Category Archives: Energy Savings

Adjusting Your Life to Your New Normal

**Why the name Catching Raindrops?**

The verb Adjusting means “to change (something) so that it fits, corresponds, or conforms; adapt; accommodate.” Adjustment is defined as “adaptation to a particular condition, position, or purpose.”

Interestingly, the dictionary gives an example of “adjusting,” by this sentence use: “to adjust expenses to income.”

That definition lines up so perfectly with the actions that lead to the name. As I’ve shared before, I spent about a year looking at ways to make adjustments in my lifestyle to accommodate my new life. One of those changes included figuring out ways to cut back not just on expenses outside the home, but things that impacted my money inside the home. There was nothing I could do about the fixed mortgage, because I already had a good rate, so I zoned in on adjusting the other things that were variables – my utilities, groceries, clothes, and related items.

With that, I kept my heat at 66 and my air conditioner turned to 78. For most of my friends, they thought I was crazy, and actually had their own heat and AC settings exactly the opposite of mine. But then, I was trying to save money, and to understand that being comfortable didn’t have to mean ending up with hundreds of dollars in utility charges.

I forced myself to wear the clothes that were already in my closet; not that I was a fashionista to begin with. And limited purchasing new items only for special events, and with retail coupons. I did likewise with my groceries; using reward cards, coupons, and waiting for certain sales before shopping, still trying to stay with only buying the things I needed and not what I wanted. I think sometimes it’s harder to deny yourself from those things you want, than even the things you need! But I knew I had to do it.

I started cutting my own grass again and stopped watering the lawn and floor gardens, allowing nature to take its course. If it rained, they got water. If it didn’t, I just prayed the lawn and flowers wouldn’t all die. Fortunately, that never happened. And since I’d started a patio garden with vegetables and herbs, I took advantage of any opportunity that the skies would deliver water for FREE. I caught as much water as I could by placing water buckets around the deck in my backyard. Southern summers demand a regular watering of container plants if they are to survive. So the water-filled buckets I caught when it rained served to refresh plants later to avoid the summer’s hot sun from drying them out. And it didn’t cost me anything!

It was equating that literal process I was engaged in – taking advantage of free resources today to save and use when the need occurs later – that the name Catching Raindrops in Water Buckets, grew. Whether that was saving herb plants on the deck, cutting and using coupons at the store, joining loyalty programs for discounts on gas and other items; or even in the downgrade of things such as cable TV and my house alarm system — all of it was for the purpose of making adjustments in how I was living to survive these new times.

I was adjusting my life to my new normal!

What is Catching Raindrops in Water Buckets?

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As we approach the sixth year anniversary of the start of Catching Raindrops in Water Buckets, I want to revisit its beginning. It’s interesting how things seem to work in a cycle. Once again, we’re watching the stock market, as it plunges one day and then regains points one or two days later. While the unemployment numbers look good, people are still underemployed, working jobs for less money today than they were 10 years ago. The rising cost of housing and the new mortgage laws have kept some people from attaining that American Dream, while struggling to find reasonable cost of rent in many markets. And while the interest rates are rising, and the cost of living is higher, most people haven’t seen a significant increase in their paycheck since before the economic crash a decade ago.

I started Catching Raindrops in Water Buckets first as a writing assignment for myself. I used journaling as a way to process the massive changes that were happening in my life, particularly the time period following my change in jobs. Change, itself, was new to me. I had many other jobs before, having started working part-time as a young teenager, and full-time right out of college. But all of my positions were “upwardly mobile.” They weren’t all financially mobile, but each one prepared and positioned me for something that built upon the next level – until reaching that level where the financial rewards started paying off.

I was brought up to always live within whatever means I was in at any particular time in my life. Whether I was saving money for high school band trips; or to pay my own college tuition; or buying my first car after only a year at my first job, I learned how to practice discipline, patience, and planning in order to take care of the things I needed to take care of. And while I wasn’t perfect at it, I worked hard to be smart with my finances. I opted to live at home during college. I had three roommates when I finally got into my first rental house after Graduate school. And my first car was safe, boring, and inexpensive!

But in December, 2008, things changed. And those changes didn’t line up with my plans. They were a shift away from my otherwise, upwardly mobile status in life. And it was playing out in a non-temporary way.

There I was, along with hundreds of thousands of other people around the country, trying to deal with the impact of a Recession that few people saw coming, and most people had no idea how much it would personally impact them. I woke up one morning, and realized that the “normal” life I’d built for myself had been uprooted. So the only sanity I could hold on to was through writing. It was my means of processing the entire episode. Through that, I realized I was going to have to change some things; not just for this moment, but forever.

As I was going through my own world of “adjustments,” I watched others trying to make it through theirs. Not every life adjustment had to do with a job loss – but all of them impacted financial stability in some way. Friends going through divorces; neighbors impacted by a spouse’s inability to work; loss of income after the loss of a spouse; people dealing with unexpected medical diagnosis amidst inadequate medical insurance; unexpected legal issues that were emptying bank accounts; and a host of other issues, including people working fewer hours, or dealing with a cut in pay to prevent layoffs.

