Eco-Chic Lifestyle Change Week 5: Weekly Update

Last night was the coldest night yet. So cold that I wasn't able to sleep at all. Even wearing a hoodie and sweatpants to bed didn't help much. I'm still trying to hold out til November 1st. to turn the heat on. I can make it...yes...hehe.

Sniper, the kitten my roommate and I got last week, loves to cuddle up on your stomach or feet and sometimes even around your neck. So he is definitely an extra source if warmth.

This week was extra challenging to stay warm without turning on the heat. However, soon as November 1st. hits I don't care--it's on! Of course, my plan is to only turn it on for 8 hours during the night while I'm sleeping since I'm not at my apartment for most of the day. I'm also thinking about whether or not it would be cheaper to get a space heater instead of turning on the heat. I  might need to do an experiment for that.

Eco-Chic Lifestyle Change Week 4: Weekly Update

 My SMART goal was saving energy and keeping my electric/heating bill down. This week I was tempted to actually turn the heat on because it would get slightly colder during the night. Then I thought: "Nah, I can get through just one more night--maybe one more week? I just need to get another blanket, that's all." Maybe wear more clothes? Haha! I do find myself going around the apartment turning off the lights in rooms that my roommate forgot to do so. One night I came home and found that he didn't turn off the OVEN for five hours after baking his apple pie!!! I was soooooo pissed! 1) The whole building could have burned down and 2) That's wayyy too much energy being used on nothing. Also, this week we both got a little kitten. Not sure how that would play in to saving energy...(hmmmm, question mark).

Eco-Chic Lifestyle Change Week 2: Weekly Update

 

 My SMART goal was to only turn on the heat for my apartment between 10pm and 8am for the next ten weeks. I actually achieved this SMART goal because it was not so cold that I had to turn on the heat.

    It was extremely successful for me to not turn the heat at all to keep my electric bill costs down. The temperatures did not get so low for me to have to do anything about it.

   I felt really happy about the wonderful weather pretty much every day thinking about my SMART goal. I feel pretty good about the upcoming bill in the next two weeks from Minnesota Power.

    I learned that your SMART goals can be achieved if the weather is nice--depending on the type of goal you set.

    For next week I need to buy plastic for all my windows so that I do not have to turn on the heat for another week weather permitting. The only way for me to modify my goal or what I am doing to achieve it would depend on the climate changes.

 

Eco-Chic Lifestyle Change Week 1: My Smart Goal

Over the next ten weeks, I will only turn on heat at night from 10pm til 8am to reduce the cost of electricity use for my apartment. This lifestyle is eco-chic because it will save energy and heating costs. I chose this life-style because it makes more sense for me to only turn on the heat when I am hanging around in my apartment. I figure that I am usually at work or school during the hours of 8am and 10pm. There is absolutely no need for me to have the heat on when I am not at home. So today, when I get home, I will only turn the heat on at 10pm.

Welcome to Sarra's Notes in Nature!

"Lady Slipper: Minnesota State Flower. July 19, 2009."
Location: Split Rock Lighthouse State Park, MN
(If you want to go see it during the summer, stop into the park in the government office and ask any of the DNR staff. It is the only lady slipper in the entire state park because it was planted there.)

My name is Sarra Vinnik, and my blog is about my adventures with nature. I enjoy trail-running and hiking a lot and when I can remember, I bring a camera along to take pictures of scenery that has meaning to me. Almost every nature picture I take has some amount of thought behind it.

There are 5 possible types of posts on my blog. They include:

1. Advocacy Project
2. Eye Openers
3. Reflections
4. Eco-Chic Lifestyle Change 
5. Share and Voice

If you notice at the bottom of this post, the categories will be listed as labels. This post is has been labeled with all five kinds of posts. You will also see the number of each kind of post in my Labels Gadget at the top of the page. All post titles from now on will begin with one of the categories above.
The members of my web group are:

1. Amy & Kristen@Enviro-Surfing with Amy & Kristen 
2.  Caleb T.@Caleb Cares About Contamination
3. Andrea V.@Fun in the Sun with Andrea
4. Jamie T.@Jamie on the Big Lake
5. And myself Sarra V.@Sarra's Notes in Nature
 

 

You can subscribe to my blog by clicking the subscribe gadget in the gadget column. You can also follow my blog by clicking "Follow this Blog" in the gadget column. You can see my complete profile and all the blogs I am following by clicking on "See Complete Profile."

Thanks for visiting my profile! Feel free to posts lots of nature photos that you have taken with a little note about Time, Place, Location, and style of Camera (or as much as you can remember). Ciao!