The "halve what you can" approach
Enough Already
of two burritos, get one. You may live longer, too.
The need for drinking huge amounts of water was recently debunked, so
halve it to four or fewer glasses.
Study the expiration dates of anything bought in bulk. Large
containers aren't always the best value if they expire or spoil before
used up. Write the purchase date on the container and you may be
surprised later.
When using paper towels with half-sheet perforations, tear them in
half again for small jobs. Taking it further, only tear off a corner
if that works. Same with any paper product. Halving the number of
documents printed at work is long overdue.
Use half as much laundry/dishwasher detergent as recommended, which is
often plenty.
Halve your shower time by following a plan instead of half falling
asleep. 10 minutes should be plenty except for those with extreme
acreage. 5 minutes can work with concentration.
If you think you have to idle before driving, cut the time in half. 10
seconds is generally fine in moderate weather. Enough to prevent
stalling and disperse the oil, followed by 5 minutes of mild speeds
while the drive-train warms up. Halving your terminal driving speed
isn't practical but you can halve your amount of speed _over_ the
limit and save significant fuel.
Double (converse of halve) the mileage between oil changes. The
standard "3,000 miles" is likely a marketing ploy for most vehicles.
Owner's manuals often recommend 7,500 miles and 6,000 miles should be
fine, especially with synthetics. Many car-care truisms are carryovers
from old materials technology and shop-talk hearsay.
Halving the amount of time lights are on in houses would be easy.
Halving the wattage with CFLs takes little effort. It seems the
advertised life of CFLs is overstated if they get turned on/off too
quickly. The ballast doesn't like the shock.
Women could get by with half the number of shoes, but I'll leave that
one alone! Obviously, this is a partial list.
E.A.
http://enough_already.tripod.com/
Old conservative adage: waste not, want not.
New conservative adage: waste a lot, want more.
h
"Enough Already" <enough_...@lycos.com> wrote in message
news:a09f3416-a25d-4705...@u46g2000hsc.googlegroups.com...
> Women could get by with half the number of shoes, but I'll leave that
> one alone! Obviously, this is a partial list.
>
I'm a 50 year old woman, and I really couldn't get by with half the number
of shoes. I have 5 pairs. One pair of black dress pumps, one pair of summer
sandals, one pair of lace up shoes, one pair of sneakers, and one pair of
winter boots.
E Z Peaces
>
> Halving the amount of time lights are on in houses would be easy.
> Halving the wattage with CFLs takes little effort. It seems the
> advertised life of CFLs is overstated if they get turned on/off too
> quickly. The ballast doesn't like the shock.
>
switching cycles than others. I think the old US standard was 1,000
cycles per 6,000 advertised hours of life. Now it's 3,000 cycles per
8,000 hours of life. Since 1999, the European standard has been 2
cycles per hour of life. That's more than five times higher.
Advance makes CFL ballasts designed for 50,000 cycles minimum; I don't
know how long the bulbs would last.
Enough Already
I'll have to check that out and maybe try some pricier models. So far
it seems like it's not just the number of cycles, but the time they
are left ON per cycle. Anecdotes indicate 15 minutes minimum, but it
could well be about the total number of cycles.
I haven't had one last for more than 2 or 3 years at ~4 hours a day,
which falls short of the 8,000+ hours typically advertised.
White LED home lighting looks promising despite high initial cost.
E.A.
http://enough_already.tripod.com/
Birth control is the ultimate green technology.
Enough Already
> "Enough Already" <enough_alre...@lycos.com> wrote in message
Well, that seems fine. I have at least pairs at any given time in
different states of deterioration. Two pairs tend to be work boots.
The real waste is buying ones that just sit. This could be extended to
any impulse buying habit.
E.A.
http://enough_already.tripod.com/
Can one really be a productive member of a consumptive society?
