Sensible Erection | Frugal Beginners Guide To Green

Wednesday, 11 June 2008

quote [ Spend less than $1,200 to save over $8,000 over the course of 5 years. ]

A good guide for some very basic "green" things you can do that will actually save you money long term.

I realize that many of the items in the main link are obvious to many here, but the larger site is a good source for green ideas.

For example, they have a much larger break out of green items such as appliances and skin care here:
http://greenhome.huddler.com/products/

[sci&tech] [by sythe@11:00amGMT] [+10 Good]

Comments

xgp007 said @ 11:10am GMT on 11th Jun
I'm sorry, but I hate all of this "Green Living" bullshit. While it's good to be environmentally conscious and for each person to do their part, "Green Living" has become nothing more than a fad for the pseudo-liberal intellectual elite.

You DO NOT help the environment by CONSUMING. I love how Whole Foods has built a successful business on that very premise.

Same thing with veganism and vegetarianism - I know so many people who call themselves "liberal" that look down on someone for not buying "vegan soy protein cheese" and "veggie burgers". Fuck YOU. Most of the world can NOT afford to live this way. This is such a huge deal to so many living in NYC right now, it's ridiculous.

And now, let me end my rant and actually read the article.

xgp007 said @ 11:12am GMT on 11th Jun [Score:5 Insightful]
Useful article. :)

TheCooler said @ 11:21am GMT on 11th Jun [Score:1 Insightful]
What the fuck?

lilmookieesquire said @ 11:25am GMT on 11th Jun
Ya, the article is about cutting consumption while maintaining lifestyle.
s'not a bad little article at all.

astropig7 said @ 11:34am GMT on 11th Jun
If there’s a good idea, it can be commercialized beyond all usefulness.

Aidentas said @ 12:05pm GMT on 11th Jun
Hmm...

xgp007 said @ 12:07pm GMT on 11th Jun
LOL...

Aidentas said @ 12:20pm GMT on 11th Jun
Well, I guess THAT won't work.

sythe said @ 11:53am GMT on 11th Jun
...yeah, I don't think I'd put myself in the group you describe by any means. It's not green just because it says "organic" or "natural".

Although I myself am an omnivore, not everything you mention there is total BS. Generally speaking, mass produced (meat in particular) food stuffs are more harmful environmentally than locally grown stuff, if only for the transportation costs alone. I'd agree that the "veggie burger" is a serious perversion of this idea, but somewhere deep down it has merit. People have just run with the wrong ideas.

btw, "most of the world" doesn't eat large quantities of meat because it's some of the most expensive basic product around.

Todomanna said @ 12:36pm GMT on 11th Jun
I don't eat meat because I feel life is very important and shouldn't be frittered away because you're got a hankerin' for a cheeseburger.

But I guess that's just me...

FifthSpango said @ 11:35pm GMT on 11th Jun
"But I guess that's just me... "

And this Dude!

Baxter_UK said @ 3:04am GMT on 12th Jun
Veganism ftw! Seriously though, I am vegetarian (no meat/fish, I eat eggs/dairy) and I'm healthy and probably weigh more than twice as much as this dude! You just have to think about what you're eating, what your body needs. (And exercise).

mihomsi said @ 10:46pm GMT on 11th Jun
And I don't want to limit or even rape my tastebuds by eating some "veggie burgers" (WTF) and rather enjoy different food.

scojam said @ 11:38pm GMT on 11th Jun
Green is the color of mold and death.

Todomanna said @ 10:22am GMT on 12th Jun
Green is also the color of most fauna, and thus life.

happiest_sadist said @ 11:58am GMT on 12th Jun
Well, here is a thing: you are *going* to consume products, assuming you live in a society sufficiently "civilized" that you have access to the Internet.
These "movements" aren't about eliminating consumption, but replacing existing consumption with "greener" (and in the best cases, as related in the (slanted) article, cheaper) alternatives.
Btw, most of the world cannot afford to eat meat, unless they can catch it. I can, and I do. I really like meat. However I'm aware that it's a privilege I own by being born in a relatively rich society. Do I feel guilty about it? Fuck no. I do try, though, to use my other prerogatives and privileges to make the world a better place than otherwise.
As you can see by looking round, my efforts thus far have failed ;)
But I'm working on it.

-_- said @ 12:15pm GMT on 11th Jun [Score:3 Insightful]
Wow ... mechanically cooling the home in the summer, car washes, setting a winter thermostat above 50 ... I am absolutely gobsmacked at this peak into the lives of luxury some must lead.

-_- said @ 12:16pm GMT on 11th Jun
*cough* "peek" *cough*

sythe said @ 1:07pm GMT on 11th Jun
Well, when it gets hot enough inside that your material possessions start melting, you turn on the A/C.

-_- said @ 12:55pm GMT on 12th Jun
Well, I guess wax is easier to carve than wood ...

