Conserve

What the hell was I thinking? It’s hot as balls in here. I must have been crazy, or my body temperature was at some low fluctuation because of my lazy-ass, good-for-nothing thyroid. I can’t move without sweating; some just trickled down my back as if to mock me for writing that. Screw 83, we’re going back to 80. That’s good enough. Florida summers suck! Maybe the swamps have been drained and condos built on them, but you can’t take the swamp out of . . .

Got the water bill today. Used 1100 fewer gallons than last month, and didn’t have to resort to peeing in the back yard!

I’ve now got us accustomed to having the air conditioner/thermostat up to 83 degrees. This is where it stays unless my mom comes over with her hot flashes and complains. It’s really not as uncomfortable as it sounds, with all the ceiling fans going, but this is as high as I can go and maintain it. I refuse to be sweaty; it makes me feel disgusting and irritated unless I am outside playing.

I have been showing my two year old how to turn off the water while she lathers her hands with the soap and then turn it back on to rinse. When I was a teenaged girl, I read an article where River Phoenix was talking about water conservation, and ever since then it has really bothered me to see water wasted down the drain. Too bad he couldn’t have cared so well for himself.

Stayed outside most of the day so we didn’t use the AC at all. Yay!

This has become some weird kind of challenge where I have to see just how hot and miserable I can get before I give in and turn on the air conditioner. It helps that I have a lot of windows in my house, but I had to wet my shirt and my hair. That’s actually very effective. I’m not even sweating right now.

I know people all over the world live in the heat with no AC, but I’m a spoiled American, so give me a break. I’m trying!

Some things we are already doing:

I work from home, so I don’t need fuel to commute.

We live in a small house by American standards (less than 1500 square feet, compared to the average now of over 2300), so my home requires less energy.

We recycle and use canvas shopping bags.

We don’t water our grass. Screw the lawn. I couldn’t care less about it.

We very rarely set the thermostat below 80 degrees.

My husband installed attic ventilation and an attic fan, as well as ceiling fans in all the rooms, which reduces our cooling needs.

We had the electric company do an energy audit on our house.

We replaced our air conditioner with a newer, more efficient model and had the ductwork repaired.

We have low-flow toilets.

What we could do better:

We use the washer and dryer a lot, so I would like to put up a clothes line and take advantage of the Florida sun.

I would like to try leaving the air conditioner off for as long as I can in the mornings and then setting it a degree or two higher than I normally do. I want to see if I can push it to 81 or 82 without sweltering. Sunday we left it off all day because we were outside so much. It is only April, but by August the heat will be so intense that we won’t want to leave the house or even move unless it’s absolutely necessary.

Remember to change the air conditioner filter every month.

Reduce flushing. No need to flush every time if it’s just the yellow stuff. But my kid is potty training and I want to teach her to flush without giving her mixed messages, so I’m not sure what to tell her. I want her to always flush in a public place, of course, and at two years old I am not sure she is ready to make the distinction.

Measurement: I will look at my kilowatts per hour on my electric bill and compare it to what I used during the same month last year to see if I can reduce it. On second thought, they don’t read it every month; sometimes they estimate until the next reading, so I may not actually be able to measure it accurately over the short term.

I don’t expect to see the water bill reduced, because what I save might be offset by filling up the kiddie pool for the wee one. It’s not big, but I still feel guilty filling it up only to empty it a couple of days later. We do water the container plants with the dirty water before we pull the plug, though. And living in such a hot place, I’m not going to deny us this little pleasure. Maybe I could use less bathwater for my toddler to make up for it, or let her take a quick shower with me sometimes instead of a bath.