There were people around me who were trying to just “deal” with the things happening to them. Not all of them seem to understand that part of dealing would need to include an adjusted mindset. It was what I learned through journaling. I realized I couldn’t continue to focus on what was “normal” in my life prior to the major changes that had just happened. That normal didn’t exist anymore. I couldn’t keep doing the same things; at least not in the same way. I had to adjust to the new situation I found myself in. And I wanted to help other people; namely women, to do the same.

That’s why I took Catching Raindrops in Water Buckets off the pages of my personal journal and onto the Internet with this blog site and Facebook group page to share information and to encourage peer-to-peer participation. Women helping women work through issues and situations that they may not be ready for, or could use an extra perspective in dealing with.

Catching Raindrops in Water Buckets focuses on teaching, sharing, and learning how to use what you have today to help plan for what may not be there tomorrow. I hope there are some of you willing to share your story too!

Adjusting Your Life to Your New Normal.

How Wearing Sweaters in the Winter Can Help Cut Your Electric Bill

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I laughed (again) as I read through the growing outrage on Facebook over some recent electric bills. Every year, around the same January through February time period, the same neighborhood FB page gets loaded with comments from people complaining that their bill had doubled, and even tripled over one month. It was a neighborhood with mostly older homes; with many if the homeowners probably not taking the steps to modernize their doors, windows, and insulation. Whether or not the people posting the comments were exaggerating or not, there was no doubt in my mind that their heating bill had likely jumped up, with us coming off of a couple weeks of low temperatures in our area. But how high a bill goes depends, in part, on what people are willing to do to help keep it down.

A month earlier, a friend poised the question on her FB page, asking what people set their thermostats on during the winter. I was very surprised to see a number of responders saying everything from mid-70 to even as high as 78 degrees! I could just feel the sweat pouring down my back thinking about how hot my house would feel at that setting!

Growing up, I remember my mom telling us to “go put a sweater on,” if we complained about the house being too cold in the winter. My mom typically kept it at a firm 68 degrees. When I got my own home, responsible for paying my own bill, I would do the same. When friends would come over, I would turn into my mother if any of them dared to say something about how my house felt. It’s what I also had to say to at least one roommate. “Don’t dress like it’s summer just because you’re in the house.” This was the same roommate who would always want to turn the heat up, but then would sleep with the ceiling fan on because she “liked the sound!”

But back to that informal FB poll my friend took. Many of her friends tried justifying their thermostat settings based upon comfort. They wanted to feel warm enough in their house that they could wear anything. But to me, if I have to sleep in thin PJs, and under only a sheet in the middle of winter, because the house is too warm to use a blanket, then something is wrong. And I’m pretty sure that many of the same people setting upper 70s on the thermostat are the same ones complaining because their electric bill runs a couple of hundred dollars and more!

According to the Department of Energy, and most electric companies, the best settings to conserve energy and keep your utility bill down is 68 degrees during the day and down to 66 degrees at night. To keep from moving mine back and forth, I just keep it at 66 all day. I figure I’m not home during the day, and will be under covers (or a throw in the chair while watching television), with a nice blanket or two in bed.

“You can save as much as 10% a year on heating and cooling by simply turning your thermostat back 7°-10°F for 8 hours a day from its normal setting. The percentage of savings from setback is greater for buildings in milder climates than for those in more severe climates.

You can easily save energy in the winter by setting the thermostat to 68°F while you’re awake and setting it lower while you’re asleep or away from home.”

— Department of Energy

I believe that oftentimes when people say they’re looking for ways to save money, what they don’t say is that they want to do it without sacrifices or inconveniences. But like almost anything that’s worth doing, there will almost always be some type of sacrifice and perhaps an inconvenience to it.

The truth of the matter is that you can’t have it both ways. You can’t save money on your electric bill while allowing your heat to run all day. You don’t save energy when the system’s running at 78 degrees in the winter. And when you calculate other places where you might be losing some of the energy that you’re trying to save — like old single-pane windows, cracks and spaces around and under the door, or poor insulation in attic or walls, it can really add up.

So if you are serious about saving on your heating bill this winter, it’s not too late. And every little bit helps. Most electric companies provide their customers with brochures and online links describing how people can save money. My city’s electric company has a list on theirs with some helpful tips:

Save Energy This Winter

Turn the thermostat down to 68 degrees or lower and bundle up with a cozy sweater and warm socks.
Look into easy solutions like weather-stripping and caulking to prevent cold air from entering your home.
Close curtains & blinds at night to protect against cold drafts. Open them during the day to let in the sun’s warmth.
Clean or replace your furnace filter regularly. A dirty filter will slow air flow and make your system work harder.
Keep the garage door closed as much as possible to help buffer cold outdoor air from trickling into your home.

So the next time you’re tempted to turn the heat up, go put on a sweater, grab a nice throw; fix a hot cup of tea, and remind yourself how much money you’ll save over the course of the season if you leave it where it is.