Published in the Westchester Guardian, April 2012
Now that another winter has passed and at the urging of my family and friends, I am coming forward to tell the entire public of my household tips that saved me a bundle of money. Like the creators of the internet who shared their wonderful invention with humanity, I too am here to share my knowledge to benefit the world or Westchester, which is the center world anyway.
While the winter was a mild one, this did not prevent me from saving this small fortune and even selling electricity and gas back to Con Edison. (I wonder if this sale of electricity and gas is a tax issue. Maybe a capital gains tax or subject as revenue via a 1099 form. As long as I don’t say too much, I should be okay. Con Ed is so big, that I will probably get lost in the paper work)
When the fall season arrived, we were told to start preparing for winter using some simple techniques and various tools available at your local store. Those were good but mine are better. For example, to plug up small holes and cracks all you need is to make some homemade paste by combining water and cornstarch and if you or someone you know has a pet that’s great! Adding pet hair to this cornstarch mixture reinforces and strengthens the bonding power. Dog hair is good, short cat hair is best. I haven’t gotten around to trying the hair from ferrets and hamsters.
If you still have some pet hair lying about, do not throw it away. Save it and when enough is accumulated insert into used stockings or pantyhose. Then lay them side by side into the attic or crawl space for installation, replacing that itchy cumbersome hard to install fiberglass matting.
Since our community lives between to great waterways, you may have noticed how boats are wrapped in plastic for the winter months. Why limit these wraps to boats. Obviously, we cannot cover our cars for doing so will cause severe line-of-vision limitations. However, we could certainly cover our homes! I tried two methods, covering the entire house and covering just the top floors. Your choice depending how often you use the various entry ways, how much light you want, etc. Clear plastic is better but more expensive. Choose white, it still lets in some sunlight. You can customize these wraps by drawing designs on them or stylizing them into any shape making each one unique. Like quilts. Best of all, they are reusable. Be careful of squirrels and possums, they have a habit of crawling into them and nesting for the winter.
Home innovators take notice. Solar panels are still just outside the reach of the average home owner, but cheap pocket calculators are not. I was able to collect a few calculators and other trinkets that have those small solar panels. I dismantled them, then soldered the panels together, positioned them outside and hooked them up to my electric panel. Savings about $2/day, $730 a year. A great return on an investment of just a few dollars and a Saturday afternoon.
A large segment of our population likes to exercise. Homes are equipped with stationary bikes, treadmills, etc. What a waste in not applying that pedal power into something more useful besides burning off that ice cream and dark chocolate. I hooked up my bike to the television – the more entertaining the show, the faster I bike. The faster I bike the better the picture. When I get my Kindle or Nook, they too will be powered by bike. The more suspenseful the story the faster I pedal saving and conserving battery power.
Many more ideas are in the planning stage. Here’s one: Years ago an office building had their revolving entrance doors connected to the water pumping system. Every time someone passed through, one gallon of water was pumped from the basement to the water tank. I don’t have a water tank but I’m sure I can somehow connect a revolving door to receive free generated power. I wonder what permits will be needed.
Remember, there is no limit to home innovations. Ideas can pop up anytime, anyplace. By just observing one can discover so much. And each discovery lowers our carbon footprint. There are many great ideas out there, let’s hear from you for my next column!
#730
Glenn Slaby Blog