Change the World Wednesday – 9th Jul

I’ve had a few days off, more than I realised.

An inspiration problem with a sprinkle of lethargy and a cup of laziness also played their part.

Then there was football (soccer) on Tuesday with a catastrophic loss for Brazil, 7-1 against Germany which put me out for yesterday (moping).

You can read what’s up on my recent posts on Life is but a Labyrinth. Like the news about my guava saga.

Apart from my guava, there hasn’t really been anything ‘green’ to summarise for the week.

So I’m Changing my World on Thursday this week.

On with this week’s CTWW, brought to you at 3:30am, with the help of a lot of coffee…

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Greening the Kitchen…

This week, go into your kitchen and look for at least one way to make it greener. You might choose to do something simple like add an aerator to the faucet, convert to cloth towels instead of paper, replace a light bulb with a CFL or LED, or unplug an appliance (especially those with clocks). Maybe you are in the market for new cookware, dishes, etc. and could look for green options. Does your kitchen need paint? Perhaps you grab a brush and use non-VOC colors. You might even be considering a kitchen remodel and could search out the most appropriate Eco-friendly cabinets, counter tops, flooring, etc. The idea, this week, is to look around your kitchen and make a green improvement.

 

Well,  first up, my kitchen light blew out two weeks ago. It was my second last incandescent bulb. Replaced it with a 9w CFL; just the bathroom bulb to go.

In the news, Brazil’s new laws about incandescent light bulbs take effect this year. Basically, they are no manufacturing, no imports, no sales.

The only appliances I have in the kitchen are the fridge, the stove (gas, but electric start, standby and lights) and the blender.

The fridge, by necessity is always plugged in, the stove is never plugged in and the blender, while it remains plugged in, it doesn’t use standby power. I light my stove with the flints from my old cigarette lighters; an old lighter can light the stove for 6+ months after the gas has finished.

The kitchen does need painting, but that’s a long way down the ‘To Do’ list.

My pride and joy

I have two bought items in my kitchen, the rest are second-hand, off the street or donated. The small counter I only considered the price; shop demo reduced from R$250 to 99, there was no green consideration.

The stove is a new five-burner and I did check the power rating over various models before I bought it, it was top-of-the-line A. I got the stainless model for easier cleaning.

My fridge was second-hand, I got it from an ex-student who was moving. R$200 for a R$999 model; it was one year old and hardly used (he was a bachelor and kept his water cold and didn’t cook), green options were considered, because it replaced the power-hungry inefficient beast that I had.

So yes, when I buy, generally I consider price first, then green factors, although the stove was a ‘want this’ and the price was considered, but the ‘green’ came first.

Because of my scroogish instincts, and the fact that I rent. I am not considering a re-model.

I look around my kitchen and all I see are the dishes sneering at me from the sink…

So, do I meet this week’s CTWW in general term?

I think so.