Browsing: energy saving

a high point?

To be praised by my thirteen year old son on my choice of Christmas presents was one of the high points of the festive season for me.

He, of course, has no concept of the hours of thought, planning and co-ordination that had gone into each item in his present collection. Neither would he have any idea of the agonising that went into getting the balance between extravagance and frugality, between waste and real pleasure.

I’m with him, though. I did do a good job. Rather than lots of small gifts for each of the five children, we favoured joint presents for us all from our relatives (thanks to you all for complying). This has meant that we are two weeks into January and no-one has said that they are bored and there are no unwanted toys lying broken on bedroom floors. Singstar, Buzz and Guitar Hero have saved the day.

Or have they? Imagine my horror when I

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The wetter the better?

I recently challenged myself to ‘Go One Better’  - to conduct an examination of my lifestyle and identify simple improvements which I could make, and more importantly stick to, which will make a difference.  I began with a commitment to eliminate at least one regular car journey and replace it by cycling.  Given the title of this post you could be forgiven for thinking that I’m going to attempt a cheerful defence of pedalling in the rain, not so.
With all going well with the cycling it was time to turn my attention to other things.  Once you start to think about ‘going one better ‘the problem is not so much what to tackle, but where to start.  I decided to start by examining my daily routine, working from morning onwards.
To say I’m not a morning person doesn’t even come close.  According to my family I don’t wake up – I defrost.  Putting myself in the microwave isn’t an option (though it’s a tempting proposition for family I suspect) so I tend to thaw out in the shower.  I’d always resented the hammering on the bathroom door and pleas for speed, evidence of their tendency toward exaggeration.  ‘You always take forever’ being conclusive proof of their impatience, as I was never in longer than a couple of minutes.
I’m probably not alone in the belief that showering is guilt free

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