New - Our changes

[Guest guest]

Hi everyone,

 

Im new to the group and thought I would give a breif rundown on what

we have been doing. Im a single mom with two children, ages 10 and

11.

 

I homeschool my two kids. The public schools in our town are not that

great and the ones that are well... have waiting lists a mile long.

So my daughter particpates in an online public school (K12

materials). My son is traditionally homeschooled due to a disability.

 

We currently live in a home that is too big for our needs. Its a

total of 2600 sq ft (1300 main floor and 1300 unfinished basement).

I would like to move into something smaller but the market won't

allow it. So we are making changes to our energy consumption to try

and scale down.

 

I have been tracking our energy use of the past 3 years (both

electricity and natural gas). I have it all on a spreadsheet. So

our Natural Gas useage last year was 646, or an average of 54 per

month. So far this year we are on track to reduce that.

 

Our electric useage was 9223 KwH last year or 769 Kwh per month and

so far we are on track to decrease our total by 2000 KwH this year.

Not what we would like, but we are trying our best.

 

This winter we are going to be growing an indoor container garden to

supplement our diet. We are adding lettuce (various varieities),

tomatoes, cucumbers, bell peppers, jalapeno peppers and various

herbs. Its my first time doing this so.. we shall see. We do have

an outdoor garden during the summer.

 

Changes we have made: Turn off lights when not in use, turn off

TVs, Turn off Computers, put 90% of our household appliances on power

strips and turn them off, use ceiling fans and turn up or down the

thermostat dependent on time of year, use solar heat during the

winter, close off vents in rooms during winter, made insulated

curtains, use plastic on the windows, dry our clothes outside, take

less showers, have only 10% of our yard being grass (the front yard

is 50% grass as required by HOA), use free cycle, by second hand,

drive less, walk, ride our bikes more, share with neighbors, more

insallation in attic area, sealed holes, recaulked, etc. Im sure

there is more, but im not thinking of it.

 

Now we are trying to make things at home instead of buying them. So

far we are on our way to becoming more self sustainable. The hardest

part for us is buying local. We only have a farmers market during

the summer months and find during the winter we have to revert back

to non-local businesses for food products.

[Guest guest]

Welcome! And congratulations on implementing so many changes in your life. We're all in various stages of simplifying. As you've found, we mostly all have to find ways to change within our current lives/situations. It's not possible for most of us to just pick up and "move" to the life we want, so we have to figure it out slowly.

 

My younger son just moved off to college, so I'm looking forward to really cutting back on our energy consumption. He really was a big source of electric use, lol.

 

I'm curious how you are going to grow veggies indoors? Do you have supplemental lights for them, or some really good windows? Peppers and tomatoes really need a lot of light, so I'm looking forward to hearing how you will be able to grow them.

I always recommend that people go to westonaprice.org and look for a local chapter. You'll be able to connect with people in your area who know of local food co-ops, sources for local meat, dairy and produce, etc. Also, localharvest.org. You'll be surprised at what you can find in your area, once you talk to the right people. Cyndi

 

In a message dated 9/10/2008 9:29:51 A.M. Pacific Daylight Time, aspergerscolorado writes:

 

 

 

 

Hi everyone, Im new to the group and thought I would give a breif rundown on what we have been doing. Im a single mom with two children, ages 10 and 11. I homeschool my two kids. The public schools in our town are not that great and the ones that are well... have waiting lists a mile long. So my daughter particpates in an online public school (K12 materials). My son is traditionally homeschooled due to a disability.We currently live in a home that is too big for our needs. Its a total of 2600 sq ft (1300 main floor and 1300 unfinished basement). I would like to move into something smaller but the market won't allow it. So we are making changes to our energy consumption to try and scale down.I have been tracking our energy use of the past 3 years (both electricity and natural gas). I have it all on a spreadsheet. So our Natural Gas useage last year was 646, or an average of 54 per month. So far this year we are on track to reduce that. Our electric useage was 9223 KwH last year or 769 Kwh per month and so far we are on track to decrease our total by 2000 KwH this year. Not what we would like, but we are trying our best.This winter we are going to be growing an indoor container garden to supplement our diet. We are adding lettuce (various varieities), tomatoes, cucumbers, bell peppers, jalapeno peppers and various herbs. Its my first time doing this so.. we shall see. We do have an outdoor garden during the summer. Changes we have made: Turn off lights when not in use, turn off TVs, Turn off Computers, put 90% of our household appliances on power strips and turn them off, use ceiling fans and turn up or down the thermostat dependent on time of year, use solar heat during the winter, close off vents in rooms during winter, made insulated curtains, use plastic on the windows, dry our clothes outside, take less showers, have only 10% of our yard being grass (the front yard is 50% grass as required by HOA), use free cycle, by second hand, drive less, walk, ride our bikes more, share with neighbors, more insallation in attic area, sealed holes, recaulked, etc. Im sure there is more, but im not thinking of it. Now we are trying to make things at home instead of buying them. So far we are on our way to becoming more self sustainable. The hardest part for us is buying local. We only have a farmers market during the summer months and find during the winter we have to revert back to non-local businesses for food products.

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[Guest guest]

Cyndi,

 

Thanks for the kind welcome to the group and the resources. This is

our first year bringing our garden " indoors " . The resources and

materials for indoor gardening are all geared towards hydroponics.

I " think " we should have enough natural light to grow everything,

even during the winter months. One REALLY old book I found indicated

that we should only need 6 hours of direct light. We have plenty of

room indoors on the mainfloor that has direct southern light. If

need be, I will supplement with grow lights. Only time will

tell..crossing my fingers.

 

, cyndikrall wrote:

>

> I'm curious how you are going to grow veggies indoors? Do you have

> supplemental lights for them, or some really good windows? Peppers

and tomatoes really

> need a lot of light, so I'm looking forward to hearing how you will

be able

> to grow them.

[Guest guest]

Sounds like you have a good plan. Good luck! Keep us posted on your progress. Fresh tomatoes in the middle of winter sounds heavenly. :-)Cyndi

 

In a message dated 9/13/2008 9:58:34 A.M. Pacific Daylight Time, aspergerscolorado writes:

 

 

Cyndi, Thanks for the kind welcome to the group and the resources. This is our first year bringing our garden "indoors". The resources and materials for indoor gardening are all geared towards hydroponics. I "think" we should have enough natural light to grow everything, even during the winter months. One REALLY old book I found indicated that we should only need 6 hours of direct light. We have plenty of room indoors on the mainfloor that has direct southern light. If need be, I will supplement with grow lights. Only time will tell..crossing my fingers. , cyndikrall wrote:>> I'm curious how you are going to grow veggies indoors? Do you have > supplemental lights for them, or some really good windows? Peppers and tomatoes really > need a lot of light, so I'm looking forward to hearing how you will be able > to grow them.

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