We CAN Be Green

Going Green with Holiday LED Lights

In honor of Black Friday, let's talk about Christmas and an expense of Christmas that not many people think about....their electricity bill and the waste of energy that traditional Holiday lights cause.  Now, thankfully, we can reduce our electricity bill and use less energy by using Holiday LED Lights. LED lights look just as good as traditional incandescent lights, are cool to the touch and use 1/6 of the energy. LED lights could also last close to 50,000 hours when used outdoors which I have to think is much longer than incandescent lights.  I'll be buying a couple boxes of LED Net Lights this weekend for our front bushes as well as a Digital Outdoor Timer to help control the amount time the lights are on.  I'll post my thoughts on them next week.

Here's a good article on the subject from the Chicago Tribune.

What are your thoughts on switching to Holiday LED lights?  Have you done so already?  What have your experiences been?

Holiday Gift Guide

2008 Holiday Gift Guide - updated on December 10, 2008

I will be adding to the list everyday so be sure to check back.

Energy Efficient Washing Machine
Steam Dryer

Sigg Water Bottles
Sigg Cleaning Brush Set for Sigg Water Bottles
Sigg Water Bottle Clean Tablets
Stainless Steel Compost Keeper
Replacement Filter Set for Stainless Steel Compost Keeper
Compost Biobags
Let it Rot!: The Gardener's Guide to Composting
Composter
Organic Compost Activator
Seventh Generation Trash Bags

Keurig My K-Cup Reusable Coffee Filter
Keurig Home Brewing Coffee System
The Green Book: The Everyday Guide to Saving the Planet One Simple Step at a Time
Compact Fluorescent Bulbs (great stocking stuffer)
Reusable Shopping Bags

LED Holiday Lights
Kindle: Amazon's Wireless Reading Device
Rechargeable Nimh Batteries
Sony Battery Charger

Reusable shopping bags

Reusable shopping bags are everywhere nowadays.  You can't walk into a grocery or department store without seeing displays of their branded reusable bags.  Some grocery stores, like Stop & Shop and Shoprite, sell them for $.99 - $1.99 and give you $.05 off for each reusable bag you use when shopping there, regardless of the name on the reusable bag that you are using.  Now this post isn't about the environmental impact of various types of reusable bags but rather if they make economic sense. See An Inconvenient Bag from the The Wall Street Journal for an analysis on their environmental impact.

With the $.05 incentive to use your reusable shopping bags with each trip to the grocery store, they are worth it for your wallet.  Let's say you have 8 bags and that you paid $1 for each, for a total of $8.  It would take about 20 trips to the supermarket to break even.  With the pay back period relatively short, the upfront expense being minimal and the benefits for the environment long term, reusable shopping bags are a smart investment.

What have been your experiences with reusable shopping bags?  Are they worth the money?