Electrical, Plumbing, and Insulation, OH MY!

Yesterday I had a chance to speak with the builder of the shouse buildings at length. I told him my ideas and we batted around numbers. Here is what I think I have discovered:

1. I am going to have to run my own electric.
2. I am going to have to run my own plumbing.
3. I am going to have to do my own insulating.
4. I am going to have to do my own wall board.

The gentleman I spoke with was very helpful, but the numbers would far exceed my budget (especially since I really want 2 buildings), and so I think that I am back to running all the wiring, plumbing, and insulating all by myself. At first I found this revelation greatly intimidating, but now I realize that if I wasn't such a careful planner, that might be true. However, knowing I will have a plan in place before I ever leave the Phoenix area, I know that I can do it and I will do it well.

So I am going to sit down and re-figure all the supplies I will need to accomplish these tasks and formulate my plan of attack. Stay turned for posts on my discoveries with all of these important systems. Meanwhile, I think I will be doing lots of reading.

Pet Food Storage

I have a dog and a cat. Both are deaf. The cat is blind as well. AND the cat will only eat dog food. The dog will eat anything. He is a fatty. To save on costs, I purchase large bags of dog food and refill an airtight storage container that is slim and slides in between the pantry wall and the refrigerator. It is not attractive, but it works well enough. This is what it looks like:

I would describe this container as utilitarian. It does just what it is designed to do, no more, no less. However, in my Shouse I will not have the clever stash space to slide this into. Last night while out holiday shopping I stopped in at my local World Market. This place really has some great finds from around the world. I actually popped in to pick up a bottle of Muscato for my Secret Santa exchange at work, but, of course, had to walk around. That is when I found this:

This large canister holds 20# of dog food and stands 15" tall x 12" in diameter. The lid fits snuggly and the scoop is included. The photo really doesn't do this justice. It is a lovely creamy white and has a brown lid. The entire can is metal. The best part? The price is $24.99 on sale right now (you save $5). You can order it on their website at http://www.worldmarket.com/product/pet-food-canister-wscoop.do?from=ac . This cannister allows me to hide a good quantity of dog food in plain site. It has a nice homey feel and will blend into my decor very well.

So, if you are looking for a great gift for the pet lover in your life, you should consider one of these. I am sure I will be using it for years to come.

How do you store your pet food?

Ceiling Fan Direction to Help Heat and Cool

Ceiling fans are a staple in Arizona. I have one in almost every room of my house and I plan to have them in the Shouse as well. Many folks do not know that a ceiling fan not only helps you feel cooler in the summer, but warmer in the winter as well.

During the summer months a fan should be set so the blades turn counterclockwise. They should be set to turn quite rapidly as this helps to push the air down. Airflow from a ceiling fan can make a room feel as though it is 8 to 10 degrees cooler than the room actually is. This is due to the wind chill effect. Ceiling fans can help reduce your air conditioning bill by as much as 40% in the summer months.

During the winter a fan should be set to turn the blades clockwise and at a slow rate. This creates a gentle updraft which pulls cooler air up and forces the warm air that rises and is trapped at the ceiling to move down, thus making the room warmer. By setting the blades to turn rather slowly, you do not create the wind chill effect, but move the air from the ceiling down the walls. Running your ceiling fan in this manner in the winter can help you save up to 15% on your heating costs.

If you have very high cathedral ceilings like I do in my living room right now, you do not need to switch the directions as the height of the ceiling will negate the wind chill effect. The speed will help force the hot air back down and keep the air circulating up by the ceiling.

You can adjust the direction of blade spin on your ceiling fan from the remote if your fan has one or on the fan housing itself. There is a small switch on the fan housing.

If you don't own a ceiling fan, you should consider installing one in each of your most frequently used rooms. They start at around $15 and pay for themselves in a very short period of time in both heating and cooling savings. Ceiling fans are relatively easy to install and provide years of hassle free use.

