years they will improve hybrids and we can purchase on that will really save us money. I'd also like to get a solar water heater but I don't think we get enough sun to power it! We've only had maybe 10 sunny days since Christmas!

I'm sure there is more that I'm not thinking of right now... I guess I'll just have to bore you with another post later!