Running a more efficient home

Home is where the heart is for many reasons: we are in charge of how our homes look, what we accept in them, what goes on in them, and of course how it operates.  If you are anything like me, you'll want to ensure that your home is as efficient as possible in all the ways it can be, including when it comes to your energy usage. Here are some ways I do that. 

Consider your carbon footprint  

The average household has more gadgets than they used to, which means that our energy usage and the carbon footprints that we leave behind is higher than ever. I am a long time plugger inner who is now an unplugger. 

If you're interested in what's pulling electricity, smart meters tell you how much energy you use as a household and where it is being used the most. I think the electric company might still come and read too? Anyway knowing what is pulling the most electric in your house can help you narrow down where to focus your energy saving efforts.  

When in doubt, unplug if you can. 

Think about community solar panels 

I've dreamed of solar panels since they became a thing, as they are a great alternative to at least supplement our current electrical energy. They are a cleaner energy source that is effective and costs less to use, which gives us the best of both worlds. 

The only trouble with this is that installing solar panels on your home isn’t always something everyone can do due to installation costs. We have absolutely balked at that. So that's where the idea of community solar panels, which you can sign up for here, can come in. These are installed into a community and can be used by various households without being installed onto one house. Pretty cool. 

Get clever with mealtimes 

The price of food is up up freaking up. That combined with intense hatred of food waste has me even more focused on maximizing the efficiency of the food I buy. I'm back to thinking more and being more intentional with the meals I cook so I'm getting maximum value and nutrition and not wasting any food. Anything not used that I've planned to I will attempt to freeze.   

There are plenty of apps that can help you plan your meals and ensure that you use the food you buy as effectively as possible. Doing this means that you can cut down on your food waste and ensure that you save as much money as possible when food shopping. 

All aboard 

If only one person in a more than one person household is interested in making changes to maximize household efficiency, efforts are going to fall flat. For any changes to stick and have an impact on efficiency, everyone needs to be on board. Even if they have to be drug there, kicking and screaming. 

Find a way to make changes work for everyone so it's something you're doing together. 

In what ways do you maximize efficiency in your home? 

Heavy humanity on this Tuesday

It's a heavy Tuesday. Haiti earthquake. Afghan government crumbling as US pulls out after 20 years. Global pandemic still happening as people reject vaccinations and masks. Climate change wreaking havoc everywhere. Crisis in Lebanon.

This bulk of this is straight from my Instagram post, but I wanted to share it here in case you're not on the gram and are also out there sitting with your teeth in your mouth wondering what the hell to do as a regular person. And a place where I can easily edit and add resources as I come across them.

We woke up today in a home where we are comfortable, coffee in hand and all of our creature comforts around us with a knowledge and expectation of safety we have always had and don’t ever think about until it is clear others both in our own country and outside of it do not have that expectation. 

We are white, we have not lived in a war zone or occupied land, nor have we been the ones with the dangerous mission to occupy it. 

You can and should read all the articles and get all the perspectives. 

You don’t need to make a statement on something you don’t know shit about. 

But as a human being, your heart leans toward those who are hurting, whether they are next door or around the globe in a land you will never set foot in. 

The bad thing about humanitarian crises are that they exist. 

The good thing about a humanitarian crisis is there is no side to pick other than the human side. There is only one side. 

If people need help because they are impacted by world events beyond their control, there is only one thing to do: meet people where they are and help in whatever way you can. 

Maybe that is researching to get money, time, and goods to people doing work on the ground helping & and not profiting from the crisis; advocating for refugees in writing or via phone with your government or any groups you are involved in that may be able to help; opening your home if the opportunity arises; sharing vetted resources for aid if you do not have the resources to give right now. It all matters. Be open to the ways you might be able to help.

Governments, military maneuvers, occupations, 20 year wars, they can all feel too big for regular people sitting on couches or at desks on heavy Tuesdays like these - acknowledge and have gratitude for the privilege of safety and do whatever you can to help. 

We spend so much time talking shit about governments but nearly always it is regular people moving mountains to help other regular people. 

There are real people desperate for help. So desperate for safety that they think attaching themselves to the outside of a plane and falling to their death is a better option than what waits for them on the ground. Try to imagine that mindset. The images are fucking gut wrenching. But we cannot pretend this desperation does not exist. We cannot file this under something political and wipe our hands of it. We are all we’ve got and as regular citizens we have more in common with each other than we’d like to admit sometimes. Be a good human. Be a helper in every situation where that is possible. 

