April is a great month for many reasons.
1. It is the month that my 1st son was born in. His birth day is on Earth Day. And it is a major celebration 
2. It begins to get warm outside. We see the start of the forsythia blooming, and the tulips, irises, and daffodils begin to show their green if they haven’t already. This all assumes that spring will come this year because I am not entirely convinced.
3. It holds Earth Day. I love the talk surrounding Earth Day. I like to celebrate the Earth all year round but a particular day brings about awareness and chatter that is certainly welcome in my book.
I’ll be celebrating all month long this year. I found this wonderful one-page website that lists 50 Ways To Help The Planet and so I’ll be taking the month of April to evaluate/re-evaluate how my family practices these at home and what we can do to do it better!
Let’s start with light!
Light Bulbs
Shopping for light bulbs can be quite the daunting experience. There are a million varieties out there, so what should you be using. Let me clarify that…what are the most earth friendly lightbulbs? CFL’s (Compact Fluorescent Lamps)
Over the last few years, we have switched most if not all of our lights to CFL’s. They seem to be just as reliable as traditional light bulbs and they use much less energy (75% less) and last longer (theoretically - that is if they aren’t broken).
We have had an accident or two with a CFL breaking. Once in G’s bedroom (the lightsaber won) and once in the basement. If you don’t know this, cleanup of a CFL requires additional care so don’t just throw it away and DO NOT vacuum it up. See these guidelines on cleaning it up. Make sure you look for the “Energy Star” on the light bulbs you buy.
We try to stock up on a bunch so we always have them. That way I don’t sit in the store trying to figure out which ones to buy:)
Turn off all idle electronics at night
It may be just a little bit of energy that you save, but think of how much that is if everyone saved that little bit. Honestly, I need to do a better job of thinking about this one. Often times I will go to bed with the computer on, just shut. Even this can add up. Here’s to shutting off our computers and lights at night!
What are your experiences with conserving on light? Any tips?
Make sure to follow along on this Earth Day series:) Subscribe to the email list to receive emails when a new post goes up! Don’t worry, you can always unsubscribe if you don’t like it!
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