Sometimes it’s hard to keep up the green momentum, especially when life gets hectic.
Does it really make a difference if we turn the heating down by a couple of degrees or take shorter showers? I had an answer to that question today.
As I was decluttering and shredding old papers, I found our bill notices from the second quarter of 2005.
It was interesting to see how much our USAGE has dropped since then – water has come down by 38.5%, electricity by 32% and gas by a whopping 40.5%. We now use the gas equivalent of a one and a half person household (there are four adults living here).
It’s simultaneously rewarding and cringe-inducing – it’s hard to believe that we used to consume so much power and water, but rewarding to see all the small changes adding up a whole lot over 14 years. I’ve tried to figure it out before, but utility prices have more than doubled over the past decade, making it difficult to really track how we’re doing from one quarter to the next.
I always have a moment’s hesitation before posting something like this because without fail, someone will leave me a comment saying that I’ve made them feel guilty. Please understand that it’s never my intention to make anyone feel bad – I’m acutely aware that we all have complicated lives and that we can only do what our circumstances permit. And believe me, our household still has a long way to go, particularly on the electricity front.
What I hope is that this post will encourage you (and ourselves) to keep going! Small changes and tweaks are definitely worth the effort – switching to energy saving light bulbs and using the eco setting on the dishwasher might seem trivial, but they really do make a difference! ♥
Fig Jam and Lime Cordial 
Celia that’s very insightful! Everyone’s lifestyle is different. Having said that we haven’t found much difference in our bills- they either go up drastically or stay at leverage. We hardly use our lights & find the tv brightness is enough at times. We have a reverse cycle A/C but we opt to wear warmer pjs & socks etc. No dishwasher. Most of my cooking is done on the outside bbq gas cooker. For us, it hasn’t made much of a difference however which way we’ve tried to conserve energy. But health wise – cutting back on electrical usage has made a huge positive impact to say the least.
Lina, our costs seem to stay the same too – that’s why this was so interesting. Our usage has gone down a lot, which means things are working, but the price of electricity, gas and water have gone up massively so we’re still paying the same or a bit more!
I think this is an encouraging post Celia! Well done. We’re pretty good, but you’ve inspired me (as you do) xo
This is the sort of timeline that we have to measure in. One of the problems when some people decide to conserve energy (or live greener or whatever) is that they try to do everything in one go, which is difficult and often ends in disappointment and failure. As you’ve proved, taking small steps that you hardly notice is definitely the way to go.
We were away for a few days recently and I was shocked at how many paper napkins we were offered. I hadn’t taken my Mating Panda cloth napkins (they’re always in the wash because my grandsons insist on using them) but next time I’ll definitely pack them. Small steps …
It’s hard to notice the difference or impact of small actions but when these are combined together they do make a difference.
For instance, following a famous documentary on plastic impact on water by David Attenborough, I seem to notice less people using one way cups. When one adds these up over a large population like London, then the impact is not so small.
Sometimes I do feel overwhelmed or disheartened but I still try to keep it up.
Thanks for sharing your stories !
Energy use increases exponentially with temperature (eg 2x temperature -> 4x energy use).
Turning our heater down from factory setting of 21.5°C to 19.5°C halved our winter power bill.
Yes it does encourage us to keep going. Even little steps make a difference. It’s better to be in with those who try, no matter how small, rather than not bother at all. Keep on going peeps!
Small steps from lots of people leads to big change! Love it. :)
I’m very fortunate to have 20 solar panels or 6 Kw of solar power, and live in north Queensland. What has made a big difference is using all my high-draw appliances while we’re generating power, during the day. We’ve also switched to a 12v TV running off a deep-cycle battery that charges during the day, and our bathroom is now lit by a solar light tube during the day (having no outside window) instead of turning on an overhead light. It definitely all adds up.
Not at all guilty. Rather, inspired. My husband and I are working hard to decrease our energy usage. We are not where you are, but we hope to be. Perhaps you might write a post outlining all that you have done to drastically reduce your power usage.
Agree with everyone else – this is really inspiring!
I love that small changes over the long term can make such a difference – definitely easier to maintain too!
Nope, you don’t make me feel guilty. We keep our home at 60 degrees during the day in the winter. I’m the one to pay the heating bill. Just put on heavier socks and another layer.
It takes drip after drip of water to fill a rain barrel. Your plants and your water bill will love the results.
I think every bit of education we get helps. Some of these things are counter-intuitive. I knew, for example, that newer bulbs are more eco-friendly, but had assumed (incorrectly) until reading something quite recently that the sensible thing to avoid unnecessary waste was to wait until they broke and replace them, rather than take them out and replace them with a new one straight away. I just wasn’t sure how much energy goes into making them and how it all balances itself out.