May we work together in the pursuit of peace and safety here in our own country and everywhere the world over. I hope the next generation of world builders can address the circumstances that lead to our human downfalls in our communities and around the world. And those of us past that time do our part to help them or at the least to get the fuck out of their way. 

Some resources to help, will be editing and adding when I come across more.

Afghanistan: Afghan Institute of Learning, Women for Women International, some resources gathered by Georgetown Institute for Women, Peace, and Security. From Instagram the Quentin Quarantino account is coordinating Flyaway: An emergency Afghan rescue mission with a huge goal of getting people on a Taliban Kill List out of the country on two planes as soon as possible. Resources to help Afghan refugees coming to the Philadelphia area

Help for US veterans - orgs to point veterans to or for you to donate to/volunteer with

Haiti - Haitians have asked people NOT to donate to the Red Cross based on experiences in previous disasters. Sow a Seed, Hope for Haiti

Lebanon - Lebanese Food Bank

General humanitarian effort groups I have donated to in the past and trust use the money where it is most needed: Doctors Without Borders, Together Rising (all donations received through Friday are going to urgent relief in Haiti)

Do whatever you can. And take care of yourselves and your neighbors. It is bad enough people are living through these things. Take the time to nourish yourself in all ways so we are strong enough to do what we can from where we are. 

TWTW - the end of vacation

Friday MFD headed to the shore early for showings and I spent the morning in Philly setting things to right after vacation - doing the shore laundry we didn't get done the week before, putting clothes away, unpacking and re-packing, putting the trash out, all that shit. I also finally mailed two things I've been holding onto for a freaking eternity. I left at 11:30 and traffic was fucking awful so I took the way back roads. I spent the rest of the afternoon at the shore putting stuff away in the apartment, lolling around with a book, and chatting with favorite guests upstairs. 

Saturday We slept in until 8 which was awesome. Departing people left the house virtually spotless, they washed my towels for me and don't use the bedding so that all stayed clean, AND they left gifts. They are great as are the people in this week. I am always very pleased in August. The air outside was trying to take me down so I opted to stay in and read, eat the key lime pie my dad left for me, paint my nails (doing the most with these again using 9th & Maxwell Dahlia, Essie Without Reservations, and OPI Spare Me a French Quarter?), and grab an hour at sunset on the porch where the air was still oppressive. MFD was out fishing in the late afternoon/early evening so it was a nice day.

Sunday We were up and dog walking by 6:30. MFD was out by 7 and I was on the beach reading early. Blowing sand made that palatable for only about two hours. We reconvened at home and celebrated Bruce's 4th birthday with birthday cheeseburgers for all. I took a three hour nap which rarely happens and MFD and the old dogs left for Philly around 7. B&B and I did our nightly walk to the bay and then sat on the porch so Bruce could people watch which is his favorite thing. I finished a book and started another and fell out around midnight.

Back to work today, back to Philly today, in the city Wednesday, all that jazz. 

I'm going to do a Vermont post this week I think, but basically I only opened my computer one time all week and that was fantastic. It is so nice to not be in front of a screen for an extended period and it had been way too long.

Show Us Your Books August 2021

Here we are in August. Here I am on vacation, somewhere I've never been before for the first time in too long. Here I am wearing a mask indoors everywhere because that's where we are at this time because people refuse to get the vaccine and soon we'll all be at risk again because the variants will be able to mutate enough to outwork the vaccines and people are so indignantly selfish but I digress. I have put up SUYB posts on other vacations over the years since we started this linkup in 2014 but I've always tried to well prepare a full post before-hand, then log on and do the whole thing on SUYB day. I might do that this time, but that's not my plan, and I definitely phoned it in below and even on photos throughout the month. That's how it is sometimes. So if I miss you this month, I'll catch up with you next. 

Here's what I've been reading since the last linkup. 

