Filed under: Save Electricity
I have finally purchased a Kill A Watt.
CLICK HERE to buy a KILL A WATT now
There are so many articles about energy vampires. How much energy is used even when you are not using some electronics.
There are also many products that are suggested to save on power in your home (like smart power strips). Many of these products are quite expensive, and the time it takes to recoup your outlay is often a longer period than the average person can justify.
The problem with most green products is that they are quite expensive for the average person. How can we really expect the world to change when you have to belong to the minority of those who make a LOT of money (and a small minority at that) to integrate these things into daily life.
Plug this product into your wall outlet, and then your electronic device into it. It then measures how much energy is used by that item.
With this version of the Kill A Watt you can program your KWh cost into it so it calculates the cost of use for you.
My first test was on my laptop. My computer is on a lot, and is one of the most used items we have in the house. I have read that laptops use less energy, and I intend to test this.
I have a Compaq Pressario A900 Notebook. It was plugged in for 21 hours and 56 minutes. I never powered it completely down, but did close it for the evening. At 11.8 cents per KWh it measured a cost of $ 9.30 per year to use it.
It gave measurements in cost per day/week/month/year. It provides how many KWh were used. In this case it used .2 KWh.
I will continue to post my use of this product. Hopefully I will provide information useful to others. Insight into where are electricity goes. A product review that extends over time to give a real idea of how useful it is. A review that not only reflects the excitement of a new possession, but also reflects the quality, and value of it over time.
Use the picture link above to buy one now, or in the future after additional posts.
So far … I am truly impressed, and have many tests planned. It has been quite simple to use.
Filed under: Small housing ideas
On Monday we took a quick drive to an RV dealer my wife had seen as she drove by it a few times.
Most of the RVs we saw were not laid out well enough to actually live in. Not that the space was not enough in some, but did not like how it was designed.
It was as if they found some space left over, and stuck a cabinet in it. It didn’t seem to matter what the average person might need to store, just that a cabinet might fit there. Any cabinet would do, even if it might only have space for a 6 pack of soda, or 2 rolls of toilet paper.
I have to say that I was very disappointed with the quality in the majority of the RVs. I know that many people trample through them, and may not treat them with the respect they would if they owned it. However, I believe that is how you judge how something will age over time.
If someone tells you that a piece of furniture has had too many people sitting in it. Say it is a floor model, and you accept that it has had more than its normal share of use, wouldn’t it really tell you how it would age over a longer period of time?
You know the cardboard pieces you tack on the back of most bookcases these days? That thick paper board that is trying to look like a piece of wood, but fails horribly? It was many times the bottom or back of a closet, and was sometimes terribly damaged.
If you could take 20 different RVs and pick and choose all the different items you like, and lay everything out, and then choose products that aren’t going to offgas and stink for a long, long, long time, then an RV might be an idea. I know many people live in them, but I can’t even imagine how with what we saw.
Does anyone live in an RV? Have you made any custom changes? How is the insulation? Do you have pictures? Are you happy? Anything you don’t like?
I have always hated reading advice on how to save money in ways that are saving you just a couple pennies, and taking you an hour for those two pennies. Or in ways that result in dissatisfaction.
Imagine saving up all your little soap bits. You find a little container to save them in. Then find a place for your container. After a year, you may have enough chips to equal a half bar of soap. Unless your soap is worth its weight in gold I would suggest this is not a worthwhile endeavor.
Save that tea bag, and use it again. Gotta love that hot water with a hint of tea in it. Just enough flavor to make it not taste like water, but it does not taste like a good cup of tea either.
SO….. the question is how to save more money that proves to actually be worth the effort.
Today, I purchased a container of trimmer line for my weed whacker. It was $4.71 for 300 feet (including tax).
To purchase 3 spools of pre-wound line at 30 ft each would have cost me $17.81. So, lets do the math on this….. My spool cost 47 cents for the line, and 10 minutes of my time.
I did 2 of them while watching a movie, and timed the second one to see how long it actually took me. Looking at the 3 pack (which saves money versus buying 1 at a time) a single spool costs $5.94. At a savings of $5.47 this would be equivalent to $32.82 per hour (or 6 spools).
The majority of the U.S. does not earn $32.82 per hour. If you wish to delve further into this, when you consider taxes paid on money you earn, this would be closer to earning $43.76 if you paid 25% in taxes.
Share some ways you save money that has a great impact.
Taxes (while important) should not be dismissed when saving money. This year tax freedom day was 4/13/2009. When you save money, also think about how much you would have to earn (before taxes)
Information on tax freedom day 2009
I just finished reading the Ghandi Reader, and one item in particular felt like a current topic to me.
Ghandi had declared that he did not like machinery that allowed a few people to ride on the backs of millions. That if machinery were to put people out of work, on the streets, and starving, while a few made more money, it was unsustainable.
It is amazing how much can be accomplished without any violence by simply not cooperating.
As we read and hear about troubled companies ….. companies that are supposed to be run for the common shareholder’s benefit, while filling a service to their clients ….. they have those two items that are an implied promise. A third should be to their employees. Companies love to shout the mantras of loyalty and team players, and they will mumble sorry as they tell you that you no longer have a job.
A small group of people are making millions of dollars, while letting everybody down. Are they not paid millions of dollars because they are supposed to be the smartest and most capable? How is it that they are considered to be somehow sacrificing by foregoing a bonus when they are paid unholy amounts of money in the first place, while others are losing their jobs? By the way, most of the people being laid off are probably trying to figure out how to pay the mortgage, and put food on the table, and do not have millions of dollars from previous years of pay to help with just that.
Most of us in this world are just average (myself included). Those who make the rules, and take on the highest paid jobs should be held accountable.
