No Spill Reusable Coffee Mugs

We drink coffee every day, but we don't regularly buy it at coffee shops.  To be honest, we avoid the coffee shops more because we can't stand to spend $3 on a cup of coffee than because the environmental impact of all those single use coffee cups.  I especially hate those styrofoam cups that our Massachusetts based big coffee chain uses.  Back to the point, whether it is save some green or be green, you should get a good reusable coffee mug and take it with you.

We recently found the best reusable coffee mug for the job:

Contigo Double Wall Vacuum Insulated Travel Mug

Here is why we like it:

• Spill Proof - Even with their lids on, all of our previous travel mugs spill a little when tipped over, even if we had already drank all the coffee or tea.  The Contigo Autoseal Mugs don't spill.  We've take them in our canvass bags for outings, had the toddler knock it over and even flipped them upside down to show friends.  Not a drop spilled in the month we've had them.  Our toddler even brings the coffee I make to Alicia in the morning and no spills.
• Insulated - The double walled vacuum insulation really works.  One of the reasons we tried them in the first place was Alicia was complaining that her coffee got cold by the time she got around to drinking it all.  Now it stays hot all morning long, well at least as long as the coffee lasts.
• Stainless Steel - The mugs are made from stainless steel, which means they do NOT contain BPA and they are recyclable if it does get smashed somehow.  Also, the stainless steel is rugged and will not pick up the flavor like our previous coffee mugs did.  Tea with the hint of coffee is gross.
• Dishwasher Safe Top - The top can go in the dishwasher, which is the part that really needs it since that is what you drink from and gets the coffee in it.  The main body is easily washed in the sink. The brushed stainless body is dishwasher safe.  Worst case is that the exterior paint, which never comes in contact with your beverage might flake off.

We've found the mugs to be very well constructed, easy to use and rugged.  The one downside is that because it is stainless steel, you can not reheat the contents in the microwave.  Fortunately, the insulation keeps the contents nice and hot for several hours, so reheating isn't as necessary.  Ok, the other downside is that on cold winter mornings, the mug will NOT warm your hands.  I guess the insulation really works.

We initially purchased a pair of the mugs at BJs for $20 to try out.  We have since bought a second pair and put away all of the other travel mugs.  If you are a regular coffee or tea drinker on the go, these are a must try item.  Even if you must have that coffee from the shop, ask them to put it in your mug instead of the throw away cups, they might even give you a small discount.

Happy Greening!
Jon

Tip: Simple Water Saving Ideas

Here's a very simple tip for saving water that I never did until it was pointed out to me: when filling the tub for a bath, close the drain before turning on the water.  I find that most people adjust the water running out of the faucet to the temperature that they want it to be before closing the drain.  You can save water by closing it immediately and realizing that the small amount of freezing cold water that comes out of the faucet when you start it will be completely offset by the warm water your run afterward resulting in perfect temperature bath water with less wasted water.

Along those same lines, when filling a pot to boil on the stove, unless the recipe absolute demands it, don't wait for the water to get hot before putting it in the pot,  just fill with whatever comes out of the tap.  Put a lid on the pot while you are bringing the water to boil and you will never notice the time difference from starting with warm water or cold water.

Turn off faucet while
brushing your teeth

Turn the water off while brushing your teeth.  We've gotten into this habit so completely that I almost can't believe that I ever used to let it run.  Why would I have done such a thing?  Who knows?  I do know that one time I left the water running for a few seconds because I was going to fill my cup after putting down my toothbrush and my 6 year-old shut it off for me saying "Don't waste water Mommy!"

Bathe the children together - once my infant was able to sit up on his own, I actually used his big sister - then 5 - in stead of an infant chair or bathtub.  I plopped them in the tub together and she helped me out by being another set of eyes and hands keeping him safe in the tub!

Consider showering with your child.  Turns out that now that my son is 18 months he LOVES taking a shower!  I stick him at my feet, close the drain to give him some warm water to sit in, and let him play in the tub while I shower.  He gets bathed a lot more often (the allergist wants him to get baths more often), I get more frequent showers and it uses less water than giving him a bath alone.   I've found that he likes to sit and play in the tub while I towel off and brush my teeth.  Then I put on a bathrobe while I get him dried and dressed.  Turns out it's a lot easier than I ever imagined!

Do you have a favorite tip for saving water?  Share it with us here!

Happy Greening,
Alicia

Not All CFLs Are Created Equal

I'm assuming you know the basics - CFL light bulbs use significantly less electricity than traditional incandescent light bulbs.  They're somewhat more expensive, but they save you money on electricity and they are supposed to last longer.  You should recycle them when you are done with them and if they break you should clean it up carefully - if you're not sure what to do, the EPA has directions.

