Going Green & Going Lean

Going Green

How Jamieson Reduced its Water and Electricity Consumption

 1.  Established a Baseline

The first step in the process was to establish a base line.  The Trustees established a spreadsheet by which to track consumption by the appropriate factor for every electricity, water, fuel oil, and telephone invoice.  

2.  Conducted a Survey and Identified Utility Robbers

 The second step involved conducting a survey of the church property, looking for and documenting obvious “utility robbers.”  Utility robbers included:

 3.  Maintenance, Maintenance, Maintenance

Certainly, modern commodes, sinks and faucets, and energy efficient lighting and hot water heaters would have been the easy solution, but the immediate cost far out-weighed the benefit.  Therefore, “maintenance, maintenance, maintenance” became the battle cry, and the Trustees tackled the following problems:

Most people think that you can hear a leaking toilet and if it’s bad enough you can.  However, toilet “water robbers” can be very sneaky.  To check your toilet for silent leaks, place a few drops of food coloring in the toilet tank. If you find colored water in the bowl when you check it 30 minutes later, you have just identified one of those sneaky water robbers.  Replacing the flapper is simple and inexpensive and the savings are significant. 

Going Lean

In this time of belt-tightening there are many ways that we can be frugal and practice voluntary simplicity. Here are some possibilities:

1. Increase the deductible on your homeowners’ and automobile insurance policies.

2. Contact the phone company. Bundling (or unbundling) the land line and cell phone may be cost efficient. If savings are minimal, ask to speak to someone who may be able to find more savings or hint that it may be necessary for you to contact another phone company. Consider eliminating voice mail, call waiting, caller ID, etc.

3. Contact your cable or satellite company. Consider buying a package with fewer channels. Eliminate or reduce premium channels.

4. Eliminate satellite radio.

5. Clip coupons, organize them and USE them.  One of the better coupon sites is:  www.couponsuzy.com

6. Have meatless dinners 2 or 3 times a week.

7. Do your waistline and your pocketbook a favor by skipping second helpings 3 times a week and desserts 3 times a week. Have popcorn instead of dessert.

8. If a washer or dryer has to be replaced, look for the energy and/or water savings on various models and buy accordingly. Sometimes “lean” is also “green.”

9. Buy new items of clothing only when they replace ones that are worn out or no longer fit.

10. Use the Jamieson “post office” to communicate with church members.

11. Turning off unnecessary lights reduces electric bills. My grandmother used to tell me not to “burn a hole in the daylight.” By that she meant that I should not turn on lights in the daytime unless they were absolutely necessary.

12. Pre-seasoned side dishes do save time but not the pocketbook. The homemade version will be cheaper, have less salt and fat, and no additives.

13. Never buy chicken broth. Save the broth from stewing chicken pieces for recipes. After refrigerating a few hours, the fat can be removed easily. The broth will be salt-free and almost fat-free in addition to $-free.

14. Don’t buy beverages that are available at home. Iced tea can be made and refrigerated for several days. Vary the flavor by adding some liquid from canned fruit (which you’ve saved from making a congealed salad).

15. Skip pre-seasoned, packaged meats. Cuts without seasoning allow for multiple uses in a variety of dishes.

16. Compare prices between Food Lion and Dollar General Market Place. Make a mental note of which store routinely offers the best price on items you purchase often.

17. Not a member of Sam’s Club, Costco, etc.? Find a friend who has a membership and plan a trip for three or four. Take advantage of bulk purchases or the store’s coupon book where available.

18. Have a clothes-swapping party with a few friends. Take an arm-load of gently worn clothes; leave with a few “new to you” items; give the rest to a charity.

19. From Consumer Reports on supermarkets:

a. Supermarkets sell prime display space on middle or eye-level shelving. Check whether similar products on top or bottom shelves are less expensive.

b. Shoppers often assume products on aisle ends are on sale, but they may be products about to expire. Check the expiration date. Also, one item (such as chips) may be on sale while accompanying items (salsa, dips) aren’t.

c. Sometimes, large size packages aren’t cheaper. Compare unit prices.

d. You may pay dearly for cut-up produce. Ex.—a bag of shredded carrots may cost 5 times as much, on a unit-cost basis, as a bag of whole carrots. Shred your own.

e. Avoid overpriced, check-out snack items.

f. For the longest shelf life, burrow to the back of the shelf, refrigerator or freezer.

g. Featured items in flyers aren’t necessarily on sale.

h. A sign offering 10/$10 doesn’t mean you have to buy all 10 to get the discount.

i. Some produce is much cheaper by the bag than by the pound. If it has a long shelf life, bagged produce is a better buy.

20. Skip extras and buy just food and needed over-the-counter medications for a month.

21. Eat out of your pantry for a week.

22. Find out what the weekly Food Stamp allowance would be for a family of your size. Try spending no more than that for a week.

23. Barter services, such as exchanging piano lessons for house cleaning.

24. With a few friends, decide which magazines are of interest to everyone. Each friend then subscribes to one magazine and shares it with the others.

25. From the Richmond Times-Dispatch:

a. Look for concentrated cleaners (such as Simple Green) where you simply add water yourself.

b. Break the paper towel habit by making rags from old, cotton t-shirts or towels. Keep some near the sink to prevent temptation. Sponges work well, too. Zap a sopping wet rag or sponge in the microwave for 30 seconds on High once a week to keep them smelling fresh. Throw the rags in the washer with towels and use non-chlorine bleach occasionally.

c. Rent books and movies from the library rather than buying them.

d. Save money on envelopes and stamps by signing up for electronic bills paid by automatic bank drafts. Pay careful attention to your bank statement to avoid the possibility of an error.

e. Energy Star-rated light bulbs and fixtures use at least two-thirds less energy than regular lighting.

26. American Profile newspaper supplement suggests the following publication for money- saving ideas. Send a SASE (self-addressed, stamped envelope) to Home Economiser Free Sample Issue, P. O. Box 12603, Scottsdale, AZ 85267