Saving On Heating Costs From the Comfort of Your Bed

Heating Mattress Pad 

I woke up this morning around 4 a.m. for some reason. Not quite awake, not quite asleep, but aware that the air in the room is cool and the bed so nice and warm. Curled up beside me is my cat, who I like to refer to as the space heater, warm and snugly as well. It got me thinking about heating blankets and how wonderful they are. It also inspired me to write about the cost savings for those who use them and turn down their thermostat at night.

I discovered the Electric Blanket Institute (yes, there is such a place) at http://www.electricblanketinstitute.com/features-benefits/actual-cost-to-run.html has a wonderful bit of information about just how much the estimated costs of running a heating blanket and/or a heating mattress pad. I thought I would share that with you today since the holidays are rapidly approaching and you might want to consider adding a heating blanket to your wish list.

Actual Cost To Run
Electric Blankets or Electric Mattress Pads

Federal Government Ranking of Appliance Energy Usage

How does electric blanket energy compare to that of other appliances? The United States Department of Energy rates a heated blanket as the most energy efficient appliance in your home.

Source: US Dept. of Energy booklet “Energy Savers – Tips on Saving Energy and Money at Home” October 2008

Electric Blanket Energy Usage – Actual Cost to Run

People often ask us how much energy does a typical automatic blanket use or how many watts do electric blankets consume. Do not be confused by the manufacturer’s rating-tag wattage. Many manufacturers artificially over-state their products’ wattage rating in order to imply more heat and to assure that they will never exceed UL’s stringent requirements on ratings. In fact, all warming blankets consume only around 75 – 100 watts (per side on Dual controlled models) when used on HI. However many people set their controls around #5 or lower thus effectively halving that wattage to 40 – 50 watts. For eight hours, this amounts to approximately 0.35kwh consumed or about 4 cents per night in most areas of this country.

Heated Mattress Pad Energy Usage – Actual Cost to Run

Additionally people ask us how much energy or wattage do typical electric mattress pads use. Again, do not go by the rating-tag watts. When actually measured, most warming mattress pads consume around 60 to 90 watts (per side on Dual controlled models) when used at HI. Inherently, electric mattress pads are more efficient than electric blankets because ALL the heat of the pad is trapped in the air space under the top sheet and top blanket, whereas much of the heat generated by an electric blanket travels upward to the ceiling of the room. Many people set their pad controls around #3 thus effectively cutting wattage consumption to only 20 watts. For eight hours, this amounts to less than 0.2 kWh consumed or about 2-3 cents per night in most areas of the USA.

Heating Cost and Energy SAVINGS from
Electric Blankets and Heated Mattress Pads

Saving Energy and Heating Costs

Are you trying to lower your heating costs and save energy? How can electric blankets or heated mattress pads save energy or save you any fuel costs? It’s because you can turn your house furnace thermostat down while you sleep and still stay warm and comfortable in your bed. Obviously it costs a lot less to heat beds than whole houses. We've heard it asked: Why would I want to heat my kitchen when I'm asleep in my bed?

Conservatively, in most parts of the United States, you can save 1% of the house-heating bill for EACH degree the furnace thermostat is turned down for a period of just eight hours! In some cities, 2% or more per degree setback can be saved. Thus, for example, if your heating bill is $200 for one month and you turn your house thermostat down by 10 degrees just while you sleep you will save $20-$40 in your heating costs during that one month! Therefore, your electric blanket or electric mattress pad product will pay for itself quite quickly in energy savings. Note: You can easily install a programmable thermostat and set it to warm your house just prior to awakening for total comfort.

Real Life Examples from Trusted Authoritative Sources

A very good article demonstrating actual energy savings can be found in the February/March 2008 issue of Mother Earth News®. The author shows how he spent $125 for a warming mattress pad and saved $186 the first year in energy savings, not to mention a CO2 reduction of 1150 pounds. He further estimates his 10-year heating cost savings due to the electric mattress pad at almost $3000! What a payback not even counting all the comfort and health benefits he gained! Check out that Mother Earth News article here.

Another trustworthy article recording actual energy savings can be found in a forum moderated by Alan Graham, liaison for the Discovery Channel's Treehugger where Mr. Graham states he paid for his electric mattress pad with two months of home heating savings. He says he further benefited by never getting a chill during the night while also helping to save the environment.

