Unplugged outdoor lighting

Unplugged outdoor lighting

Summer is a great time to entertain your family and friends outdoors. My family spends a lot of time outdoors, and I’m all for taking the family fun outside to reduce our energy use and beautifying the backyard and patio. Upgrading to energy-efficient outdoor lighting products can make your home look great and help you save energy all year long.

I’m a DIYer to the core. I always seem to have my hand in some sort of home improvement project. To be honest, sometimes it feels like the list never ends. You check one project off your list, and you add two more. The good news is that these projects are fun and can make your house look great.

This year I had a few extra “to-do’s” on my list. As we were sprucing up the landscaping I decided this was the year the outdoor lighting needed an upgrade. Let me just say it was well past-due!

Off we went to the local home improvement store. You can get lost in those lighting aisles. As we browsed the aisles we found all sorts of things, from energy-efficient solar pathway and landscape lighting to ENERGY STAR® qualified fixtures, LED light bulbs and even exterior lights with motion sensors.

Based on what we had at our home, I opted for new LED lighting. Did you know that energy-efficient ENERGY STAR® LED bulbs use up to 75 percent less energy and last up to 20 times longer than traditional incandescent bulbs. (That’s a pretty big deal.)

But I wasn’t finished just yet. While some of the lights have motion detectors, I also wanted to put them on a timer. It seems we’re always flipping the light on for company and leaving it on … all night long. Those days (and nights) were about to end. We installed the perfect outdoor timer for us. We were able to adjust the dusk/dawn time settings. Easy! We’ll just have to remember to adjust in the fall when it gets a darker a bit earlier.

Patio light timer

And who doesn’t want to have a beautiful patio? The next thing on my list was to break out these super cute Mason jar solar light accents.

mason jar light mason jar light

They recharge daily with the sun and can be customized by adding a little extra decoration to the outside of the jar or by filling them. I filled mine with sea shells, but sand and a little flower or gemstones would also look great!

Landscape lighting

Are you thinking of upgrading your outdoor or patio lighting or have you finished any new projects? We’d love to hear what you’ve done in the comments below

These lights are right up your alley

These lights are right up your alley

Getting “unplugged” gets harder and harder these days. We’re so dependent on electronic gadgets and gizmos that it’s difficult to think of a time when I’m not within 5 feet of at least my mobile phone. It seems just about everything we do is behind a screen. Whether I’m at my computer writing a blog post or using my phone to pay a bill, I’m always connected.

I’ve made it my personal mission to make sure my family takes the time to completely unplug and enjoy the dog days of summer. It was time to turn off the phones, TV and tablets and get outside for family fun that was right up our alley.

We wanted to spend these beautiful summer nights outdoors so we brought the bowling alley to our backyard.

Glow Stick Bowling

What you need
10 Glow Sticks
10 empty water bottles

 How we did it:
After digging 10 water bottles out of the recycling bin, I simply filled them with water. Next, I activated the Glow Sticks and plopped them in.

glow bowling

All that was left was to put on the lid, grab a ball and bowl.

glow bowling

Once it started to get dark, I set up the “pins.” I must say it looked really cool.

glow bowling

We still had a touch of World Cup fever, so we used a soccer ball and “bowled” with our feet. Simple, easy and a great new spin on an old classic. The kids loved it, and to be honest, so did we. It was hilarious to see just how bad our aim was at first. The best score was obtained by my little one, who is 2. She “bowled” with her hands and feet. And at times, she took off with a pin or two.

It was an unplugged summer night success. Check back to see what activity is next on the list and visit Project Envolve to what fun activities these families came up with.

Glow Bowling - Strike

 

Did you give glow bowling a try? Comment below with other family fun activities you’d like to share.

6 ways to save energy at home while you’re on vacation

6 ways to save energy at home while you’re on vacation

Relax and kick back – you’re going on vacation! But don’t take a vacation from saving energy at home. While you’re lying on a beach or exploring a new city, your empty house is still using energy.

