green tip Archives - Living Clean and Dirty

I Love T.O.U.

Ellen — Fri, 16 Sep 2022 18:37:00 +0000

This summer has been brutally hot, by mid-afternoon you could drown a toddler in my undies (yeah, that’s quite a picture). For the past two months I’ve opened my electric bill with the same nervous look like all the men anxiously waiting to hear Maury Povich tell them they are NOT the father. I know my electric usage stayed the same but my bill kept going up…like a lot. Like hundreds of dollars a lot. I couldn’t understand it, I’m an eco-warrior who turns off lights, has all Energy STAR appliances that I run only where they’re full, and I unplug stuff I don’t use so I’m not running phantom electric. Oh what’s phantom electric you ask? It’s an actual thing, it’s power wasted by devices that are plugged in but not in use – like your TV. Sometimes it is referred to as vampire energy (not sure why) or phantom loads (if ghost porn was a thing then this would be the last 2 minutes).

So all kidding aside, I didn’t raise my electric usage so how is my cost going through my solar panel-covered roof? Well my friends, after some investigating it turns out that much like my dating failures in the 90s the problem isn’t me…it’s them. Without any notification my electric company just decided to increase their rates.

As you probably know by now I’m a bit of a talker (or typer) so I got on the phone with my electric company to get some answers. The representative I spoke with was an absolute doll who felt bad for me and told me about this hidden gem that’s going to change my life.

T.O.U.

Ever heard of it? Nah, me neither, and I was shocked when she told me.

I asked each member of my family what they thought TOU stood for…

My adoring husband: Take Off Underwear

Dark-humored 17-year old daughter: Tunnels Of the Underworld

Social Media obsessed 15-year old daughter: Thinking Of U

Wrong (but I like where this is going), wrong (would it kill you to watch a comedy?), and so wrong that’s not how you even spell it (but honestly I thought the same thing).

Welcome to the wonderful world of Time Of Use (TOU) Rates. Here on Long Island, my electric company gives me the option to switch to a program where I save money when I use electric from 11pm-6am. It’s like the cost difference between riding the train during peak and off-peak hours. I can shift my energy use to a time that energy is less expensive giving me a lower rate. I have an electric car (yes it’s a Tesla and yes I feel superior 😉 ) and I already get a rebate if I charge it during 11pm-6am. But with this new program I switched to, those overnight savings are compounded and if I do nothing else differently then I could save up to $500 over the course of a year. It basically costs them less to provide energy in the middle of the night so it ends up being cheaper for the customer.

So your mileage may vary depending on where you live and what plans are available to you but it’s definitely worth looking into. As an eco-warrior (and a night owl) I plan to do my laundry and run my dishwasher during those hours and save even more money. And as a woman who was born somewhere between 1969 and 1971 I have been blessed with the gift of night sweats. Now I don’t feel so guilty about keeping the air conditioning running all night when we sleep. We still save money and I don’t wake up feeling like I went for a night swim. Not sure if your local electric company has this feature, but you should check their website or give them a call. With a little luck maybe in your house TOU will now stand for Time Of Usage and not That Outrageous Utility.

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Happy Earth Day 2022

Ellen — Fri, 22 Apr 2022 03:39:17 +0000

In my best Golden Girls Sophia voice…”Picture it, Washington, D.C. 1990, it was the 20th anniversary of Earth Day and I was right there on the National Mall standing shoulder to shoulder with Burt Reynolds”. OK, so Burt Reynolds wasn’t really there, at least not anywhere I could see him, but now I’m picturing the Golden Girls episode where Burt Reynolds came to pick up Sophia and left the rest of the girls with their jaws hanging open.

It may be hard to believe but on that day in 1990 I couldn’t have cared less about Earth Day or the environment. I was 20 years old and a student at GWU. I cared about the important things in life like getting tickets to the Richard Marx concert, going to see Pretty Woman in the theater and getting home in time to watch that new show called Twin Peaks. My friends and I happened to find ourselves people watching at the Mall (National, not shopping) on a lovely Sunday afternoon in April. We decided to walk around and ended up joining what turned out to be an Earth Day demonstration because…we were 20 and it was a nice way to kill a few hours before going out drinking.

Fast forward to Earth Day 2022, still no Burt Reynolds (because that would be creepy) but I strut around the house like it’s Ellen Day, although let’s be honest, most days are Ellen Days and I really should strut more. I get dressed up, I prance around my house like I won an award and try to do one really big thing to celebrate . About 11 years ago I got solar panels on my roof, 7 years ago I got a hybrid car, 6 years ago I started a food garden, and last year was my favorite…I brought home Tess (my fully electric Tesla). My whole family’s favorite holiday is Halloween, but Earth Day definitely has a special place in my heart. This is the one day every year that I can do my Snoopy dance and scream at the top of my lungs “if loving the Earth is wrong then I don’t want to be right!”, unfortunately my family believes this is one day too many, but you get the idea.

So while it’s not as sexy as a new car, solar panels or even 1990 Burt Reynolds this past year I’ve been embracing minimalism in all of its forms. I’ve been getting rid of toxic people (if you’re reading this then congratulations, you made the cut), simplifying my life and getting rid of stuff I don’t use or love.

