Butterfly Effect

What's lurking behind the fridge? We've all spent more times in our home over the past couple of years and perhaps for you like me its time to look behind the fridge. Its a task I would rather avoid as it involves awkwardly sliding the fridge out and then facing the dirty truth of the matter. I resolved to face my fears and cleaning the coils can help my fridge run more efficiently.

After reading Project Drawdown a couple years ago, I was surprised to learn that refrigerant management was one the biggest opportunities for us to reduce global greenhouse gas emissions. Refrigerants have a global warming potential that far exceeds carbon dioxide. Once release into the environment they act effective heat traps for our planet (more here). While cleaning the fridge might not seem like a big deal - it's the small acts that connect us to the larger picture.

Now, I can feel the critics asking me why does everything have to be a butterfly effect? I understand that the internet is full of people's voices and one silly blog post about refrigerator maintenance feels unnecessary. I can't offer a justification beyond it is helpful in that it keeps me accountable to my goals of implementing more sustainability into my own life.

Sustainable thinking demands that we act more responsibly about the materials and equipment in our lives. I feel like my grandparents would call much of this common sense, but my generation is facing challenges that weren't present in my grandparent's lives including a decreased amount of homeowners among millennials. Ownership is critical to upkeep which is critical to our success here on planet earth. Let's not pretend that it is just common sense we are lacking.

As an engineer I don't want to fall short on the upkeep of designed systems (i.e. the fridge). I ask that owners maintain the systems I design like stormwater facilities and I want to participate in this culture of upkeep which seems counterculture to the culture of consumerism that we are steeped in on a daily basis. 

So there you have it - a deep clean of the fridge leads to a deep dive values which are expressed through habits such as cleaning behind the fridge on a regular basis. In my own small way, this is the path I seek for 2022.

Window Problems

There's condensation on my windows and I can feel a draft coming in from the cold January air. In keeping with my resolution to do home improvements and blog about them I check the window next to me to see if it has storm window in it. Alas, I have left the screen in the window, but luckily a quick swap out gets my office window winterized. First step taken, but what about the other windows in my house? I do a quick check and some never had their screens in them to begin with so that job is done. Kitchen windows are not latched all the way so I get the step stool and secure them. 

I go up to the bedroom in the cold attic. I often leave the windows open even when there's air conditioning on because it gets really stuffy in the summertime. Its cold now, but I assume that is because of the need for insulation in the attic (another blog post coming soon). I pull away the curtain and gasp... the window hasn't been closed and the screen window has iced over. Shoot, darn, and call me a hypocrite!

In sustainable design we spend a lot of time on the selection of quantity and quality of windows and insulation. I'm feeling my most millennial self in declaring that I have window problems, but the larger problem we face with windows (glazing) is that they are conductors of temperature (even when closed). So while a building with a lot of exterior glazing might be flashy it causes a lot of energy consumption over the course of the building's life. Imagine having plastic panels punched into your winter jacket!

In sustainable design we also spend a lot of time on ventilation systems - another function of windows. Turns out these windows that open at the top and bottom are supposed to function as a ventilation system in the summer. Crack the top part 3" and let the warm air out and crack the bottom part another 3" and let the cooler air in. Why on earth am I just learning this now? 

I have a 30 year mortgage, but no established game plan for regular maintenance. I found an app that I can use to program reminders for regular home maintenance and am happy to say I've got my windows schedule for 90 days from now. What reoccurring maintenance item have you been pushing off that is a potential "window problem" in your life? 

Walking the Walk

 

I've spent my holiday break at home with my son who is back from college. We have been taking care of some long overdue chores including purging the ping pong table of all of his belongings so we can play again. Happy to say the basement now looks fit for a college student and I can still beat said student at ping pong! 

Then there's the practice room where he spent countless hours drilling on the cello. Since leaving for college I had turned that room into a "catch all". Clearing through the maze of music, tai kwon do belts, art projects, tools, linens, etc... has me practicing some Marie Kondo-esque letting go. I filled the dumpster and borrowed some space in the neighbors with things that weren't worth donating. I said a small silent good bye to the things thanking them for their role in our lives. 

What surprised me the most was the amount of dead electronics I had stashed EVERYWHERE. I was pulling cords and screens out of drawers like a magician pulling a rabbit out of a hat. As a working sustainability professional I have written waste management plans for owners to organize building space for the inevitable slew of things that will be discarded. Yet, here I was in my home with no plan at all for what to do with the special waste streams that are generated in the domestic sphere. 

The state of Indiana isn't exactly known for its environmentalism (love to all the hard working sustainability professionals in the state). I pay a monthly fee to have recycling picked up at my home. I have a single stream collection point for the materials mostly generated from my kitchen and household under my kitchen sink. I subscribe to the "when in doubt, throw it out" approach that I learned about through educational content put out by Circular Indiana. Much of what ends up in the recycling bin is "wish cycling" and actually harmful to the process. 

Now that I have collected all the dead electronics in one place I plan on making a trip down to Recycle Force where they safely handle electronic waste. Many electronics contain hazardous materials that have to be handled separately so they don't end up in the landfill leaching chemicals. 

Some other waste streams that I have found to take up space in my home are: plastic bags, cat food bags, clothing, and compost. I usually bring my own reusable bags to the store, but somehow those things are like tribbles (Star Trek reference, you're welcome) and just seem to multiply in thin area. I use them for cat little waste and the ones that I don't use I collect and take to Kroger and drop them in the bin near the front door. I've heard these bags are shredded and used to make those hard plastic outdoor benches. 

Cat food bags are my version of wish cycling. After doing some research there are select companies that will recycle their own waste. How amazing would it be if every company offered a responsible disposal option! For now it looks like mine are going in the trash. 

Clothing can be dropped at Goodwill or consigned. Except, I wear the heck out of my clothing so by the time its reached the end of its life I don't think anyone will want it. Kids are often hard on their clothes too. I know my kid has spilled many a thing on many a shirt making them unwearable and trash bound. H&M websites says they will recycle all fabrics, but to call before you drop off.

This blog post has inspired me to break out my compost bin again. I collect food scraps on my countertop in an old soup stock pan. Then it goes out the back to a recycling bin. I collect leaves throughout the year to throw them in with the food scrapes to keep the carbon and nitrogen in balance.

It can be hard as an environmentalist to let go and put things in the landfill, but at some point it becomes necessary. As the year 2022 approaches I make a renewed effort to walk the walk in my own life through waste reduction and sharing my at-home sustainability journey through blogging.

 Do you have any resolutions to be more sustainable?