If It Still Works, Don't Upgrade

I hold firmly to the belief that if something still works, it doesn't need to be upgraded. This flies in the face of the prevailing sentiment in advertising these days, especially when it comes to technology. Contrary to popular belief, you don't have to have the latest phone, MP3 player, or what have you.

Case in point #1:
Probably 10 years ago, I bought a compact (at the time) CD boombox for my desk in my office so I could listen to the radio and to my holiday CDs. It works great for my needs. As I was lugging it to work to put in my new office the other morning, I realized just how HUGE it really is. The remote control that comes with it is larger than most MP3 players these days. For a moment there, I vacillated: was it worth hauling this piece of antiquated equipment into the office? Wouldn't I much rather have a tiny MP3 player and stereo sound dock for it? Sure, maybe. It would take up less space. But, why bother when what I have works just fine?

Case in point #2:
For years, I used an old Nokia cell phone (see below, left) that my kids affectionately called "the brick." It was rather big and thick and didn't have any bells and whistles. No camera. No email. No MP3 player. No Internet capabilities. But, it placed and received calls just fine, thankyouverymuch. And, quite honestly, it was really all I needed.


This summer, a friend of mine, whose husband works for my cellular provider, offered me a free phone after seeing what I was still using. So, I upgraded to this little Motorola number (above, right). It's very nice, and it does have some extras, like a camera and an MP3 player. She had offered me a better phone with a full QWERTY keyboard and Internet-ready, but I chose not to take it. For starters, I didn't want to pay extra for a data package every month, and, as my husband so tactfully reminded me, I am online enough as it is without being able to get online from my cell phone. I do like the newer phone. It has better sound quality, the battery stays charged longer, and I was able to get a cuter ringtone (Blue Rondo Ala Turk). I wouldn't have gotten the phone, though, if it hadn't been free, because my old one worked just fine.

Not only is upgrading electronics unnecessarily an expensive proposition, you are also faced with the problem of disposing the old items in a safe, ecologically friendly manner. I'd rather have my 10-year-old boom box sitting on my shelf playing music than sitting in a landfill somewhere, or even sitting in my garage gathering dust. And, I am still looking for a way to dispose of my old cellphone in a responsible manner.

National Geographic on Saving Energy

I've been away for a while, thanks to a really nasty bout of stomach flu (a quick, inexpensive way to lose weight, though not a method I'd necessarily recommend). As energy was one of the last topics I wrote about, I thought I would follow up by mentioning this article in National Geographic, March 2009. It's a very interesting article about how saving energy starts at home, and chronicles several families' attempts to lower their carbon footprint by lowering their energy use. I really enjoy National Geographic magazine, and thought this was a well-written, thought-provoking piece.

Getting the Most Out of Your Inkjet

A friend and reader of this blog gave me this great idea for saving ink when printing out things on your inkjet printer that don't necessarily need to be at photo quality. She uses the draft black & white mode for printing things like online shopping receipts, boarding passes, etc., essentially anything that doesn't need to be in color. I like this idea! I'll be using it lots, I am sure, especially for those things that I mentioned in a previous post that I print on the backside of previously used paper.

She also had a question, which I will post to all of you to see if you have an answer (because I don't). She wanted to know if there's a good source for getting refills of your inkjet cartridges. I used to go to Island Inkjet (when they had a location in my mall) when I had a Lexmark printer and the refills worked just great. However, my HP 3-in-one machine is very particular about what ink you use. I tried a refilled cartridge once, and it gave me a warning error that I had to clear for each page of a print job. I didn't even use up the entire cartridge!

So, if anyone can give some advice on reliable sources of refills for inkjet cartridges, give a shout and I will post them here.

Overeating Is Wasteful

Overeating is wasteful. Most people only require between 1200 and 2000 calories per day to maintain a healthy weight. If you consume more calories than you require for weight maintenance, you are wasting money, time, and resources (both the food you eat and the packaging it comes in).

Think about it. I have. And no matter how you look at it, this statement is fundamentally true. If I splurge and "treat" myself with junk food, I am wasting the money I spent to buy the ice cream, for example, the ice cream itself (which is serving no useful purpose other than to make me fat), and the resources used to produce the packaging and the product, and all for something that I ultimately don't want: extra weight. And, that extra weight causes me to need to purchase larger clothes. Again, a waste, considering all the clothes that I have that fit me when I am at my healthy weight.

By consuming only enough calories to maintain health and weight, I am also going to be choosing fewer packaged items, saving money and resources. By not having seconds at dinner, even if we have plenty, means I both stay within my calorie range and have enough for lunch the next day.

There are probably more examples of this, but this entry should be enough to get you all thinking. I've been pondering and planning this blog entry for a while, but wanted to wait until I was ready to walk the walk as well as talk the talk. Today is that day: I am recommitting myself to correct eating principles (can't say it's a "diet," because it is how I am going to eat forever) and exercise. And I am making sure that all of you know it. Please feel free to ask how it's going.