A very similar story is documented at Planet Green and in January of 2009, Consumer Reports stated that the average American household would save $233 per year by lowering the home thermostat 8 degrees for 8 hours per day 25 weeks per year.

So, as you can see, investing in a good heating blanket or heating mattress pad is definitely something to consider. While not an inexpensive investment, the rate of return is rather fast, being less than one winter season. You can sleep well both warm and knowing that you are doing something comfortable and healthy for you as well as wise for the environment.

Do you currently own a heating blanket or heating mattress pad?

Lost and Found Blogs

Last night I was searching through old emails to locate the contact information for the person who designed my logo for a podcast I produce. I came across an email confirmation for a Wordpress blog I started in 2010 and then promptly forgot about. Shortly after starting the blog I moved houses and I guess the blog just got trumped by all the drama of relocation and settlement. I find it rather sad. Somewhere out in cyber space is another webpage I started that is my first ever bucket list. I have no idea where that is, but finding this old blog has really got me thinking. How long do blogs and webpages that are not updated hang around on the web?

The scary answer is FOREVER. They simply don't "expire."

Most blog host sites that offer free blog space will not fry off inactive blogs. There are some rare exceptions to this rule. A good example of this is Geocities. I remember when I first started teaching Geocities was the most popular place to get a free teacher website. I started one and occasionally updated it, but eventually I switched schools and, out of site out of mind, I forgot about it. Geocities was eventually sold off, absorbed, tweaked, and ultimately 38 million individual sites were fried off when Yahoo, the company that acquired Geocities, decided to change the format. Geocities is only in existance in Japan now and my original website from 1999 is long gone. This is not unusual, but unless the actual website closes, chances are your stuff will still be chilling out there in cyberspace incomplete and lonely, just waiting for you to remember or rediscover it.

Despite my best efforts to Google myself and whatever I thought I named my bucket list, I cannot locate it yet. I am not too concerned as I have a more modern, updated version, but the idea of this internet detritus got me thinking about just how many abandoned or forgotten blogs there must be out there. The sheer number of websites and blogs out there that are lonely and not updated simply because they are forgotten is mind boggling. Estimates are that there are 12 million bloggers. Of the blogs created, 60% to 80% are abandoned within the first month. Most that are not abandoned are just updated sporadically at best, and then, with content that average reader has no interest in i.e. personal travel, family updates, etc. I found a great site that has research data about blogs and blogging at http://www.caslon.com.au/weblogprofile1.htm which made for very interesting reading. I have found my forgotten blog is not alone by any means.

Will I ever find my original bucket list? Probably not. Do I really care? No. But I kind of look upon abandoned blogs as the trash of the internet. Who is going to clean up all this scrap? Arguments are they are like the library at Alexandria and no one should. We are free to use it for historical documentations. Snapshots of our modern times. Material ripe with our culture so that future generations of users can better understand those that came before. Whatever. I guess I will just add "Find my original bucket list" to my current bucket list.

Mason Jar Monday - Easy Pasta Salad for a Quick Meal

Happy Mason Jar Monday! Today's Mason jar idea is actually a quick, easy, and economical meal option that you cook up and store in a Mason jar. You can make enough to have a quick lunch for a week or you can serve it as a side dish.

This dish most likely can be made from items you already have on hand. Servings cost less than a dollar! Also, this is quick. Cooking time is around 9 minutes (follow the box for the pasta you choose) and it just needs to chill for a bit in the fridge. So simple!



You will need:

Elbow Macaroni or Mini Penne Pasta
Salad Dressing of Your Choice (I like to use Ranch or Balsamic Vinaigrette)
Shredded Cheese
Salt and Pepper

Yum! 

Directions:

1. Cook your pasta following the directions on the package
2. Drain it well and rinse with cold running water. While macaroni is still in the colander, use a spoon to stir the pasta to allow water caught up in the hollow part of the macaroni to drain.
3. Add 1 tablespoon of dressing for every 1 cup of pasta. You can add more or less to taste, but I found this ratio to work pretty well. 
4. Shake a little cheese on there and add salt and pepper to taste. 
5. Stir it up well. 
6. Spoon into jars, put on a lid, and chill in the refrigerator for at least an hour before serving.