However, not all CFLs are created equally.  When I walked into my mother's house this weekend I realized that the light in some rooms was awful.  I asked her why she had bought the wrong light bulbs and she said,

"Because you told me to buy these horrible light bulbs! We HATE them! The color is miserable and they keep burning out."

I immediately realized that my mother didn't realize that CFLs come in a variety of color choices and that some of the less expensive brands really are cheap.

Mismatched, burnt out and too long CFLs
"Because you told me to buy these horrible light bulbs!"

Replaced with soft white mini CFL bulbs 60W equivalent.
Notice how they do not extend beyond the base of the shades.

So what do you need to know to replace your incandescent bulbs with CFLs?   We recommend that you start by purchasing and replacing one or two bulbs and see how they work in your light fixtures and in your home before purchasing a large quantity.  Before you go to the store, we recommend you take a look at what you currently have.

Read more »

When Living Green Isn't What's Best For Your Family

Wow, that sounds like an odd thing for our blog "When living green isn't what's best for your family."  I think it's important for people to realize that sometimes you have to make choices, and if certain things and certain situations aren't the right things for your family, that's OK.

For each person, lifestyle choices are personal and each person has to decide what they are able to do.  Sometimes doing what's best for the environment is better for us too, like watching less TV and eating healthier foods.  Sometimes we make sacrifices for the environment, like going the extra step to recycle rather than just throwing everything in the trash or taking shorter showers.

It's important to recognize what works for you and your family and what doesn't and make an effort to not be judgmental about others do and don't do.

Some examples:

We cloth diaper.

 

It is important to us and we are willing to go the extra steps of washing diapers rather than throwing them away.  If we had to take our laundry to a laundry mat, honestly, I probably wouldn't be using cloth diapers.   However, my toddler had a lot of trouble with diaper rashes and yeast this summer and fall.  After trying everything we could think of: stripping the diapers, bleach in the wash, changing detergents (twice), liners with creams, extra baths and naked time, nystatin, the only thing that would help the rashes go away was disposable diapers.   We finally had to give in and put him in disposable diapers for a full month to completely kick the rash.  Eventually the rash went away and with baited breath for fear the rash would come back, we went back to our cloth diapers.  Fortunately, the rash has stayed gone for the most part, with just short, infrequent outbreaks.

We still have to use a small number of disposables though.  We have found that the toddler overflows his diapers whether he is in cloth or disposables overnight.  We stuffed the cloth with hemp and regular inserts, as full as we could get them, and he still would wake up soaking.  We finally found that if we put a disposable diaper with a cloth on top of it,  it would keep his clothes dry at least 4 or 5 nights a week.   Since he had so much trouble with diaper rashes and cloth diapers, we figure it's probably better for him to have the variation of cloth and disposables at different times.  

The environmentalists in us are horrified that we still buy and use disposable diapers, but the reality is that we have to do what is best for our son (not to mention helps us sleep through the night). 

Can you find the 2nd compost bin?

Another example is composting.

  We are rabid composters.  We have two compost bins and we have made great how-to videos with our children.  However, we have a CRAZY amount of snow in our backyard.  To get to our compost bins right now you either have to climb over an 8 foot pile of snow and trudge through 5 feet of waste-deep snow, or you have to trudge through about 30 feet of waste-deep snow.  When we placed the bins, we were thinking about what worked in our yard.  We've lived here over 8 years and we've NEVER had any where close to this much snow for this long.  The result?  A moldy inside compost bin and I've decided to put my compostable items in the trash until it's a little easier to get to the outside bins.

While we are passionate about the environment and being green (just ask anyone that knows us), we also realize that sometimes you have to make choices.  If sometimes those choices result in actions that are less green, that is fine.  I believe that the most important thing is that you have thought over your options, you have considered the environment as well as your family and your capabilities, and then you have made an informed choice. 

An informed choice is the best choice, and we want to do our best to help you make informed choices.  Please tell us what topics you'd like to hear more about, and we'll do our best to research and write about them.

Happy Greening,
Alicia

Estimating the Effects of Tilt and Azimuth on Solar Installation

Warning, this is for the more advanced DIY solar fans.
I was recently discussing our solar project with a friend who is looking at homes in Atlanta and wants to factor in the feasibility of a solar PV installation.  In trying to find a tool to calculate the impact of roof pitch (aka tilt) and mounting angle away from due south (aka azimuth), I came across a tool I hadn't used in over a year, PVwatts.  If you are at the point of seriously considering an installation on your own home, I highly recommend that you get a solar site survey by a professional solar contractor like we did When you are looking at a new house, getting a quick ballpark estimate of how the roof pitch and orientation would impact a solar installation can help you factor in the potential solar resource for different homes.