Things I Never (or Rarely) Buy

As promised, I'm going to start listing things that I rarely or never buy. Here are three that might surprise you.

Trash bags. I think in the 13 years we have been in our current house, I've bought 2 large, Costco-sized boxes of the large black trash bags. We don't line our trash can with them, and I've just never had much use for them. In fact, I think I use the large garbage bags more for non-garbage uses (bringing dirty laundry home from vacation, keeping things clean in the attic). In the house, even in the kitchen where we only have a small trash can under the sink, I have always used plastic grocery bags. Now, one might think that because I bring my own reusable bags to the grocery store that I would at some point run out of plastic grocery bags, but so far, that has not seemed to be the case. They must multiply like rabbits! I don't know how much kitchen trash bags cost, so I can't estimate how much money I have saved over the years by not buying them, but I suspect it is substantial.

Paper Towels. Yup. Seriously. I can't remember the last time I bought paper towels. When we emptied my grandparents' house 2 years ago (after they had both passed away), I brought home a package of 8 rolls. I think I still have 7 left. We lived with my husband's parents when we first moved back to town, and she never uses them, either, which is how I got out of the habit of using them. I learned from her that it really is just as easy to use a dishrag or kitchen towel for most messes. There are times when I will go out to the garage to get a paper towel, but not very often.

Paper Napkins. Another habit I got into while living with my in-laws was using fabric napkins at the dinner table. Everyone has their own customized napkin ring, and we use the same napkins several times before washing. 4 little squares of fabric do not take up any room in the washer and dryer, and are a breeze to fold (I draw the line at ironing them, as my MIL does). For those times where a paper napkin really would be easier or more convenient (packing in a lunch, etc.) we have an ample supply of napkins leftover from visits to fast food places.

Like I said, I don't know how much I have saved by not buying these things for the past 13+ years, but it has to be a fair chunk of change. Plus, I'm not adding products to landfills! I'd be interested to hear what you never/rarely buy, as well, and why.

Coming Soon

I've been focusing on saving money in my early posts. That will always be a feature of this site. However, I thought I'd let you know some topics that will be coming up in future posts:

• Consignment stores
• Craigslist and eBay
• Things I never buy at the grocery store
• Things I rarely buy at the grocery store
• Fun and useful things to make with things you already have around the house
• Things I reuse.

Stay tuned!

Printing on Both Sides of Paper

It's been about 30 years since the term "paperless office" was first coined. I remember quite a few years ago Bill Gates declaring that the paperless office was just around the corner. Well, maybe not so much. For a while, if anything, I think computers, printers, copiers, and fax machines caused people to use more paper, not less. This article, though a couple of years old, was very interesting to me as I researched this blog entry. It talks a lot about the advances that have happened lately to make the paperless office more of a reality.

I work in the publications department of an environmental consulting firm, and over the past 14 years I have definitely seen a trend away from generating multiple copies of a 500-volume in favor of sending the same information electronically in PDF form. Still, our office tends to go through an incomprehensible number of reams of paper each year.

For years at work, and more recently at home, I have been saving paper that has been printed on one side, that would normally just be headed to the recycle bin, for use a second time. I keep the paper in a tray on my computer stand, right next to the unused paper. Here's some of the things I print on the backside:

• E-mail messages (though only when absolutely necessary)
• Online banking confirmations that I am just going to shred when the statement arrives
• Online shopping receipts
• Weekly lists from the Grocery Game
• Grocery coupons found online
• A copy of my boys' weekly schedule I give my mother-in-law
• My weekly Young Women's lesson from lds.org
• Directions that I have searched for online
• Grade reports for my kids.

You get the idea. Essentially, if it is anything that I need for personal use that will likely just end up in the recycle bin anyway, I toss it on the backside. Even if I decide to save any of these things, the fact that there is something on the backside is usually not that important.

"Secrets of Thrifty Families" in Parade Magazine

Today's issue of Parade Magazine (in the Sunday ad inserts of the newspaper) had several articles about families and how they save money. Take a read for yourself. I have a hard time believing that a family of 6 can make dinner for $3.69 total (not each), but that's what one family claims. The family must not include teenage boys, that's all I have to say! Anyway, it was an interesting article and the entire issue has some good ideas. If you don't get the Sunday paper, you can follow the link above.

(If you don't get the Sunday paper, you need to start, even if you just pick it up in the grocery store on Saturday. Two words: Grocery Coupons!)

188 Disposable Spoons, Forks, and Cups

Over the course of a year at work, I figure I used 188 disposable spoons, forks, and cups. This is based on using one each per day, 4 days per week, 47 weeks a year (allowing for vacation and sick time). What a waste! I finally figured out that I could bring a set of mismatched silverware and a Tupperware tumbler from home and wash them in the kitchen in the break room.

