Mother's going GREEN Day 8 - Home Eco - Checklist

Today me and the children did what we are calling a "Home Eco Checklist". Basically we went through the house and looked at areas where we could improve our energy and waste consumption.

• Appliances not used on a regular basis need to be unplugged. We found several - Cell Phone Charger; Night Lights - although these are handy are they really worth the extra energy - we decided no - so unplugged them; Coffee Maker & Toaster. We found a couple more but we need to think of how to make the plugs more accessible in order to plug and unplug them with relative ease (that is without having to move furniture). We have placed these on our "To Do" list.


• Energy efficient light bulbs. We checked all of our light bulbs to ensure that they are the florescent energy safe ones. We noticed that there are some lights with still the older light bulbs - so they have to be changed.


• Fish Tank. We decided that rather leaving the fish tank light on all day that we would only put it on for a few hours in the evening. We also unplugged the "bubbles" as we found the filter provides enough oxygen into the water. We also decided the next time we clean the fish tank rather than through out the water we would use it to water some of our garden plants. Getting double the use out of the water.


• Doors and Windows. We ensured that all our doors and windows close properly and that there is no gaps allowing either cool or warm air to escape (pending the season). We found one that could use a little fixing.


• Appliances. We checked to see if our fridge and stove doors where correctly sealed when closed - since they are new we had no problems here. We do not want to be wasting energy when we use the oven having the hot air escape and same with the fridge - we do not want it to work harder to stay cool when warm air is getting in.


• Finally we checked the "Junk Closet". Things that we throw in there probably because they are broken and we haven't gotten around to getting rid of them or we no longer have a need for them. We found an extension cord that the dog had chewed and I decided that with some electrical tape it would be as good as new. Some items we set aside to donate to charity and some will go to a consignment store - nothing will go into landfill - at least from our home. It is important to fix or donate items rather than just throw them away.

I think the small actions of today could save some energy and every little bit helps. We have decided that every 6 months we will do our "Home Eco Checklist" to ensure everything is as it should be.

It would be great if everyone took a little time and walked through their home and just did some little checks to ensure their energy efficiency.