Spring Forward!

by Rachel Tanis

You’ve probably heard it said that whenever you change your clocks, you should also change your smoke and carbon-monoxide detector batteries. It is a great suggestion that was put forth by fire departments years ago in an effort to improve the safety of the community. The idea was simple and the message was repeated often enough that everyone got the concept and remembered year after year.

One week from this Sunday, on March 8th, we will “spring forward” or advance our clocks one hour for daylight savings time. I think that it is a good time to think about our smoke detector batteries, as well as take a look around and think about how we can green up our own spaces. For instance, why not think about starting this spring a little brighter and better for the earth by making a list of things that you can do on a regular basis to improve the environment.

Take a cue from the fire department’s and make the events coincide with a date or event so that they will be easily remembered. Here’s a little list that I’ve started. Find things that you can add to make it your own and then share your suggestions with others here by posting a comment.

> Annual Basis: Review your accounts and check billing statements and options every year on New Year’s Day. Most of us are too mentally exhausted to do anything that’s very involved on New Year’s Day, but here’s something that I’m betting we can probably all handle. Review all of your accounts and make sure that everyone is sending you an electronic version of your billing statement or other important account information. It will cut down on the amount of paper mail being sent out, and lessens the likelihood that a stack of bills will get lost.

> Monthly Basis: On the first day of the month change your furnace filter. It is recommended that furnace filters are changed on a monthly basis to keep your furnace running at its highest efficiency.

> Weekly Basis: Take every ________ (fill in your favorite day here) night off from the television. Pick the day of the week when programming isn’t really to your liking anyway, and this will be a much easier transition. You’ll save on energy bills and consume less electricity. You might even just get a thing or two done on that night that you’ve been putting off for a while. Remember, taking a night off from television only counts if you aren’t replacing it with another energy-consuming time-passer like the internet or computer-gaming.

> Daily Basis: Stock up on energy-efficient replacements for batteries, light-bulbs and more so that you have greener options when something goes bad. By replacing an inefficient light bulb with a greener choice, or a standard battery with a rechargeable one, you are not only saving the environment, but also some serious coin!