Moving to California almost 15 years ago was a game changer for me in so many ways. I worked my way into the career I had dreamed about, met the man who would become my husband and turned into an eco-friendly, organic eating, energy saver. I tell anyone that if you want to be healthier, California makes it so easy to do your thing. Seriously, I’ve said this to everyone! There’s healthy eating options everywhere you look from grocery stores to restaurants. There are programs that encourage and make it easy for you to go green or make better energy choices.
Over that last few years, our family has made lots of changes to save more energy and be environmentally friendly. I’m always turning lights off and opening the blinds for natural light instead. There have been other small things like switching to LED lightbulbs throughout the house, recycling EVERYTHING, buying a high efficiency washing machine and doing our laundry using cold water.
Did you know that washing your clothes in cold water saves energy and can keep your clothes from shrinking and keep the color from fading as quickly? Or that your appliances use energy just by being plugged in? I’m looking at you toaster oven, can opener, phone chargers… How about LED light bulbs? Do you know they use at least 75% less energy than a regular light bulb, and can last up to 25 times longer than a regular light bulb?
One change always seems to piggy back to the next. Once we flipped the switch on eating better, it led to decisions to about what we used to cook and store our food. I’ve switched our family over from plastics to stainless steel and glass. I even got the stainless steel straws I saw Oprah sipping from years ago. Back then, I thought there were just an Oprah thing, I totally get it now! Ha!
All of these small things have led to more recycling and other decisions about conserving energy. The biggest switch we’ve made so far is to buy an electric car. No trips to the gas station and no oil changes – sign me up!
I feel like we’re always on the lookout for ideas of what could be a healthier and more energy efficient choice. That’s a good thing. Energy Upgrade California has created a movement so that everyone can do your thing to save more energy.
That’s how we do our thing over here. Have you made any changes? How will you Do Your Thing?