This is one of those uber-obvious things that took me a while to figure out. But, it is a good example of how changing small habits can have large effects over time.

Energy Use Tradeoffs

I have a friend in Utah who is a stay-at-home mom of seven (yes, 7!) kids, whose hubby is an elementary school teacher (he may be a principal by now, but the point is, he works in public education). She is far more qualified to write this blog than I am, I'm sure! But, since she is not a blogger, from time to time, I'll share some of her frugality tips. Today, it's using a clothesline in the summertime. She writes:

One more thing we did...now that it is finally summer...I had [hubby] tie a rope across our backyard. After I do the laundry the loads (minus socks and underclothes) go out to dry. It's amazing how quicky they are dry...I do throw them in the dryer for about 10-20 minutes to soften them up...saving on the power bill so we can have some air conditioning. And once again, with 7 kids...we have a lot of laundry!

Fortunately, she lives in an area where using a clothesline is feasible; I just don't know how often I would be able to confidently put a load of laundry out on the clothesline without worrying about it getting rained on before it was dry.

Getting back, though, to the title of this post: they air-dry the majority of their laundry in the summertime so they can afford to run their air-conditioning. Is there some energy use you can "trade" for some savings? It might be air-drying your clothes; it might be not running a TV in the background just for the noise. The options are endless!

Technology Reuse--A Great Deal for All Involved

On Tuesday, I took a little trip to the SoDo area of Seattle to buy a used HP LaserJet 1100 at a great place called 3R Technology. I needed a new laser printer for the swim team, and with little budget and the constraint of having to connect it to an antiquated laptop loaded with Windows ME, I decided to go for a used printer. 3R Technology had posted the 1100 on craigslist.

Not only am I thrilled with getting a great deal on the printer ($15), I was really impressed by their entire business. 3R Technology provides technology recycling and remarketing services. Their primary focus is developing donation and reuse channels, and proper handling and recycling of computer equipment. I'm a big believer that, even with computers and peripherals, one ought to "use it up, wear it out." Why pay big bucks for a brand new printer when a used printer with plenty of life left will do the trick?

Plus, Andy was incredibly friendly and helpful. I'll definitely be doing business with them in the future (come to find out, even though the 1100 was originally supported on ME, HP no longer provides ME drivers...a good excuse to finally upgrade to a laptop running XP). If you are in the Seattle area, I highly recommend them.

Gas and Oil--The Future?

OK, I bummed myself out yesterday reading the article in National Geographic, and my friend Fenchurch comes to the rescue (see comment on my previous post about gas and oil). I read the article mentioned, and it gave me hope. There are scientists who have found a way to genetically modify a microscopic organism so that it excretes petroleum! Wow! Go take a look for yourself. We're a long way from replacing any of our fuel with this "Oil 2.0," as the article calls it, but who knows? This could be the start of something big.

Gas and Oil

At lunch today, while I was pedaling away on the stationery recumbent bike at the gym (something I have long been neglecting to do), I read a very interesting and sobering article in the June 2008 issue of National Geographic. "Tapped Out," by Paul Roberts. The entire article is worth a read, and surprisingly, you can read it online without being a subscriber.

Mr. Roberts notes that oil output is beginning to plateau just as global demand is skyrocketing. He states unequivocally: "The era of cheap oil is behind us." As gas prices here have soared into the stratosphere, that has been my feeling as well. It's a nagging feeling, especially when I consider that my 2006 Toyota Sienna, which I dearly love, but which gets only about 18 mpg around town, is nowhere close to paid for, yet I can't afford to drive it. My hubby is now biking the 2 miles each way to work (which, quite honestly, he should have been doing for a long time now) and I am driving his more-efficient 2005 Scion xB, which gets about 26 mpg around town.

This quote from the article is especially chilling:

For decades oil geologists have theorized that when half the world's original endowment of oil has been extracted, getting more out of the ground each year will become increasingly difficult, and eventually impossible. Global output, which has risen steadily from fewer than a million barrels a day in 1900 to around 85 million barrels today, will essentially stall. Ready or not, we will face a post-oil future—a future that could be marked by recession and even war, as the United States and other big oil importers jockey for access to secure oil resources.

So, it's time for all of us to do something--even if it's something little. In a future post, I'll tell you what we are doing aside from parking the Sienna whenever we can, to help cut down on our consumption of gas and oil. I'll close this post with another quote from the article:

Fuel-efficient cars and alternatives such as biofuels will compensate for some of the depleted oil supplies, but the bigger challenge may be inducing oil-hungry societies to curb demand. Any meaningful discussion about changes in our energy-intensive lifestyles, says Husseini [a Saudi oil geologist quoted extensively throughout the article], "is still off the table." With the inexorable arithmetic of oil depletion, it may not stay off the table much longer.

Sorry to be the harbinger of such gloom today, but it's been on my mind, and it's worth us all thinking about it. And, that's what this blog is all about!