We had been all set to get the numbers on the electric meter we have them from one morning but then the next morning my partner in crime (Zach the little fellow who took the picture of the big guy in the orange hat) woke up with a horrible cough. So our efforts for the whole math /science/conservation project is put off for a few days till my little dude is feeling better. Sure I could go outside and brave the below zero temps to check the numbers, but Zach wants to use the digital camera to take pictures of it.
So the whole documenting how much we are saving thing is put off a bit.
That does not mean we are not trying to decrease the amount of energy we burn.
While he is stuck inside and wants off the couch to move around we will take a tour of the house to find the things we can turn off or unplug.
and there are many...I will let you know his thoughts on this once we finish.
Day 3 of cloth diapering is going better than expected. It is not a heinous as I remember it. I better check out my fabric stash and make some more . He will soon outgrow the current set of diapers.
So long as I keep up washing them right after they are soiled and get them hung to dry it is not so bad.
Winter is a great time for dreaming and plans. As you can guess I am a great one for dreaming and plans. Some are ...well more difficult to acheive than others. For example I KNOW that we will not have a more efficient vehicle at any time in the near future. I KNOW we will not have an alternative energy source at any time in the near future. Because I know this we can concentrate on small projects made from things we can gather or get inexpensively to cut our costs and save energy.
Things like
The Solar hot water heater ...This plan is one that really intrigues all of us. The more I read about IPSWAHs (passive solar hot water heaters) the more fascinated I am and the more I slap myself on the head and scream DOH! because it is so simple and makes sense.
It will save us so much on heating our water, which as you can imagine with a large family hot water is at a premium.
Intake Pipe "house" This is the pipe that brings the water from our well inside the house. Whoever built the house actually has a large section of this pipe coming up above the ground and leading into the house. We have heat tapes on it to keep it from freezing, but even heat tapes cannot contend with the severe cold that we get. SO in order to keep the water coming into the house from freezing we have to keep it running . I sadly watch the waste going down the drain ...
Luckily we have some foam insulation pannels that Dear Dave picked up for free when his company was remodeling and putting in new insulation. we can use these for many things and have they are a wonderful find. Still quite functional. The boys and I can and will build a little house to cover the pipe to hopefully protect it from the cold more and keep it from freezing.
REUSE
As you have guessed I am one of those reuse kind of people. I usually find things other do not want and try to turn it into something useful and usable again. used clothes even ones that are tattered can either be repaired or the peices used for something else. I belive in patching and sewing and fixing rather than tossing. If you can't sew, learn it is one of my most useful skills. Creativity is a family trait one that I am happy to pass on to my kids.
My boys are ... very creative thier current passion is puppets. They make them or have me make them and they play with them. This is not to say that they dont watch thier fair share (and then some) of TV but they also have always loved pretend play.
One of the great things about my boys is they are never bored.
This Spring we have many many plans ..The garden... getting worms for vermicomposting ...getting chickens... building some compost piles and trying out some others... who knows Dave might even talk me into having ducks! ( doubt it I do not like duck)
So stay tuned even if we dont do these things it is fun to think about them...
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