Yes, inspiring. Hard to judge usage and cost. I am on comfort billing so price is always the same But, some years I get a rebate :) And people always c/o that my house is too cold…guess that’s a good thing!
I love the ideas you come up with, it’s so nice to see someone trying to do better
Generously shared inspiration, as always. We were just, minutes ago, discussing solar panels. We continue to defer installing them preferring to focus on using less electricity. Our usage since we moved here 3ish years ago has been static, mainly because house built in the 1930’s of asbestos fibro was already quite eco-friendly oriented north east, with verandah, off ground on raised stumps, with rainwater tanks. We re-use laundry and kitchen water on the garden. We added whirly birds and insulation to the roof space. But our most efficient saving efforts since 2005 are ditching the energy guzzling era electric clothes dryer, pigeon pair fridges and bar fridge for a single 2 door fridge-freezer, old electric stove for gas stove and bbq(s), resisting the urge for a dishwasher and home cinema experience retaining our small TV which we only use for an hour or 2 in the evenings, a new energy friendly aircon but use it sparingly, preferring overhead fans, summer breeze, and winter woodfire for which the G.O. sources already dead wood. Our downside is that our lovely rural village is 30 kms from town, no public transport, so we have 2 cars and drive more than an we did in the city.
I completely agree, we are living off-grid now as we set up a farm and I cringe at the amount of water we must have used in the past. When something comes so easily, it is simple to forget how much value that item actually has.
Congratulations on dropping your bills so much, it’s really awesome!
xx
Thank you Celia for your insight and yes we are using less fuel and water than we were 10 years ago. When I was a kid in Adelaide the only time I thought about water was when we had water restrictions and Mum made sure we abided by them. During the water restrictions we were advised not to run the tap while cleaning our teeth so I did not and I still don’t 60 years later.
We were asked to have a bath in only 2inches of water and you know we got the ruler out and measured it :-) Funny what you remember :-)
Celia: You may be paying around the same amount now, but just think what it would be if you hadn’t cut back. :~D
I have problems with cutting back. I’m in the middle of four garden homes, so no windows on the sides. I keep the lights off as much as possible but the lack of light does affect my mood.
Heating is another thing… I am perpetually cold. If it is below 70 I’m freezing, even outside in the summer. Our temps. can go down to -20 and below in the winter, and I find below 76 in the house I’m vibrating with the cold.
I do try though to conserve as much as I can. The heat is turned down to 68 at night and the next day I can usually go at that heat for at least half the day (bundled up).
My daughter comes to do her laundry every week, so nix on the water, although I do take much shorter showers, make sure the toilet isn’t running (that will put you in the poor house). and don’t leave taps running too long.
As you say circumstances change everything.
A disturbing thing I found out on the news was, that 98% of the plastic we put in our recycle bin is not recyclable here in Canada.
If we have to be ecology minded then I think our Government should have to lead the way.
I agree with everyone this is really inspiring
Great, Post.
Every little bit counts and I am reminded every time that we go away in our caravan, how simply we can live.
Lots of support here! Agree. Reminded of ealier this year, young rel proudly told me she had been to a rally against coal mine. “You left the airconditioner and lights on in your room” I pointed out. “So?” “Well, if we all cut down our electricity by 10%, we wouldn’t need another power plant would we?” “Oh…….”
From the moment I retired here in Holland( Europe) I am trying to cut back on practically anything.
It is a real challenge on water; as being a man I use the toilet less often, but the little sink in the restroom more frequent.
In place of gas to heat up the water I am using a small electric heater.
Sometimes I am thinking about moving to a cheaper country
Very inspiring words.
hi celia
i was amused and pleased to hear prince harry say that he goes around turning off lights and switches! and that meghan thinks he is nuts:-) nice to see that even super rich people are aware of the planet. hubby and i always turn off everything at the wall each night; we only have short showers, and we have now bought a tiny electric jug for coffee etc instead of the huge one which broke! my sister laughs when i tell her another appliance has gone down the tubes. soooo many kettles and toasters. my mum said she was murder on them too. maybe she and i have some weird electricity in our bodies??….. globes blow all the time too.
We have been in reduction mode for many years. Mr Tiffin is on board but sometimes has a bit of a dig about me switching off a light he forgot or catching some water from the tap. I tell him about my parents (my Dad in particular) being vigilant about switching off lights as electricity was expensive and my parents didn’t have a lot of money. This form of being careful with resources has been with me a long time.I also remember the SEQEB strikes of the early 80’s. As for water…. what a precious, precious commodity. I can’t bare to see it wasted when people have nothing clean to drink in Sub Saharan Africa and the rivers here are dry. The commodification of water leaves me aghast so it’s important I do what I can to manage the water I have on tap, efficiently. It all counts!