Spaceloaf said @ 12:33pm GMT on 11th Jun
Seriously, who the hell washes their car twice a month? My car is lucky to get washed once a year.

And for that matter, who showers 6 times a week? What smell? I don't smell anything.

Todomanna said @ 12:37pm GMT on 11th Jun
I know I don't...

sythe said @ 1:06pm GMT on 11th Jun
Speaking as someone who grew up in the snowbound states. The salt from the roads there disintegrates your car if you don't wash it regularly.

Spaceloaf said @ 1:08pm GMT on 11th Jun
I grew up in Michigan, and I definitely don't remember washing my car twice a month.

Spaceloaf said @ 1:15pm GMT on 11th Jun [Score:1 Funny]
Then again, it probably didn't hurt that my car was made out of plastic....

sythe said @ 1:16pm GMT on 11th Jun
I grew up in Michigan too and watched many a metal undercarriage turn to brown powder thanks to the salt.

trimby99 said @ 9:19pm GMT on 11th Jun [Score:2 Funny]

eviltwin said @ 3:17am GMT on 12th Jun [Score:2 Insightful]
Needs more salt...

-_- said @ 12:54pm GMT on 12th Jun
In Oregon we use pumice instead of salt :)

-_- said @ 12:56pm GMT on 12th Jun
Well, I do enjoy my showers.
I take at least one a day and I don't time them ... it's my one big extravagance.
*sigh*

leezurd said @ 3:15pm GMT on 12th Jun
You forgot to mention your lovely singing voice.

;)

manoreason said @ 1:53pm GMT on 11th Jun
200 to 400 laundry loads a year!? I probably do 30.

sythe said @ 1:57pm GMT on 11th Jun
we (my wife and I) do 2-3 a week, all full to the brim. 1 of those is usually taken up by our sheets, towels, and some blanket the dog/cat puked on.

leezurd said @ 2:11pm GMT on 11th Jun
Same.
Once a week: Whites, darks, work clothes, bed/bath.

That's 208 loads for just 2 of us.

If we had 2.5 kids, I'm sure we would hit higher into the average.

Luckily, we don't.

Ronin.ca said @ 7:43pm GMT on 11th Jun
It continues to amaze me nearly 5 years into his life just how much dirty clothing my son produces.

ComposerNate said @ 6:23pm GMT on 11th Jun

ComposerNate said @ 6:25pm GMT on 11th Jun

Baxter_UK said @ 8:49pm GMT on 11th Jun
"Spend less than $1,200 to save over $8,000 over the course of 5 years"

5 years? But I want it now!

mrcucumber said @ 10:20pm GMT on 11th Jun
I don't drive a car.

Never use air conditioning except at night with temps over a 3-4 day period continuing at 90-95 degrees. I use fans, if and when nec.

Almost always wash clothes in cold water unless there are seriously stubborn stains. Cold water is better for all cotton and delicate fabrics, and always full loads. Probably once a week, but I do 2-3 loads, depending on the season. Winter gets less loads, I think.

My showers rarely last over 5 minutes, uh, unless there's a girl involved

Geez, I feel so ......green. This should be common sense to people, and naturally the motivation is saving money, not environmental responsibility. I wish people would make bigger sacrifices, like boycotting detroit and suv's, requiring more than 27 mpg of auto manufacturers, requiring thermal engineering and LEED certified materials for large buildings, which create massive amounts of co2. etc, etc..

mihomsi said @ 11:16pm GMT on 11th Jun
Except for the alternative to washing cars (never heard of that) all the things are pretty basic and have been practiced by my family since I was little.
The "eco bulbs" have been in use in at my parents place since they were in production (a company in my town produced them) not just because they use less energy but because they lasted longer.
One thing not mentioned is good insulation of buildings which is quite common and applied with any renovation of apartment houses or individual homes - if you go into an investment it'S better to spend a little more and save on the long term, and it cuts down the hassle of constantly calling for heating oil or gas to be delivered.
But for serious green conservations people have limited means either financially or because of certain other situations.
My problem is I live in old town center and city gas is not available to me yet because every time they start digging for gas instalations they discover some ancient remains and everything stops for a year or more so the archeologists do their thing. So I have to rely on oil which costs me approx 2700 EUR per heating season at 0,96 eurocents per liter (heating from mid/late October - mid May) and has lower efficiency than gas and higher emissions. I have limited options for sun energy because buildiongs in town centre are under protection of cultural heritage laws and in my case it would be technically very difficult to install sun cells (for water heating). The only option would be photovoltaic cells that don't need complex installations but for any impact I7d need a lot of them and I don't ahve the money to do it.
Thge only thing I can do is invest a lot of cash (because of the way the building was built a good century ago) into good insulation which I am currently planning to do and hope to cut the heating bill a third. And force some neighbours to repair their houses since some of them cause me me water leakages as from their property. Sometimes I want to kill myself.

