Saving Energy in the KitchenWritten by Lillian & Dave Brummet
Saving Energy in Kitchen (312 words)The kitchen, with all its appliances, gadgets and heat, is a real hotspot for potential energy saving. As oven uses most energy and creates a vast amount of heat while cooking foods, it is a good place to start. For instance, when baking cookies use two trays. While one is in oven baking, other one is prepped with raw cookies – ready to replace tray in oven with no wasted heat and some time saved. When we bake bread we also fill oven with foil wrapped potatoes. The potatoes can be stored in fridge without foil and used throughout week in a myriad of recipes, or as a side dish. This method can be applied to a menu plan in that if you are baking one dish, try to include a side dish that is baked as well. By turning off oven a minute or two before dish is done, residual heat will finish cooking. When done with oven, open door to allow any leftover heat to warm home.
| | Garbage in its PlaceWritten by Lillian & Dave Brummet
Garbage in its Place (352 words)There is nothing worse than seeing garbage blowing down street of your neighborhood, or finding broken shards of glass at local swimming hole where children play. Wildlife is just as vulnerable to garbage and many have lost their lives after becoming tangled in waste or mistaking garbage for food. It is up to each of us to make an effort to minimize this unsightly, and sometimes hazardous, problem. Animals, wind and traffic breezes put legs to loose garbage and are able to distribute it great distances from original source. The first thing that we can do to prevent this is to ensure trashcan and dumpster lids are secure. Metal and plastic trashcans are more preventative than bags - leaving a bag out over night or even for several hours, is an enticing invitation for stray animals to wreak havoc. When taking a load to dump, be sure that it is securely covered by tightly tying a tarp over load with some rope or bungee cords. Carry plastic shopping bags on your walks to clean up litter that you find along way. Often, people are rewarded for their efforts by deposits returned from bottles and cans. Those who have noticed your efforts will begin taking up same habit once they realize impact it has.
|