Store up to one week in the refrigerator.

Do you have an easy recipe you would like to share? Share it in the comments below!

5 Reasons You Need a Thermos

Old School Thermos - 1950's

This morning is again chilly and I put the kettle on to make myself a nice hot cup of tea. I thought about all the energy a stove uses to heat up the kettle and how so much of that energy is wasted when all I pour is one cup. I know I will be back later for another, but for now I only will pour one cup which will require me to heat the water again. Then it occurred to me that I have an old-school Thermos. In fact, I have two. I fetched one out, dropped a tea bag in, and filled the container with the remaining hot water. In two hours I will still have a cup of hot tea. In four hours I will have another cup of hot tea. This one time heating water will keep me enjoying my drink all day long.

Thermos is actually a trademarked name for a style of insulated bottle meant to keep liquids hot. The word Thermos was derived from the Greek word therme, meaning warm. Thermoses  (Yes, that is the plural form of Thermos. I looked it up.) were invented in 1892 the brainchild of an Oxford University Scientist named Sir James Dewar. He initially named his invention a "Vacuum Flask." In 1907 the rights to the thermos were sold to several companies, but The Canadian Thermos Bottle Company really were the ones to put the glass lined bottles on the map by outfitting several explorers with the bottles (yes, the pun was intended). The Shackleton Expedition famously carried Thermoses as well as the Wright brothers taking one with them for a nice warm drink in flight (minus the stewardess reminding them to put their seat back in the upright position and making sure their tray table was secured).

Modern Thermos w/12 v. Heat Element

By 1911 Thermoses were in high demand and the technology was developed to allow machines to make the glass liners. Production could be greatly increased. By 1923 new models were being introduced to the marketplace that were larger and able to store more of the fabulous hot stuff we so love on a cold day. But wait, they were not just for hot liquids, but stored cold liquids like no other as well. Since this was prior to the invention of electric refrigeration, they were highly prized for storing things like ice cream and even frozen fish! Thermos bottles were used for all types of things including transporting scientific instruments, medications like Insulin, and even blood products such as plasma.

The next significant technology advance made using stainless steel in the creation of the bottles. Later they would introduce plastic versions that many of us had in lunch boxes in the 1970's and 1980's.  In 1986 The Coffee Butler was introduced to keep coffee warm and sales greatly increased yet again. Ever been to a restaurant where they bring you a pot of coffee they leave at your table? You can thank Thermos for that too!

Yup, hot tea in the morning!

Sales of this old standby have never significantly decreased. So why is it that I never thought to use this in my house on a daily basis and not just when on a long car trip or in my lunch box? Think of the energy wasted reheating a kettle for just a cup of tea here or a cup of instant coffee there. I think I will get in the habit of pouring my pot of coffee each morning into my Thermos. Hot coffee all day? Cold ice tea all summer? Soups and stews steaming hot when I am ready to eat? Oh yes! I would even go so far as to say that when winter storm warnings are in affect, a nice thermos full of hot water might be a good thing just in case the power goes out. Hot water could save your life if you were stranded in your car due to snowfall.

So the 5 reasons every household and homestead should have a Thermos or two:

1. Saves energy and fuel. No keeping the coffee pot heating all day. No reheating the kettle for just one cup.
2. Hot liquids could save your life if that power goes out during a snow or ice storm.
3. Hot stew, soup, coffe, tea, cocoa, etc. are all much better hot, not lukewarm. Left-over's don't seem so left-over-ish.
4. Cold foods stay cold in a Thermos. Foods don't spoil in the hot sun on a picnic. Ice tea is still ice cold. Soda will keep its fizz.
5. Thermoses make it easy to sit in bed on a lazy Sunday morning enjoying hot tea and writing blog posts without having to run to the kitchen for a refill.

Do you have a Thermos? Do you remember having one as a child in a lunch box? Share your Thermos experience with us!