Enter the zipcode to load in the location specific information

Once you've selected your location, click on Send to PVWatts

In order to fill out the details in the PVWatts, you will need to estimate the roof pitch (tilt) and the orientation (azimuth).  Use Google Maps Satellite View or Bing Birds Eye View to get an idea of the roof orientation.

Plug that into PVWatts and you can get an estimate for the production.   The results from PVWatts were very similar to the data provided by our solar contractor as a result of our solar site survey using a Solar Pathfinder.  Also don't forget to consider shading.  I love big tall trees, but they do mess up solar production if they are in the wrong places.

Happy Greening!
Jon

Quick Tip: Teaching Your Toddler To Recycle

When we first started the blog I said that I would talk about how to include your children going green.   I realized that I haven't been doing as much of that as I would like.

Our Toddler Recycling

One thing I like to do is teach my toddler to recycle.  Ever since he could walk, my toddler has liked to put things in the trash (it can be a problem, I have to keep a close eye on some of our trash cans or we'd lose a bunch of toys and other stuff!) It can also be helpful, I've been teaching him to follow directions, and about trash and recycling.
I use simple, declarative sentences:

• "Please put this in the trash." and I point him to the trash can.
• "This is paper, put this in the blue recycle bin." and i point him to the recycle bin.
• "This is plastic. We recycle this. Put this in the blue reycle bin." and I point him to the recycle bin.
• "This is yucky, it is garbage. Put this in the garbage can."

I always watch him closely and make sure the item ends up where I say.  In the beginning I had to hold his hand and take him over to the can and help him put it in.  Now we're up to the stage where he can take it himself and put it in the can or bin as instructed.

Eventually I expect he'll be able to decide what is garbage and what is recycling.   With my older children, who are six, I have been teaching them to look at plastic for the triangle with the chasing arrows and read the number inside.  It's easy here, because we recycle all the numbers 1-7, but I've been explaining to them that at Grandma's house they have to look and see what the number is.  At her house, we can only recycle plastic with the number "1" or "2" in the chasing arrows.

When broken down into simple steps, recycling isn't hard and even the youngest children can help!

Happy Greening!
Alicia

Tip: Open the Curtains in the Winter

One thing I get asked about a lot is windows.  There are a lot of misconceptions about windows and energy savings, mostly thanks to companies that are interested in selling their products.  Here's an easy thing to do and to see results from: if you have a window that the sun shines directly through in the winter,  open the curtains and let the sun shine in!   The sun will come through the window and heat the air in your house.  The benefit you receive from the sun shining in will FAR outweigh any loss from circulating air touching the window and losing heat.  Be sure to close the curtains once the sun has set to retain as much heat as possible.  Thermal curtains can help take the chill out of a cold window in the winter.

In fact, when I'm home alone, I like to sit with my computer in a sunny window to stay warm.  Then I find I don't need to turn the heat up as much.

Note that in the summer, if you have windows that the sun shines through you should *close* the curtains, so that the sun doesn't make the air even hotter!  Have you ever noticed how much hotter the air is inside your car than outside when it's been sitting in the sun for a while?  Some of that heat is hot coming through the metal, but most of it is the sun warming the air through the windows.  In fact, next time you go to use your car on a cold but sunny afternoon, notice that the air inside the car is actually warmer than the air outside the car.   This is a great example of the sun warming the air through the windows. 

Happy Greening!
Alicia

Going for Solar: Final Sign Offs (Step 10)

Caution stickers the electrical inspector required

The final step before flipping the switch is passing the electrical inspection and getting your electric utility to sign off that you can put energy back onto the grid.

The electrical inspection was very straight forward and took less than an hour.  I attribute that to the quality of the work SunBug Solar had done for us.  They went through the installation with the building inspector and after adding dozens of these "Live D.C. Wires from Solar Panel" stickers, he signed off and that was that.

Next, we had to fill out a form and have National Grid sign off that we could turn the system on and start feeding power back onto the grid.  That can take a couple weeks I hear, but National Grid processed the request in a few days and we got the green light to flip the switch.


Happy Greening!
Jon

Going for Solar Series

Check out the other steps in Green Lifestyle Consulting's Going for Solar Series including photos throughout the construction.