Reply #17: Well, we got pretty lucky... the builders did a lot of it. [View All]

[TygrBright]

Our house is in a development that the City of Santa Fe owned the land for. They only release small parcels to developers who will build according to very high-level green standards. For example:

Everything in the house that CAN be Energy Star rated, IS... including windows, doors, etc.

The radiant downstairs heat and baseboard register upstairs heat run on seven separate zones, so during the few months we actually use the heat, we rarely have more than one or two zones upstairs active (we close the unused rooms off) and only one downstairs, which is really enough for the whole open-plan downstairs.

The house is built for passive-solar efficiency, sited on the lot and fenestrated to maximize winter sun exposure and with very cleverly angled window overhangs, etc., to minimize summer exposure. It's on an extra-thick slab and the downstairs floors are all large-size ceramic tile so those puppies soak up a LOT of heat on winter days-- we're chilly when we wake up but HOT by 2:00 PM.

Every plumbing fixture is low-flow, maximum efficiency and the hot water runs on an on-demand recirculating system that minimizes energy use. It takes a little while for the taps furthest from the pump to get hot, but the showers are close and heat up quite quickly.

In addition to that we've installed ceiling fans and solar shades so that we don't need to run the swamp cooler much even when it's pretty hot in the summer. And it's never set lower than 80 degrees.

I compost practically everything except meat scraps, since I'm trying to turn the adobe yard into something resembling soil.

I'm gradually changin' over the most-used light fixtures to CFLs.

I recycle everything the City will allow and take any usable discards that I can't re-use to one of the city's several thrift/recycle shops.

I use string bags and cardboard tray-type boxes for shopping.

I bundle all of my errands to Tuesday (Farmer's Market Day,) so I don't have to get the car out but once, and make my "rounds" as efficient as possible. Oh, yeah, and I drive a well-maintained '93 Plymouth that I won't let the esposo replace even if it does look tacky.

I'm working on getting the veg gardens installed, but at the moment am growing many of my own herbs in containers.

This year, better than 60% of our holiday gifts are going to be homemade, some recycling old fabric or jewelry or boxes, etc. so that I don't have to buy too many new materials. Most of the rest of the gift (the ones I can't make) will be stuff like gifts via Heifer International and similar charities, with a few gifts of things like fresh fruit deliveries or other stuff that can be eaten, hopefully without too much packaging.

I'm cutting down on and in many cases have eliminated entirely cleaning products that use creepy scary chemicals. Mostly I use vinegar, soda, ammonia, witch hazel, etc. BKF or Bon Ami for cleanser. Sometimes a little bleach solution in the kitchen.

I am trying to cut down on paper products use, saving rags and using them for a lot of cleaning tasks.

I don't buy a lot of new stuff-- I've bought some cookware this year, and some Land's End knit shirts for the esposo, a couple of other things, but mostly shoes, socks and underwear. I mend and patch stuff like bedding, trousers, etc. instead of throwing out and buying new. I fix or reconfigure or recycle busted stuff instead of throwing out, whenever possible. I wear aprons, coveralls, and old clothes when doing messy stuff, to keep my 'good stuff' in decent shape so it doesn't need to be replaced.

In the office, I keep discarded paper that's been printed on only one side in a stack and when I've got a bunch I cut it in fours and use those for "scrap" notepaper by the phones, etc. instead of buying pads. I keep the shreddings from the paper shredder for packing material-- you can wrap a few handfuls of it in clean newsprint for 'pillows' and stuff it in when mailing boxes, packages, etc.

I keep all the poly bags that food comes in-- bagels, veggies, etc., and use them for holding the scoopings when cleaning out the catbox. I use the larger ones for wastebasket liners in the "messy" wastebaskets.

There's probably other stuff, but that's what comes to mind at the moment. My stepfather always taught me a couple of things: 1. It's cheaper to do it right than to do it over; and 2. Use it UP, wear it OUT, make it DO.

thriftily,
Bright