Engrossing Reads

A Familiar Sight (Dr. Gretchen White #1) by Brianna Labuskes - I always find the first book in what is going to be a series a little repetitive as its characters find their groove. I hope Labuskes does not hammer Gretchen's sociopathy in every single book. We get it, she's like that but not. I'm definitely up for a second Dr. Gretchen White. Aside from that repetition I enjoyed it a lot. Thanks to Netgalley for the free advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

Such a Quiet Place by Megan Miranda - This was fucked like most of her books, but a quick read, also like the rest of her books for me. I consume them quickly. OCNJ library hard cover

Passed the Time Just Fine

The Sweetness of Water by Nathan Harris - Extremely well written for a debut novel by a young author. This had two strikes against it for me coming out of the gate and I'd still say it was a 3.5. My strikes are a) Set in or around the Civil War times - I have never enjoyed a book set in and around this era b) more character driven than plot driven, which is typically slower moving and not as engaging for me in Coronaland. OCNJ library, hard cover

Golden Girl by Elin Hilderbrand - I'll probably be an outlier here but meh. This was a little Our Town, It's a Wonderful Life, and Hot Topic (how much can we cram into this book?) all in one. Quick and easily consumable though. Thanks to Netgalley for the free copy in exchange for an honest review.

Just One Look by Lindsay Cameron - It took me a while to get into this but it was fine when it got going. Some female Joe tendencies...IYKYK. Thanks to Netgalley for the free advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

Godspeed by Nickolas Butler - This story did not drag me in and light me on fire like some of his other work, but I appreciate Butler's writing, always, and the swipes at capitalism. Thanks to him for that, obviously, and to Netgalley for the free advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

Dial A For Aunties by Jesse Q. Sutano - Super quick, cute, amusing, palate cleansing read. OCNJ hard cover 

Not Worth It

The Guilt Trip by Sandie Jones -  For the love of God, do not. This is a huge and repetitive mess. Free copy from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review

The Turnout by Megan Abbott - Standard Megan Abbott fare which is starting to feel like the same thing in different settings. Free copy from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review

Did Not Finish

Dream Girl by Laura Lippman - I am regularly a Laura Lippman #1 fan even when other people find her books lacking but this one, I could not. I lacked the patience and it lacked something else. I had a free advanced copy from Netgalley. 

Linkup Guidelines:

This link up is the second Tuesday of every month. The next linkup is Tuesday, September 14, 2021. 

1. Visit and comment with both of your hosts, Jana & me, and check in with as many in our reading circle as you can - give some love to the later linker uppers! 
2. Link back to us in your blog post - if you want the button you can get it from that link

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

TWTW - here, there, and everywhere

Friday Began with Toegate 2021, in which I lifted a big mama heavy outdoor trash can up onto the curb except it went directly into my big toe instead. A bloodbath ensued, I was in a cold sweat and had to lay the fuck down. I worked until 3, my Dad and Carol arrived for the week, and my brother brought the kids down so I hit the beach for two hours with them - Lola is out there killing it in the water! - then we did dinner at the promenade, the rides, mullet examination, ice cream, the arcade, and they left. The remaining adults collapsed on the porch and were asleep by 10.

Saturday I was up around 7:30 and we were in the house by 9 since our guests left the night before to beat the traffic. Dad and Carol were awesome helpers and I was on the road back to Philly by 11:30. I made corn dip and did the most with my nails. We went to MFD’s cousin Col’s house for a nice afternoon with the Doyle crew. It has been a very long time since we’ve seen everyone so it was nice. I was so busy talking I took literally one photo. Home to pack haphazardly, finish a book, and frantically attempt to make reservations at midnight. 

Sunday Up and getting shit moving by 7:30: showering, final packing, changing and washing sheets, to Rite Aid to pick up toe supplies. MFD dropped Gus off and had to do his shit, so I made Crescent rolls with cream cheese and chocolate chips and did a lot of WTF let’s go. If you know MFD, you know. We finally left at noon (planned departure was 10:30a, and hit some traffic and did two stops so arrived in Manchester, VT, at 6. We checked in and took a little walk and were in bed early like the seniors we are. I’m probably going to bring back Shit MFD Says or Shit MFD Does because this MFer was using king size twizzlers to make himself raggedy Andy and other shit on the way up and taking photos and killing himself laughing as I was driving. 

I hate doing blogs on my phone because the photos are off but whatever this week. Quite seriously, whatever. My Out of Office is well fucking on. 

Show Us Your Books is tomorrow! Check back here for that.