Re-Learning Common Sense

The main thing we know about common sense is that it is no longer common. I don't know if we have over-protected or bred it out of ourselves of if something in the water blocks it, but it sure is scarce these days. We shouldn't need to be told to not hold hot coffee between our legs while driving, or not to text while driving, or that plastic bags are bad... yet, here we are.

And we really shouldn't need to be told to toss on a sweater instead of the heater. Isn't that something our grandparents just knew? I saw a picture posted on Facebook by one of my greener (I thought) friends of his absolutely otherwise adorable wife... in front of the heater, freezing, warming herself in front of it, while all she had on was a t-shirt and SHORTS. Oh, and warm slippers. Umm...

Frequently, I am silently horrified by such images. I refrain from commenting, because, after all, I try to get along. I try to not piss off people with whom I am normally friendly. I often pass up a chance to point certain things out, because... well... it can be off-putting. All I really wanted to say, though, was, "For frick's sake, try putting on some warmer clothes before you crank the heater and waste energy!!! Don't you KNOW that already???" Sigh. When I am chilly, I put on warmer stuff. If I am still chilly, and just on the couch or such, I add a blanket. If it is still really cold, THEN the heat. Common. Sense.

It's not about "Oh, so what, it's their heating bill." No. It's all our energy, and the distribution thereof, and the need for more and more and fracking and drilling and ALL that. There are two empty units in the building across the street from us, right up front, and they have lights on in them 24/7. It makes me crazy. It's their bill, but it is OUR energy. The whole planet's. They are getting that energy from UTAH from a coal-burning plant. Should some family in Utah suffer the health effects of coal-burning because YOU can't toss on something a little warmer or be bothered to turn off useless lights?

Didn't think so.

And to anyone who feels the snarky need to say yes to that, please pull over, put down your keys, and step off the planet. We're better without you. Thanks. You are excused.

It's getting cooler. Be greener! Easy Tip #2!

Ahhh, Fall. Falling leaves, falling temperatures. Rising heat and rising heating bills. There are ways to be a little greener, and to save energy, and to save money all at the same time.

The first easiest way to keep the heat turned down but not freeze is super-obvious and easy: layer some clothing! Make sure you have nice warm socks or slippers on your feet, and pull on a comfy sweater or hoodie. Yes, it is that easy! Before you touch the thermostat, take stock of what you have on and decide if maybe you can't skip the energy bill and bundle up a little. Now, I'm not suggesting you look like the Michelin Man and lose the ability to move your arms or fall over and can't get up like "A Christmas Story", but be reasonable. if you're cold and you have on a t-shirt... well... c'mon.

Another easy way to warm the home and hearth a little: bake! This is a really good way to warm things up without cranking the heat. It helps for a few hours, anyway. And who doesn't love cookies or pies or nice hot yummy casseroles? Banana bread? Pumpkin bread? You'll be the hit of the office or the neighborhood if you gift these things you lovingly baked. You can prepare meals or soups for the coming week, thus being greener with your cooking and better with your time and money... no take-out all week. No use of plastic forks and Styrofoam and take-out plastics. (See how many ways you save by the littlest of actions? It really is a domino effect.) And get the kids involved with the cookies. It's great family time that they will treasure all their lives, and it gets them off the computer or gaming systems for a time, thus saving MORE energy on the electric bill.

It's the little things. A lot of good stuff snowballs when you do green things. So get out there and do it!

Clothesline = Poor. Seriously???

Back East, when the Good Green Witch was small enough to duck under the clothesline, Spring and Summer meant we could hang clothes out to dry. We had the room in the back yard, and hanging the bedsheets out there just made sense. Why use the dryer when it was already too warm in the house? It was our yard, no one could really see behind our house, and pretty much everyone did it. Did we equate it with being green? Nope. It just made sense. Did we equate it with being "poor"?? Nah. It was the sensible way to do things. That's all.

Nowadays, people dwell in condos and apartment buildings and pay dues to the neighborhood associations. Such a thing as hanging clothes outside is simply not acceptable. It is unsightly! It would bring down property values! It's downright unseemly! Proper folks just don't do that! Do we want people to think we are poor??? Don't only the "poor" hang out their clothes to dry??

Whoa. Wait a minute. There's something behind this mentality. It is true: it has become a sign of "lower income" to think that one must use a clothesline. Where does this come from?

We have fallen pray to advertising for many years. Think about it: companies don't care how clean your home is or how sanitary your toilet is or even if you have e. coli running around your kitchen counters. They want to SELL you their products. They sell ideas, they sell fear, they sell status. That is how they sell products. Way back whenever, people who were hired to sell dryers had to compete with all the Great Outdoors... However can a drying machine compete with FREE? Challenge the status, of course! If you were well-to-do, you bought a newfangled washer and dryer, which meant you didn't have to work as hard at your laundry and had the leisure time and luxury afforded to such wealth. Only those poor families down the street had to work so hard, because they couldn't AFFORD a dryer. See? Clothesline = poverty.

But today, we can see around and beyond that mentality. We can think for ourselves, and not be ruled by advertising. We realize that hanging clothes outside is better for our electricity bill, gas bill, etc. It's not a sign of poverty, but rather a sign of sustainability, of Green-ness, of concern. Dare we say, frugality? These communities that forbid clotheslines... we need to change that way of thinking and realize why we are bound to these incorrect beliefs. We need to remember that our grandparents really knew what they were doing. We need to realize that convenience is not our best friend.

We need to open our eyes and ears, and start questioning what we see on TV. We can start to ask. "Hmm. Do I REALLY need that?" Sometimes it's OK that the answer is no. We don't need that! And no, just because we like the fresh smell of Sun and wind-dried clothes and to save a little energy, doesn't mean we are poor. It means we're trying, and we are Green.