Censervation is an expensive investment and I can't imagine someone who can't afford to invest how he will be able to pay the price for energy in near future. 2700EUR is a little less than 3 months sallarys for me and is a great proportion of my yearly spending. Everything else is cheaper and this amount of money buys me a lot of other stuff.

happiest_sadist said @ 12:05pm GMT on 12th Jun
Yes, it is tough here in the US as well. I have a relatively easy time here in Seattle, but I have heard from many in other parts of the country who are frustrated with the lack of options.

manoreason said @ 3:00am GMT on 12th Jun
A few months ago I did an experiment to confirm that I could shower with a half liter squirt-type water bottle. You have to be paying attention to get all the soap off, but it's doable. One liter is luxury.

sythe said @ 3:01am GMT on 12th Jun
I think I would have a problem getting all the soap out of my hair.

Baxter_UK said @ 3:06am GMT on 12th Jun [Score:1 Funny]
I think I would have a problem with it being a fucking pain in the ass.

mrcucumber said @ 4:27am GMT on 12th Jun
Ok, that was funny, but seeeeriously, that's the attitude behind people wanting to remove flow regulators in shower heads and want more than 1.5 g flush. Just so they can be certain "it's all gone"

happiest_sadist said @ 12:06pm GMT on 12th Jun
But I *like* luxury.

tat2kitten said @ 4:41am GMT on 12th Jun
All those "green" cleaners are a total waste of money. All you need is white vinegar, (pretty much all surfaces and for perfect windows and mirrors) salt, (for an abrasive to scrub caked on dirt or soap scum, it won't scratch sinks, bathtubs, or dishes) baking soda, (another abrasive that cuts through dirt) and borax (laundry detergent that's amazing at breaking down crud all around the house). All natural, all very cheap. Oh, and a grapefruit for really tough cleans like bathtubs that haven't been cleaned in years. All learned on by watching the British show "How Clean is Your House". I love those women!

Nihil said @ 5:36am GMT on 12th Jun
You had me up to the grapefruit...

Baxter_UK said @ 5:41am GMT on 12th Jun
That's what she said.

tat2kitten said @ 6:55am GMT on 12th Jun
You know all those citric acid cleaners that claim to be the best thing in the world? It's just simplified to the original citric acid. Grapefruit, lemmons. oranges, you can use any citrus and get the same results.

eIfish said @ 11:36am GMT on 12th Jun
How much oil was burned to bring you a grapefruit all the way from the tropics, just so's you can use it to scrub your bath?

Chemical cleaners are transported super-concentrated, and packaged into recyclable containers when they're made up. Most of them is water, and the rest is biodegradable (thanks to EPA-type laws). Because they're the product of years of engineering, you use less of them to do the same work, which means less pollution getting them to you, and less pollution from you using them. You'll burn through salt and vinegar (and use more water), because a home-made crisp-flavouring is just not as good a cleaner as real glass cleaner (let alone surfactant-heavy stuff like Kitchen Power).

I mean, look at the site's tenuous rationalisation for using hippie-soap : if you don't use proper cleaners, then you reduce the risk of costly medical treatment, should someone in your family eat them.

If you want to save the environment by changing your cleaning products, get a dishwasher. It cleans more dishes, using less water, less energy, and less chemicals than washing by hand. It can do this, because it doesn't have to worry about its sensitive skin, so rather than using detergents, it can just use a strong alkali. The only way you could save more energy is to wash your dishes in cold water using a separate rinse sink, but not only does that not kill bacteria, but it spreads them between every dish.

happiest_sadist said @ 12:13pm GMT on 12th Jun
The dishwasher point is an excellent one. I wish I could get a citrus variety of Dr. Bronner soap- I have used it for almost 20 years on my person, and have been through about 6 bottles in that time :)
It would be great to find something similar of which I could dilute the hell and use as a bathroom cleaner. Something with rosemary oil would be nice- I love that smell, and I find it tends to overwhelm other, less desireable scents.

mihomsi said @ 2:41pm GMT on 12th Jun
Hehe... A replacement for laundry detergent would be horse chesnuts cut and soaked, then boiled in hot water for a short time - you get a sort of a detergent. If you cook your whites in this chesnut water you could add ash from the fireplace for added cleaning. Thats what my grandmother did.

sythe said @ 2:45pm GMT on 12th Jun
...so basically a lye solution. I would place this in the category of "things I might do had I not more effective options available to me at the store" rather than "green energy efficient alternative". Still a neat trick.

mihomsi said @ 3:39pm GMT on 12th Jun
Yes I agree. It isn't a real alternative.

tomintroy said @ 8:34am GMT on 12th Jun
Since those saved dollars will in turn be spent on some object that also has a negative energy impact, wont the saving be negated?

sythe said @ 8:36am GMT on 12th Jun
Nah, invest 'em in some solar panels ;)

Todomanna said @ 10:25am GMT on 12th Jun
Only if you decide to.