Day 34 of our Green Year: No More Dryer

Layla and I already wash our clothes with cold water detergent, and we only do it when we absolutely have to (although hand washing may be coming in a future blog ;) ). However, we thought that it didn't make much sense to save energy by using cold water in the washer, and then use the dryer which uses up a bunch of energy.

So, from now on we will no longer be using a dryer, and that means in the winter time as well. The great thing about clothes is that they dry, and since we don't wear tonnes of different clothes, we are not going to be overwhelmed with the amount of clothes that we will need to dry. The truth is, we will be able to dry them quite well outside. We know that this is common knowledge, but surprisingly, not many people actually do this. It may be because they are not allowed, as many cities do not allow clotheslines because they are 'unsightly'. However, there are other solutions to drying your clothes without a dryer.

One of our readers actually suggested drying your clothes in your living room in the summer. This is a great idea that Layla and I will be using because you can actually cool down your living room with the clothes drying in there, so you are keeping cool without energy and you are drying your clothes without energy. A double whammy!

If you live in the city and are not allowed to dry your clothes outside, then you can also dry your clothes in the basement of the house. There should be plenty of room and the clothes will dry just as well as they would outside, albeit slower.
Layla and I are quite lucky because we live in a mountain town that allows clothes to be dried outside, so we can dry our clothes in the fresh mountain air. It is a win-win scenario.

If you do dry your clothes inside, you can actually kill a few more birds with one stone (sorry for the expression). Put some pots or bowls under the clothes and catch the water that drips off of them. This keeps your carpet from getting wet and you can reuse that water on the lawn or garden. This of course works best if you don't use detergent. Right there you have water saving, energy saving and you are cooling down your house!

In the winter, things get a bit tougher but you can still dry your clothes inside just the same, and if things cool down, then just bundle up.

Thankfully, things are beginning to change and cities, states and provinces are beginning to change their minds on outdoor clothes drying. In fact, in April the Ontario government lifted the ban on drying clothes outside. This was because several subdivisions, cities and towns did not allow it, but the new ruling by the government means that it does not matter and people can dry their clothes outside, which means our good friends Min, Jay and Faith can begin drying their clothes outside.

Here are just a few facts about dryers and the environment:

• Five dryers produce the same amount of emissions as an average-sized car.
• The average dryer uses 900 kilowatt hours of electricity a year.
• Consumers can save 25 percent on their energy bill each year by not using the dryer.

I don't know about you, but I am looking forward to sniffing that mountain air in my clothes from drying them outside.

Ten Ways To Save The World

The world is in trouble and it is up to all of us to work hard to reduce our carbon footprint and take the strain off the environment. Thankfully, many of the things we can do will not only help the environment, they will save us money as well.

1. Turn down the thermostat: This is easy to do and it saves energy and time. When you are sleeping or out, you can turn down the thermostat by 10 degrees and use 25 percent less energy. Even when you have people over, reduce the thermostat because the amount of body heat in the room will keep the temperature of the house high.
2. Wash clothes in cold water and dry outside: A total of 90 percent of the energy used by the washer is actually used just to heat the water up. By washing with cold water and using cold water detergent, you can use a lot less energy. Dry your clothes outside on the line if you can, that will eliminate the need for the dryer in the Spring and Summer.
3. Wash your dishes by hand, not in the dishwasher: Like the washer, 80 percent of the power used by the dishwasher is just to heat the water. Fill up a sink, fill up a rinse sink as well, and wash dishes that way.
4. Turn off faucet while brushing teeth: This is easy to do but few do it. When you turn off the water while you brush your teeth you save eight gallons of water per day, that is 3,000 gallons A YEAR!
5. Turn off the lights: Turning off the lights in the house when you are not using them saves a lot of energy. Turning one light off, for one hour a day saves 20,000 Watts per year, and that is only one light for one hour! Also, use high-efficiency light bulbs if you can, because they last longer and use less energy.
6. When you are not using something, unplug it: You may think that when you turn something off, then it is not running anymore and no more power is used. The truth is power is still being used and by unplugging the microwave, television, coffee maker and more, will save you $10 to $20 on your power bill each month.
7. Use cloth bags: Canadians use 55 million plastic bags per week, we use them for five minutes and they last 1,000 years, so using cloth bags will help the environment immensely!
   
8. Use Energy Efficient batteries: There are 15 billion batteries put in the landfills each year. Rather than throw out batteries, use rechargeable batteries that can be used 500 times before they are useless.
9. Close doors when you leave a room: Your house has to heat up the entire space indoors, so close doors to trap heat in and use less energy to heat up your home.
10. Limit showering time: Baths take 200 liters of water, and 15 minute showers use 300 liters, so have five minute showers and you will only use 75 liters of water per day on showering.

Saving the environment isn't hard, it is very easy and all it takes is a bit of change.