How did you spend earth hour?

This year we spent a few hours outside with our neighbours. They set up a little bonfire in their fire pit (you know the kind that is in a cute bowl you can move around) and a few families gathered and we roasted some marshmallows. We talked about the homes around us that had all their lights on. And then we looked at our house and our outside lights were on! I forgot about our lights that are on a timer. We installed it when we moved because if our lights were on my husband would forget to turn them off before he went to bed. Good thing it was at 8pm that they went on. I went back home and hit the bypass to turn them off. Our house was dark and it felt great. Last year we went dark too, but I still worked by the light of my laptop on battery power. Yes I had a lot of work to do but it was nice to shut everything off for a few hours. It reminded all of us how nice it is to just sit back and relax. We all sat around the fire and said we want to do earth hour every week!

Dave and I discussed earth hour before the festivities began because there has been a lot of discussion about how worthy it actually is. I believe even a little something makes a difference. That is one of the reasons that we have done our small part to do what we can. We have a brand new house that is energy certified, our windows, extra insulation, high efficiency furnace, low flow toilets, showers and faucets. I adjust the thermostat a few degrees, I believe that you should be able to be comfortable inside in the same clothes you would wear outside, sweater in winter and tank top in summer (I still remember how cold my friends house was in the summer, so cold I needed to wear a sweater inside when it was hot outside). I use my a/c to just remove the humidity from my home, and love to take advantage of those breezy days and turn off the a/c and open up my windows. Installed compact florescent light bulbs in every light and put ceiling fans in every room we could. When we moved and bought our new appliances we made sure they offered the best energy guide rating. I love my front load washer and dryer! I do all of my laundry and run my dishwasher in off peak hours.

There are so many other "green" things that I do to help reduce our carbon footprint. I used no/low VOC paint when I painted the kids rooms, and will use it when we paint the rest of the house once our 1 year warranty is up. I use all natural eco-friendly cleaners and personal care products. We recycle and compost 90% of our garbage. I regularly visit our household hazardous waste and recycling depot to drop off items that should not go in the garbage. All of our clothing and household items we are no longer using get donated. We don't use a gas lawn mower. I put a "no junk mail" sticker in my mailbox. I shop at local farms in the warmer months. I shop at a grocery store that doesn't give out plastic bags so I bring my own. All of the wood products in my kitchen are bamboo. Just trying to think of it all I have realized a few extra things that I didn't think about.

I think the point of earth hour for me was to remind us to do the little things. If we all do a few little things it will make a difference. We can all make a difference - for our kids. If you question anything you have to remember that this is all for our kids, and their kids.