However, this Eco-mama does love a good sale, especially an eco-friendly one. This year Earth Day falls on a Friday so while Green Friday (yes, it’s a thing, look it up) doesn’t come until November, I think there is room enough on the calendar for another Green Friday. If there are already holidays called Count Your Buttons Day and National Crouton Day then the criteria for adding holidays sounds pretty lax.

While I’m not the shopper I once was (think shopping mall and not National Mall) you can get some amazing Earth Day deals and support Earth loving companies.

Your power is in your wallet (my hubby thinks his power is in his pants, that’s where his wallet is so he’s technically right). The math is simple, If we support more eco-friendly companies and stop buying single use plastic, throw away items and boxed products with more packaging than product then we are sending a message. If you demand more eco-friendly shopping then the market will move in that direction. Never in my life would I have imagined a fully electric pickup truck yet almost every automotive company is in a race to be the first. Ford alone has 200,000 pre-orders for an electric pickup truck so the people have spoken.

My goal here is to show you how to go green while saving some green. And if you’d like to give back then send this article to your friends, families, enemies and neighbors and have them subscribe to my newsletter. Whether you’re a fan of Burt Reynolds, Debbie Reynolds or Ryan Reynolds we all like to save some money and we should all be interested in saving the Earth too.

Enjoy your Earth Day and be especially kind to mother Earth today. And while you’re at it, it wouldn’t kill you to call your mother, you know how she worries. If for no other reason she will probably get a kick out of a Golden Girls and Burt Reynolds reference and she’ll explain who Debbie Reynolds is.

I listed just some of my favorite companies that are celebrating Mama Earth with some specials and wanted to pass the info onto you. Click on the images and it’ll take you right to their site.

Some of the links in the post are affiliate links. For more information see my disclosure policy.

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Green Tip of the Week – The Year of Clear – Toxic Peeps

Ellen — Tue, 10 Mar 2020 02:28:30 +0000

Moved to the couch this time, I think the video is a little better. I can’t help with the content too much but I’ll be damned if I can’t clean up this video.

What I can offer you however, is three things…

The secret identity of Mike Hunt
The number of people you can control
The flavor of love

Stay tuned…

https://www.facebook.com/LivingCleanandDirty/videos/187947585959255/

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Green Tip of the Week – The Year of Clear – Kitchen Edition

Ellen — Sun, 16 Feb 2020 03:23:17 +0000

I hoped that maybe my Freddy Krueger sweater would make the video look better…no dice.

What I can offer you however, is three things…

What if Chewbacca was a coffee mug
I shit talk French Canadians
A farewell to our Freddy wrapped up in a guilt trip

Stay tuned…

https://www.facebook.com/LivingCleanandDirty/videos/649946542475278/

The post Green Tip of the Week – The Year of Clear – Kitchen Edition appeared first on Living Clean and Dirty.

Green Tip of the Week – The Year of Clear

Ellen — Sun, 09 Feb 2020 03:06:29 +0000

I’ll figure out the video quality even if it kills me. Maybe that’s what should go on his tombstone (watch the video and it’ll make more sense)

What I can offer you however, is three things…

An imaginary friend named Marissa
I talk shit about everybody’s family, including mine
An awesome giveaway

Stay tuned…

https://www.facebook.com/LivingCleanandDirty/videos/210636893399591/

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Green Tip of the Week – THRED UP

Ellen — Sun, 02 Feb 2020 02:52:05 +0000

Clearly if you want good video quality you’ve come to the wrong place.

What I can offer you however, is three things…

A call from The Avengers
A new color is discovered
A great way to give your old clothes a second life

Stay tuned…

https://www.facebook.com/LivingCleanandDirty/videos/1039701913095241/

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Just the Tip – You don’t bring me vases anymore

Ellen — Mon, 26 Jan 2015 22:09:53 +0000

I have to be honest, when it comes to husbands I’m pretty lucky. Sure I bust his balls all the time as I drag him with me on my journey into the green, but he’s definitely a good egg. Early on when we were still dating he bought me flowers and had them delivered to me at my apartment. I think it was a summer bouquet, because I remember the sunflowers; but more importantly I remember the tulips and the “two-lips” jokes we made for weeks after. Sure lots of guys send flowers when they fuck up, but this one only sends me flowers for no reason; what a jerk, right?

The point is my guy sends me flowers….a lot.

I already had a ton of vases before we met, got another bunch when we registered to get married and now have another shit-ton from my own personal FTD man (let’s call him husband). My home was starting to look like a florist’s safe house.

Well, green-old-me wasn’t going to just toss all these vases so I found a great new home for them…my local hospital. Call ahead to yours and make sure they accept donated vases, although it’s hard to believe that any wouldn’t. Some hospitals even have flower programs for patients that don’t get any visitors which I think is awesome. Or if you want to get an “in” with your local florist, donate them to your local flower shop so they can use them again. These are a great couple of ways to pass on the happy, clean out your house and keep recycling.

And personal FTD man, if you’re reading this (you’d better be). Next time when you send me flowers skip the vase option and instead go up a size in the arrangement. There may be grateful “tulips” already waiting for you at home.

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