Enough Already
> On Sun, 19 Oct 2008 12:26:54 -0700 (PDT), in misc.consumers.frugal-living Enough
>
> Already <enough_alre...@lycos.com> wrote:
>
> >Women could get by with half the number of shoes, but I'll leave that
> >one alone! Obviously, this is a partial list.
>
>
> use a menstrual keeper! saves money and does not generate stinky trash. great
> for backpacking..
Hadn't heard of that before. Good concept if the seal won't break at
inopportune times.
E.A.
http://enough_already.tripod.com/
Earth to human race: drop some of your needs!
E Z Peaces
> On Oct 21, 6:31 pm, E Z Peaces <c...@invalid.invalid> wrote:
>> Enough Already wrote:
>>
>>> Halving the amount of time lights are on in houses would be easy.
>>> Halving the wattage with CFLs takes little effort. It seems the
>>> advertised life of CFLs is overstated if they get turned on/off too
>>> quickly. The ballast doesn't like the shock.
>> In reliability tests, some models of CFLs had withstood vastly more
>> switching cycles than others. I think the old US standard was 1,000
>> cycles per 6,000 advertised hours of life. Now it's 3,000 cycles per
>> 8,000 hours of life. Since 1999, the European standard has been 2
>> cycles per hour of life. That's more than five times higher.
>>
>> Advance makes CFL ballasts designed for 50,000 cycles minimum; I don't
>> know how long the bulbs would last.
>
> I'll have to check that out and maybe try some pricier models. So far
> it seems like it's not just the number of cycles, but the time they
> are left ON per cycle. Anecdotes indicate 15 minutes minimum, but it
> could well be about the total number of cycles.
I've seen test results with groups of CFLs of the same model, switched
on for periods of 1 to 300 seconds at a time. All groups lasted about
11,000 cycles.
With the old US standard (1,000 cycles per 6,000 hours) you would have
to leave it on at least 6 hours on the average to get the rated hours.
With the new US standard, you would have to leave it on 2 hours and 40
minutes on the average. With the European standard, you would need to
leave it on only 30 minutes.
The old US standard would be okay for my living room, where I'd leave it
on all evening. In a bathroom, the number of cycles would determine the
life of the bulb; after all, why leave the light on so it will die one
way and not another?
>
> I haven't had one last for more than 2 or 3 years at ~4 hours a day,
> which falls short of the 8,000+ hours typically advertised.
I've been disappointed with some and delighted with others. Maybe bad
ones have been on the market due to big demand for a novel product;
consumers who weren't aware that bulb life could depend on start cycles
weren't willing to pay for more cycles. Start cycles should be
published on the package!
>
> White LED home lighting looks promising despite high initial cost.
>
I love them for flashlights. As with CFLs, some aren't nearly as good
as others. An LED light that draws as much current as an incandescent
bulb and runs on three AAA cells could disappoint.
The Real Bev
>>> use a menstrual keeper! saves money and does not generate stinky trash. great
>>> for backpacking..
>>
>>Hadn't heard of that before. Good concept if the seal won't break at
>>inopportune times.
>>
>>http://enough_already.tripod.com/
>>
>>Earth to human race: drop some of your needs!
Human race to earth: if we could drop them, they wouldn't be needs.
> the seal does not break until it is full but even then it just leaks a bit. a
> pad can always br worn with it if you are unsure.
Maybe I'm just clumsy, but removing it the first time resulted in
something resembling an explosion in a blood bank. I can't imagine
using the thing anywhere without a copious supply of running water.
--
Cheers, Bev
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
"Giving money and power to government is like giving whiskey
and car keys to teenage boys." -- P.J. O'Rourke
meow...@care2.com
Induction or electrodeless type CFLs last way more start cycles, so if
you need a CFL for frequent starting, those are the ones to look for.
Not cheap though.
> > White LED home lighting looks promising despite high initial cost.
They perform very poorly compared to fluorescent technology, and
always have.
The only sensible approach to lamp life is to use the lamp as and when
you need it, regardless of how it affects lamp life.
NT