Joey had never been to the St. Jacobs farmers market before and since we are trying to buy more local food items we decided to buy all of our fruits and vegetables there. It is only open Tuesday, Thursdays and Fridays so Joey went during the week to pick up our goodies.

I know what you are thinking. Yes we are crazy. I read in another blog about someone doing this and was impressed by what they accomplished during the week. When I asked Joey if he would be interested and he said yes my mind immediately went to "OMG I will miss 3 Big Brother episodes". I am sure that the world will not implode by us undertaking this eco-challenge.

This is more than just an eco-challenge. Not only will we be conserving less power by not having the TV on but we will also be reconnecting as a couple, enjoying our neighbourhood and finishing up projects around the house.

We do have some ground rules that we have set.
1. We can watch 2 movies throughout the week - must be together.
2. We can still use the internet to get information on the news, sports etc but not to watch TV.

We will be TV free starting today (Saturday August 30th) until the end of the day next Friday September 5th.

See the results here.

Our weekly Eco-Challenge was to assess all of our standby power users in our house. It is a real eye opener for sure. What was interesting is that we would assess one area of the house and document what was using standby power then a few days later the item plugged in (and left plugged in) would change to something else. Looks like we need to change the way we go about things around here.

What did we find....well here is the list (we did not include major items that need to remain plugged in like the fridge)


- Powerbar in the family room (TV, Playstation, cable box)

- Hairdryer
- Straightener
- Clippers
- Floor lamp in family room
- Battery charger for tools in garage

 - The "Charging Zone" (cellphone/BlackBerry chargers, battery charger)
 - TV's in master bedroom and spare bedroom
- Alarm clock in master bedroom and spare bedroom
- Powerbars in Office (monitor, CPU, printer, router, modem, phone, paper shredder
- Vacuum
- Table lamps in master bedroom and spare bedroom
- Cable box in master bedroom
- Laptop

- Toaster




My co-worker is going to lend us his nifty tool that will take a reading on each item and will calculate how much power it is using (including how much it costs us). Hold me, I am scared to find out!

What the heck are we going to do about all of this? Some things are easier to address than others. Some will require a change in habit where as others are just common sense. I mean who keeps their vacuum plugged in for days (coughcoughweekscoughcough)?

For the family room TV zone we will make sure everything but the cable box is plugged into the powerbar and then we will turn the powerbar off at night. We won't be plugging the cable box in because it has a clock on it and it reboots all the channels when the power removed then turned back on.

Things that will remain plugged in - the lights throughout the house.

Things that will be unplugged after use - everything used in the "Charging Zone", toaster, vacuum, clippers, straighter, hair dryer, laptop, tool battery charger. We will be creating a fine jar so if we don't unplug these items after they are done charging we will have to pay a fine. The money will go towards buying a new powerbar for our office.

Things we need to think more about - the TV's in the bedrooms and the office.

Things I would like to smash with a sledge hammer - the alarm clocks. Does anyone remember the Seinfeld episode with Kenny Rogers Chicken? That is what our alarm clocks are like...only blue light and green light.

With gas prices constantly on the rise carpooling is starting to make sense to alot of people. The biggest problem is finding someone who has the same schedule as you who is starting in the same area and ending in the same area. Or if you are me, the biggest problem is what kind of music are they going to subject you to while you are stuck in traffic.

Some commuting websites now allow you to search for potential carpoolers anywhere along your route. This should make it easier to find a match. To deal with the scheduling problems they also have an 'Emergency Ride Home' feature. If something comes up and you need to get home ASAP or if this happens to the person you carpool with, the service you are using will get you a ride home. Different services handle this differently so make sure you check out what options are available.

Businesses are also starting to incorporate carpooling programs into their benefits packages. If your company has one, make use of it. It is not only going to save you money but it is great for the environment.

Carpooling websites
Carpool Zone - note the link to employers in Ontario that use this site as their carpool tool for their employees.

RideShareOptimizer - throughout the US

iCarpool - throughout Canada, US, Europe and Australia

Ride-Share - note the link to employers in BC that use this site as their carpool tool for their employees.

It may be that you have never heard of Bullfrog Power. I know I hadn't until about a year and a half ago. So what is it? It is a way for you to ensure that the electricity that you are using at your home or business is coming from alternative technologies. I have received information before about local power companies having programs where you can pay extra to ensure that a portion of your consumption comes from alterative sources of power. That is where Bullfrog is different. They are an independent company that puts power from green technology back onto the grid. You continue to pull your energy from the same grid but because you are supporting Bullfrog Power they are putting the same amount that you are using back onto the grid using energy created by wind and low-impact water.

It will cost you more than "regular" electricity but you will have the confidence in knowing that your consumption is coming from lower impact power generation.

We plan on switching to Bullfrog Power in January. We wanted to get a handle on our energy consumption in our new house so we would know how much the switch would cost us. It looks like it is well within our budget to be able to make the switch and reduce our overall impact on the environment. I am comfortable doing this because I know that they are certified and audited. In the past I never converted to the programs run by the power companies because I didn't have the same confidence that my power was really green.

If you live in Ontario or Alberta you can take advantage of Bullfrog Power. If you live in the US you can check out the Green Power Network to see who in your state offers similar programs. Look for one that is certified and fits the benefits that you are looking for.

Do you remember where you were during the Blackout in 2003? I remember it taking forever to get home and then having no power (including water and toilets) for 3 days. I also remember the first night sitting out on my baloncy and having all my neighbours out on theirs too. Not just my immediate neighbours but all the one's in the buildings nearby. People were lauging and having a good time despite the circumstances. I remember it being really quiet....too quiet...but in a good way.