Here are some tips to help you save energy while you’re away:

1. Change your thermostat: Set the thermostat temperature much higher than usual. No need to spend money to cool a home when you won’t be there, unless you have pets that will be staying behind.

2. Adjust your water heater: Turn down your water heater to “vacation” or “pilot” mode. Water heating can account for up to 25 percent of the energy consumed in your home, and a large percentage of this cost is to have hot water ready to use, according to ENERGY STAR.

3. Unplug your electronics: Even when your electronics and appliances are turned off, they still use small amounts of power. Unplug your computer, TVs, video game system, coffee maker, etc. Or if these items are plugged into Smart Strips, you can turn off the strip to power down everything at once.

4. Use automated timers: Set an automatic timer on a few lights instead of leaving a light turned on. Consider installing motion-activated lights outside your home. These lights turn on when there is movement near your home.

5. Be shady: Keep your window shades closed. Draw your curtains and close your blinds to shield the air inside your house from the sun. When you return home, let in the fresh air!

6. Turn off fans: Remember, fans cool people, not rooms. When you’re not home, be sure to turn off the fans.

Cheap and easy life hacks to save energy

Cheap and easy life hacks to save energy

Saving energy doesn’t have to be hard, time-consuming, inconvenient or expensive. You’ll be surprised to know the little things you can do to save on your electric bill.

It took me awhile to get in the habit of doing these simple life hacks, but after seeing my savings, I am never going back. These tricks cost little to no money and don’t take much time. You can save energy and money! Cha-ching! That’s music to every family’s ears.

Ready to get started?

1. Turn off the lights –When you leave a room, hit the light switch! If you tend to forget to turn the lights off, think about installing occupancy sensors that will automatically turn off the light when no one is in the room. Bathroom and laundry room lights were notoriously left on in my house. Not any more, thanks to my occupancy sensors.

2. Use energy-saving light bulbs –Try switching to energy-efficient LEDs. The light-emitting diode bulbs use less energy than traditional incandescents and can last for more than 20 years.

3. Shut off computers – If a computer won’t be in use for over two hours, remember to turn it off or unplug it. If you are just stepping away for a few minutes, put your computer in sleep or hibernate mode rather than a screen saver. Screen savers don’t save energy.

4. Use smart power strips – Plug your devices into a smart strip. These smart strips work especially well for entertainment centers. They will automatically turn your DVD player, game system and other peripherals off when you shut off the television. If you have a regular power strip, simply turn the power strip off to turn off all the devices at the same time. Devices left on are wasting energy and your money.

5. Use your windows – Instead of cranking up the air conditioning at night, leave the windows open. Nighttime is naturally cooler than daytime. On a breezy day, open up the windows to get a nice breeze to cool you down.

6. Unplug phone chargers – I know I’m guilty of unplugging my phone from the charger but leaving the charger in the outlet. I had no idea this wasted energy! It only takes a second to unplug the charger from the wall, so it is really an easy fix.

7. Program your thermostat – When no one is home, why waste energy overly cooling or heating your home? Install a programmable thermostat. Program your thermostat to a higher temperature when the house is empty. You can save about 1-3 percent per degree, according to the U.S. Department of Energy.

8. Wash laundry in cold water – Most of your washer’s energy use comes from heating the water, so use cold water whenever you can. Less energy equals more money in your pocket.

9. Landscaping – Plant trees to create shade and naturally cool your house. Besides making your house look prettier, it’ll help you lower your electric bill!

10. Keep air vents clear – Chances are, somewhere in your house a vent is being partially blocked by furniture. Take a few minutes to rearrange your furniture so that all vents are exposed for maximum efficiency or buy vent deflectors. They’re inexpensive and will redirect the air flow around obstructions.

11. Clean or change AC filters once a month – If you change or clean your filters regularly, your air conditioner will function at its best!

12. Use microwave to cook leftovers or small meals – Microwaves use much less energy than an oven, so if possible, heat up your food in the microwave.

13. Let dishes air dry – Use the dishwasher to wash your dishes, but set your dishwasher to the air dry mode.