If only we had a modern day Gandhi who could lead us in the right direction.
A CEO of a company has no power at all ….. NONE ….. if the average person decides they are wrong, and stands together and demand that things must change or we will not support them in their effort to strip away the average person’s place in this world.
Thoughts? Ideas?
This should be a wake up call to the average person. That we will decide the future collectively. That we vote every day with our dollars. That we can re-engage with our neighbors and help each other in ways that lost income and tax dollars could never take away.
Filed under: About 2LiveSimple
I have not posted for some time, and now it is time to begin anew.
I thought that I was not really reaching an audience at all, and was not just hoping to post my thoughts, but to find like minded people on a similar quest.
I have been too much a part of the American lie for too long. I have bought too much stuff, built up too much debt, and now I have had the final wake up call.
I have been laid off from my job.
It’s ironic that my employer (past tense), after laying off so many people, have positioned themselves to receive bailout funds from tax payers.
I was not entirely asleep before, yet I was still in the long line of other people who do not realize how precarious their position in the world is.
I pray that if you are lucky enough to still have your normal income, that you pay off your debt, and save a cushion. The government, the economy, and your employer (most likely) is not concerned with your stability in life.
They are only concerned enough to make sure the basic mechanics of the economy keep turning.
Let’s band together to build a new economy. Have you ideas on how to save money. How can we help each other?
Filed under: Small housing ideas
Here is a link to living in small houses from CNN. Included in the story is a video link that I enjoyed. I’m still thinking small, and my first goal is to get down to the proper amount of possessions that would allow me to live in such a small space.
http://www.cnn.com/2008/LIVING/wayoflife/10/22/tiny.houses/index.html
Filed under: Small housing ideas
We have decided that we want to live with a smaller footprint, however, there has not been an easy solution to that wish.
As I wrote before, we first wanted to live in a tiny house (120 square feet), but found city restrictions (at least what we think we understand so far) to not allow us to live in our backyard in it since it would be mobile.
Then we thought let’s sell the house and buy something smaller. Smaller gives a very small range of opportunities these days, unless you want to rent an apartment.
Now, we are considering renting out part of our home.
First, we would be downsizing by the amount of room we would be renting (2 full bedrooms, a full bath, and a hallway closet).
Second, we would be sharing the kitchen, dining room and living room.
Third, this would leave us with 2 bedrooms and a full bathroom upstairs.
We are not entirely sure how we feel about this, as this throws in another person into the dynamics of living. We both feel that if we could find the right person, that it would not be bad, and in fact would be sharing resources of home and land.
Sometimes it is hard to think that we may be moving backwards. Are we simply reverting to the days when you are young and can’t afford to live alone? Or, are we maybe moving forwards, as land and resources become more limited? Is this the future? Smaller dwellings, or more shared living?
A neighbor of ours has a roomate, and finds it very rewarding by reducing his cost of living. In fact, his roomate will soon have his fiance join him to live there as well. She actually comes from Portugal, where she lives with her parents in a very small home (from what I have heard, I’m guessing 500 square feet).
Is it simply the American culture that demands large homes for everybody? I’m certain there are large homes all over the world, but what is average? I’m particularly interested in trying to find out more about what average square footage is in developed countries. The little I know about living conditions in Europe, suggest a smaller home (such as Paris).
Is there a reasonable amount of space that is enough for a person to live in, and how would that be effected by adding a significant other, or children?
Filed under: --- TV
All episodes of Southpark are available on the official website link below.
ALL episodes, FREE, and LEGAL.
The quality is excellent, and the streaming was clean and quick for me.
Instead of 4-6 ads in a row, start thinking 1 at a few intervals in the show.
This is how TV should be ….. no expensive cable package, in fact no cost above your internet connection.
Yes, there are ads, but that is how it gets paid for. You can both watch a show you wish, when you wish, and they get to make their money.
Hope this catches on with all shows, and that the advertising remains at a reasonable level.
Have fun in Southpark!
This is a site that both my wife and I love.
Like building puzzles? Hate losing pieces? Hate how much space it can take up?
This is a free site with puzzles you can decide how tough you want them to be. Have 5 minutes? Solve a simple puzzle. Have a child? Make it even easier. Want to pass some time? Make it difficult.
I haven’t done it yet, but you can submit your own pictures to be made into an online puzzle.
I haven’t spent a lot of time on this as my hands get sore easily, but it can be a quick distraction.
An ad page will pop up from time to time, but you can quickly skip the ad!
Filed under: Small housing ideas
Tomorrow we are having an open house.
It is amazing how much you do when you are selling a home. All those things you have meant to do over the years. I have mentioned this before, but it just keeps hitting home.
We are determined that we will not do this again. When we find our next home, we will decide exactly how we want our home to be, and do the projects we intend to, and as they come up.
I have been reading some books on Feng Shui lately, and some of it is just common sense. Even if you do not go for that sort of stuff, think about some of the basics.
Having your home free of clutter, your home taken care of as if your environment matters.
We have done some very simple things lately (due to selling the house) that we should have done immediately on moving in. An example would be getting a small can of paint that matches a room. Doing small touch ups. Patching small nail holes. When you have a room not just cleaned in a dusting, mopping & vacuuming sense, but clear of stuff you don’t need and well maintained, then it is a room that can effect your emotions and your energy in a positive way.
How do you feel when you enter your home? Do you see things every day that you have on your to do list? I often realize after I do something that I probably spent 100 times more time thinking about it, and feeling bad about not getting to it, than it actually takes to do it. These are the types of things that rob you of energy.
As I have stated before, these are reasons to have a smaller home. A home that can be maintained with a smaller commitment of time, energy, and money.
