two down

Two down, many more to go I hope. We had a wonderfully successful and energized Open House yesterday in the midst of many passing storms and downpours. It was kind of like a Deep Energy Baptism. Thanks to the Daily Hampshire Gazette posting an announcement and everyone involved spreading the word, we ended up with many curious families and homeowners from across the community. Everyone was interested and motivated to learn how and where they can make their homes more efficient. This is everything we hoped for… spreading the word, fighting for the cause, setting an example, being the guinea pigs. It hasn’t been easy, but it sure has been rewarding on so many levels. In case you missed the numerous memos… we all have to do this. We have to improve the efficiency of our existing homes. It’s the only way to avoid those imminent catastrophic and irreversible effects of global warming.

Okay, enough preaching… it was so encouraging to see the amount of interest in living more efficiently from everyone who attended yesterday. Gives me so much optimism. A reporter from the Gazette was here to take some photos and write an article, so stay tuned for some more solid local press. And to those of you who know people, help us get our story in the national press… This Old House, Dwell, Fine Home building, whatever. It’s a message that people need to hear.

This week I’ll go over the last 6-9 months of oil bills and have some real numbers to share. We really won’t have a clear picture until we go through the coming winter months, since our Deep Energy Retrofit was in progress this past winter, but it’ll still be interesting. And I can’t wait to see what kind of impact retiring the dryer has had on our electric bill. Sam’s out there right now turning the compost, just picked some blueberries, pulled the clothes off the line before the rain started. Does it get better than this? Not really. Simplicity is everything, the source of happiness and fulfillment. That’s not too hippie dippie is it? Well, too bad, it’s true.

green weekend

So it’s been awhile. What can I say? Summer is in full force and I’m doing my best to enjoy it, to savor the sunshine and cram as many swimming hours into each week as possible. Needless to say, extra blogging time in front of the monitor doesn’t fit into my plans for summer fun.

But I don’t want to drop off the radar completely, so let’s talk a little about the extremely green weekend we’re having here within our almost-done Deep Energy Retrofit adventure. As the work on the house itself stands still for awhile (waiting for windows), we decided to finally put some of the long-procrastinated outdoor plans in place.

First, the compost! I know, right? Why haven’t we done this yet? It’s a combination of finding the right compost plan for us, plus plenty of regular old laziness. But in the height of our current heat wave in the beating hot sun, my husband built a beautiful compost container from recycled palates. Now we can dump all of our vegetarian food scraps at the back end of our yard and enjoy the benefits of reduced waste and earthly symbiosis.

Second, the clothesline! This was also something we put off while trying to come up the most efficient plan. So we decided on a simple pulley system that runs from one deck post to another post that Sam placed in the ground behind some our evergreens. It’s a safe height and good length, plus one end can be detached when not in use. I can’t tell you how pleasurable it was for me to hang a load of laundry in the fresh July air yesterday. Some many of my little dreams have come true this weekend.

Next on the green weekend agenda… we’re headed over to the Hampshire Bike Exchange to look for a nice commuter-style bicycle with a kids seat for Sam and Lucy to ride to work and school. Reduce reduce reduce! The bike paths here in the Pioneer valley have had a renaissance this past year as work continues to connect all the towns via old rail trails. It’s exciting and the time has come for us to take advantage.

After the bike search we’ll be heading up to the Green River Fest in Greenfield (double green). It’s a local music festival, but notoriously attended by the green-minded, earth-loving, local-shopping, waste-conscious, energy-conserving population from all over Western Mass. I’d say it’ll be the perfect finale to our hard work (well, mostly Sam’s hard work) and environmental dedication. We can bask in the knowledge that here on our little 1/3-acre of the planet, there are few stones left to be unturned in terms of sustainable living.

And what are the next set of plans brewing at our HERS 30 or Bust! site? Sometime soon a greenhouse and maybe a chicken coop! We’ve talked to our neighbors about doing a homegrown veggie and egg share. Share the work, share the bounty.

And of course, we’re gearing up for our next Open House: This coming Saturday, July 24th, 11-2. So don’t miss the chance to tour the Deep Energy retrofit and talk with experts in green building, waste reduction, transition towns and more. Details at hers30orbust.com.

we’re doing it again

If you didn’t make it to our first Open House, you’ve got another chance! Saturday, July 24th, 11-2, we’ll be opening our doors for self-guided tours of the Deep Energy Retrofit. We’re almost there… just a couple appliances and a bunch of windows to replace and we’ll make the 70% mark.

More details on the recent work completed at hers30orbust.com.