On Thursday August 14th it will be 5 years since the blackout. The Blackout Day Challenge is a way for businesses/communities/individuals to sign up and participate in reducing their energy consumption on the 14th.

We are doing it at work and then we will continue it when we get home from work. What are things we are going to do to reduce our electricity consumption?

- work off our laptops instead of having them plugged into the docking station and using a monitor.
- turn off the overhead lights and open all the window blinds
- bring a cold lunch so no microwave is required
- no coffee or tea
- have informal meetings outside
- BBQ for dinner
- no AC at home
- go for a walk at night

While it may be hard for some to participate during the day at work, you could still do it when you are at home.

I remember carrying my school books to elementary school in a grocery bag. It was the "cool" thing to do. Times have certainly changed. Now stores have reuseable bags that you can buy to place their products in instead of using a plastic bag. We have reuseable bags for our grocery bags but we still have what feels like 50 kajillion plastic grocery bags leftover. So we are slowly using them up for things like waste kitty litter and bagging up our paper products for recycling (a requirement of our city). Some cities will take the bags and recycle them so check with yours if you have some that you want to get rid of.

But there are lots of other reuseable bags you can use. Think of all the bags that you could be using through out  the day. Here are some ideas to help cut back on the amount of plastic bags you are consuming.

Produce bags - You know the one's you put your green peppers and apples in.

Check out these bags - Beegreenbuzz, Ecobags, Reuseablebag

Grocery bags - I would check out your local grocery store for what they are offering. Most offer then right at the cash register for about $1 or you can stock up on some awesome ChicoBags

Lunch bags - There are lots of options for these so think about what kind of lunch you typically bring.

Check out these bags - Graze Organic,  Sew Eco,  Kids Konserve

Garbage bags - okay well not reuseable bags because that is just not possible. It's not like you can ask the garbage man to give you your bag back. But you can use a bag that will break down faster in the landfill. Now with some biodegradable bags you may find that they aren't all that strong so test out some first to see which brand works for you. My research indicates that the first link below sell strong biodegradable bags.

Check out these bags - Amazon - Bag to Nature, Ecosafe

Doggie pooper-scooper bags - Everybody poops, including dogs.

Check out these bags - Poopbags - Biodegradable, Poopbags - Compostable,  BioBag

This post contains Affiliate links that helps to pay to run this blog.

Standby power seems to be a new concern as I guess no one really realized that even though their TV wasn't on it was still eating up some 'juice' since it was still plugged into the wall. As I look around our house I can see lots of things that we have plugged in that would be using standby power.





Each individual source isn't going to use alot of power but when you consider the fact that each household could have 10-20 sources plugged in all day every day you can see how it really adds up. Some studies have even indicated that Standby Power accounts for 10% of your electricity usage.

That leads us to this weeks Eco-Challenge. We are going to assess and document all the sources of Standby Power in our house then come up with a plan reduce our consumption based on these sources.

See the Results here.

You know I realized that I never explained why I am doing this blog. It started with my 101 in 10001 list and needing a place to put it. I didn't want to put it in my food blog because it just didn't seem to make sense. Joey and I have been talking about how to become more "green" so I thought this would be a great way to talk about are challenges and successes and to maybe inspire others to think about how they are living their lives and what impact they are having on the environment.

Alot of people think that one person can not make a difference; I don't think this way. All it takes is one person to come up with an idea or to inspire someone else and it can lead to major change. I also think that there is alot of personal satisfaction in knowing that you are doing what you can to make this world a better place for all of us.

There are big huge lifestyle changes that we can all make but realistically that may not be possible. You really have to think about what also financially makes sense for you. We would love to buy a hybrid but since we are still paying for our current car it does not make sense to make the change now. Not everyone can install a gray water system or solar panels but everyone can think of alternate ways to get to work, increase their recycling and chose to buy more local products. It's all about making the choices that work best for you and have an overall positive impact on the environment.

What is your shade of green? What shade do you want to become?

Well we have spent the last few weeks (12 days of receiving mail) working on the Eco-Challenge. We have been collecting all the envelopes and stuffers that have come with our bills. Honestly you really can not appreciate how much crap comes with your bills until you stack it all up together. How much does it amount to? Take a look and see.


Now I tried to weigh it but it was too light to show up on our scale so I will continue to collect it until I have enought that it will register then I can calculate how many kilograms we are saving a year by switching to epost.

We also identified which bills we could switch to epost. I am actually surprised how few there are to pick from. Hopefully more people will start to use this service and more companies will register so that their customers can sign up.



Bills switched overToll Highway Joe
Toll Highway Jen

Credit Card Joe
Water/Gas
Property Tax
Credit card Jen
Cable/Internet
Credit card Joe
Pay Cheque Jen - already using epost
Bank account - not available on epost service

Hydro - not available on epost service
Phone service - already get as an online bill 

So it looks like we will still get a few bills at home but overall we will cut back significantly on the paper we are recycling and the environmental impact to print and transport the bills to us (hydro, raw materials, gas etc etc).

Check back and I will update with the exact amount that we will be saving each year based on the bills we have now moved to epost.

No these shoes don't talk back to you but they were designed by NBA baller Steve Nash (yeah Canada) and are very cool. So what makes them so cool? Well they have been made from scrap materials leftover from the regular factory production.