Reuse

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Reuse - To get at least one more use out of an item. Choosing a durable rather than a disposable product.

Kill Your (old) Refrigerator

Energy Star Rebate Check

A few weeks ago I wrote about an appliance rebate program in New Mexico. The NM Energy Conservation and Management Division offered $200 rebates for upgrading either a refrigerator, clothes washer or furnace (lots of $ still available for furnace upgrades). Well, we jumped on it and bought a new Energy Star refrigerator and replaced an early '90's vintage fridge. Thanks to my handy-dandy Kill-A-Watt EZ* I discovered how much money we are actually saving with the new fridge.

Carnival of the Green # 210!

Carnival of the Green - logo

Put on your party clothes and grab some beads folks, it's carnival time! Specifically, Carnival of the Green. This is a traveling blog show filled with links about green living, sustainability and whatever else is floating about the 'green blogosphere'. Scroll down, you may find some tips you like, environmental issues, or a discussion you want to join in. Oh, thanks for visiting EcoDaddyo.com where we blather on about practical ideas for sustainable living in the American Southwest!

Saving the Season

Tarragon Cucumber Pickles

Ladies and gentlemen, I have canned. It was a hot, sticky, dirty dish producing business. However, I have two lovely sealed jars of apricot butter waiting for my use some time this fall or winter. It better be this fall or winter, because I did not go through the processing step and hope that I kept everything clean enough to avoid botulism for awhile.

Spring on hold

Tulip in snow

I can't stand it. I'm looking out my window and the snow is piling up. Okay, what's going on here. We turned in our taxes, we have skiied our last slope, my first proud tulip bulb was seconds away from blooming when a weird storm decided to pass over. I ask you, where was this snow the past few months.

The week without shopping

Full Fridge

This week I spent $134.02 on groceries. I nearly fainted when I tallied up the receipts I saved from food purchases. Suddenly the "the week without shopping" I read about in The New York Times Dining and Wine section seemed like the world's most brilliant idea. I e-headed over to the man who inspired this: Fat Guy at eGullet. He saved himself about $100 and several hours in shopping and transportation time by doing what I'm always saying we should do around the house: eat down the freezer, refrigerator and pantry.

2008 Santa Fe Ski Swap

2008 Santa Fe Ski Swap

What: Santa Fe Ski & Sport Swap
Where: Genoveva Chavez Community Center, Santa Fe, NM
When: November 14, 15 and 16, 2008

The snow has started to fly and winter is knocking on our door. That means it's time to gear up for winter. If you haven't started shopping for your skis, boots, boards and snow gear don't worry. The annual Santa Fe Ski Team Winter Sports Swap is here! Head over to the Genoveva Chavez Community Center from Friday, Nov. 14 through Sunday the 16th for great deals on new and used snow sports gear.

Schedule:
Friday, Nov. 14th

Happiness is a Full Rain Barrel

Rain Barrel overflowing with rain water

I love living in the Desert Southwest. We have hundred-mile views, low-humidity and 300 days of sunshine per year. But, the other side of all that sunshine is an average of 14 inches of rain per year. Unfortunately, the rains come mostly during the late summer monsoons, not evenly throughout the year. What little rain we do get is precious and worth saving. The easiest way to harvest our irregular, seasonal rains is with rain barrels.

Going One Step Further

Recycling Compost and Trash Bin

Most of us have seen recycling bins next to trash cans in public places. Recycling isn't quite universal yet, but it has become common enough that many of us expect it. I will often carry plastic or aluminum home if I can't find a recycling bin nearby. But, this is the first time I've seen a compost bin in a public place.

Refurbished vs. New House Energy Efficiency

Rehabbed Historic House

While the real estate market is currently in a flat spin, housing is still a basic need. Choosing a home may be the biggest way you can affect your personal CO2 footprint. If a yurt doesn't meet your housing needs there are other low CO2 options. If you are choosing between a new and a used home, which is the better option? The answer, of course, is that "it depends".

Charge it up, don't throw it out!

RBRC Battery Recycling Logo

Cordless and cell phones, laptops, digital cameras and camcorders, remote control cars and cordless power tools. Each of these devices rely on rechargeable batteries, which given enough time and use fail to hold a charge. What do you do with the formerly-rechargeable Nickel Cadmium, Nickel Metal Hydride, Lithium Ion, and Sealed Lead batteries? Recycle them, of course!

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