When life hands you lemons, there is often an opportunity to make lemonade. Last week, one of my daughters cleaned her room by overloading our wash machine with all the clothes that had been festering on her floor. This overload of laundry caused my 10+ year old wash machine to up and die.

The repair man confirmed the death of my washer and then launched into an informative lecture about why we want to invest in a front loading machine this time around. While a front loader can cost more money than a top loader, front-loading washing machines use:
40 to 60% less water
30 to 50% less energy
50 to 70% less detergent
than top-loaders! These machines spin your clothes super fast, they end up spending less time in the dryer. My repair guy said depending on the cost of water and electricity, you could recover the extra cost of a front loading wash machine in less than a year.

Considering I live in a town with the most expensive water in the entire country (no kidding), I was sold.  As an added bonus, we found out that making the switch qualified for a ”Cash for clunkers” rebate along with a NY Great Appliance Swap Out. These two rebates brought the price down to close to a top loader. Not bad.

Next on my wish list to go along with my nifty new wash machine: a high tech outdoor clothes dryer!  This is at the top of my birthday wish list.  I’ve been a big fan of Project Laundry List for quite some time now.  I can’t wait to post a photo of my laundry line on their map.  If we’re every going to cut back on greenhouse gases and prepare for a life with less fossil fuels, these are the types of changes we’re all going to have to embrace.

Saturday’s world wide day of action got alot of people thinking about the number 350.

What’s the big deal about 350?
To paraphrase from the 350.org site:
The science is clear: global warming is happening faster than ever and humans are responsible. Global warming is caused by releasing what are called greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. The most common greenhouse gas is carbon dioxide. 350 is the number that leading scientists say is the safe upper limit for carbon dioxide—measured in “Parts Per Million” in our atmosphere. 350 PPM—it’s the number humanity needs to get back to as soon as possible to avoid runaway climate change.

In addition to calling for bold and meaningful climate change legislation nationally and world wide, there are LOTS of things that each one of us can do right in our own yards.

• Fire your lawn guys and buy a battery powered Neuton Mower and cut your own lawn.
• Got leaves? This magical little mower also does a great job of mulching those autumn leaves so you’ll have no need for noisy, CO2 spewing leaf blowers. Think of the cleaner air and the trimmer waistline you’ll have by doing your lawn yourself.
• While you’re outside in the yard, find a great spot to start a compost pile. I’ve got one corner of my yard where we toss leaf mulch along with branches that drop out of our trees from time to time.
• Hanging your clothes outside to dry will save loads of CO2 and will reduce your utility bill. Visit the Laundry List Project for more details.
• For more inspiration on what you can do to reduce your carbon footprint, go see No Impact Man, a movie that tells the story of one family in NYC and what they did to reduce their CO2 emissions.