ShowUhow Blog

Going Green

We are going green in my house.  I am always looking for ways to cut back on energy usage.  Sometimes this means using less energy and sometimes it means trying to use alternative energy.  I buy Energy Star appliances when I can and I am willing to spend a little more money on a purchase if it will save me some money over the long run in energy costs.  My dishwasher isn’t particularly energy efficient, but I make it work for us by only running it through the wash cycle, and then opening the door to let the dishes air dry—saving quite a bit of electricity that way.   While I don’t have any solar powered appliances yet,  I use the energy of the sun and hang clothes outside to dry on nice days and even make “sun tea”.   Okay, making sun tea isn’t saving me a ton of energy, but every bit counts, right?  We live in Southern California so I look forward to the day when I can use the sun to power more than just my clothes and my tea.  You can learn to make the most of the energy efficient appliances you have and use them properly to save the most energy.

Green Furniture: By the Numbers

• 78: Number of countries with Forest Stewardship Council certified forests.
• 247: Number of million acres of FSC certified forests worldwide
• 60: Number of million acres of those located in North America.
• 3 to 4: The length, in feet, some species of bamboo can grow in a day, in good soil and climate conditions.
• 100 times higher: The concentration of volatile organic compounds and particulates in indoor spaces vs. outdoors.
• 90 percent: The amount of time an average person spends indoors.
• $11.9: Billions of dollars spent on office furniture made in the U.S. in 2005.

 

Source: http://planetgreen.discovery.com

The Good Kind of Audit

While we all have good intentions and most of us want to lessen our carbon footprint, money matters and every time a new energy efficient refrigerator comes out we can’t all rush to the store to buy a new one.  With electric bills rising, when and how do you go green?  In order to maximize your household’s energy efficiency you first need to review your current electricity usage. We recommend getting a home energy audit, which will help identify where you are wasting the most the energy.  A home energy audit can help you save a lot my making suggestions on power conservation and help any questions you may have about greener appliances that are tailored to your budget.  While these audits might sound expensive, most utilities providers will perform a free audit to help reveal any hidden factors spiking your energy bill. Also you can do it yourself on online.  While there are many free internet resources, we like Home Energy Saver.   This site gives you money saving tips and helps calculate when buying a new energy efficient appliance will save you money.

What exactly is ENERGY STAR?

According to the ENERGY STAR website, www.energystar.gov “ENERGY STAR is a joint program of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the US Department of Energy with the intention of helping us save money, while helping the environment through energy efficient products and practices”.  Started in 1992, ENERGY STAR approved products aimed to help consumers identify energy efficient products. Now there are over 50 ENERGY STAR product categories including major appliances, home electronics, lighting, and more. You can even shop for a new home and commercial property with an ENERGY STAR rating.  And this switch towards energy conservation is really beginning to add up. In 2008 alone, American with the help of ENERGY STAR appliances  avoid 29 million cars worth of  greenhouse gas emissions which saved Americans almost $19billion on their utilities bills. Proving that being green is not only good for our planet, but also our wallets!

The Coolest Digital Frame!

We urge you to check out www.CEIVA.com. CEIVA provides more than just the digital frame; it is a service that allows subscription holders to instantly share their memories remotely through the CEIVA digital frame. Once you update your photos, it automatically updates your CEIVA frame(s), allowing you to instantly share your memories every day, from anyone, from anywhere.  This hundred dollar digital frame has been featured on Good Morning America, as an “out of the box gift idea,” and has other raving reviews; including my mother.

I bought one of these frames for everyone in my family last holiday season. This way I could instantly share photos of my new baby with whole family.  Seeing as I have become quite the phot-hog, this is an incredible digital frame and service for me. As soon as upload my photos CIEVA.com they are instantly displayed on the CIEVA frame in my mother’s living room or in my brother’s study.  This is rather incredible, since I live in San Diego, my mother is in New York and my brother is in Vegas. This way we can instantly share memories, without my family constantly updating their picture frames.  We love this service and think it is rather cool, hopefully you do too.