Unbelievably, the holiday season has snuck up on me. My little "family" keeps me busy on my days off, so it's been quite the challenge to post regularly. But.......I'm back! So let's jump into dome holiday dilemmas.....
Christmas lights.....oh geeze.....the knots, and tangles, and dead bulbs.....what to do......well - let me tell you something! There are some great ways to properly dispose of your old icky lights in an Eco-friendly way. Then, you are free to purchase some of those super LEDs that I love so much :)
Here are some great sites to help you get into the green spirit:
With Michigan's struggling economy (I live here!) it is great to support some local companies trying to survive..... with HolidayLEDs.com, a huge Internet sensation, located in Jackson, MI, if you send in your old lights, they send you a coupon - win/win!
Also, check out local hardware stores also, such as ACE. Our local ACE has recycling programs in which they collect your lights at their stores. Doesn't get much easier does it?
Aren't convinced that LEDs are super? Well, according to thefuntimesguide.com, "Regular" incandescent Christmas light bulbs may lose their life after about 1,800 hours, whereas LED Christmas light bulbs will still be twinkling long after 4,000 hours. That's about 7 months of continuous testing! Want financial proof? Alrighty, according to LEDtronics.com,
35 LED Christmas lights only cost $0.31 in electricity a year based on the lights being on for 6
hours a night at $0.08 KWh rate.
35 incandescent Christmas lights cost $30.37 a year. 35 LED Christmas lights save $30.36 a year in electricity charges over incandescent lights.
70 LED Christmas lights only cost $0.61 in electricity a year based on the lights being on for 6 hours a night at $0.08 KWh rate.
70 incandescent Christmas lights cost $61.32 a year. 70 LED Christmas lights save $60.71 a year in electricity charges over incandescent lights.
There are so many colors and styles of LEDs, there are no excuses for you not to get some (and p.s., they look better!)
In other holiday news.....
The keen folks in the UK have created this wonderful little guide on how to lessen your own impact this holiday season.
As previously mentioned, I support the use of RECYCLED wrapping paper, newspaper, or even more fun.....re-usable shopping bags to wrap gifts this year! You can get really creative with these options, so don't fret, it can still get pretty elaborate ;) Also re-use the fancy gift bags you get and encourage their future re-use.
***And with the sad economy, maybe just make this year a season of appreciation and less physical gifts. I know that this has become a wonderful new tradition with my those close to me.
Christmas lights.....oh geeze.....the knots, and tangles, and dead bulbs.....what to do......well - let me tell you something! There are some great ways to properly dispose of your old icky lights in an Eco-friendly way. Then, you are free to purchase some of those super LEDs that I love so much :)
Here are some great sites to help you get into the green spirit:
With Michigan's struggling economy (I live here!) it is great to support some local companies trying to survive..... with HolidayLEDs.com, a huge Internet sensation, located in Jackson, MI, if you send in your old lights, they send you a coupon - win/win!
Also, check out local hardware stores also, such as ACE. Our local ACE has recycling programs in which they collect your lights at their stores. Doesn't get much easier does it?
Aren't convinced that LEDs are super? Well, according to thefuntimesguide.com, "Regular" incandescent Christmas light bulbs may lose their life after about 1,800 hours, whereas LED Christmas light bulbs will still be twinkling long after 4,000 hours. That's about 7 months of continuous testing! Want financial proof? Alrighty, according to LEDtronics.com,
35 LED Christmas lights only cost $0.31 in electricity a year based on the lights being on for 6
hours a night at $0.08 KWh rate.35 incandescent Christmas lights cost $30.37 a year. 35 LED Christmas lights save $30.36 a year in electricity charges over incandescent lights.
70 LED Christmas lights only cost $0.61 in electricity a year based on the lights being on for 6 hours a night at $0.08 KWh rate.
70 incandescent Christmas lights cost $61.32 a year. 70 LED Christmas lights save $60.71 a year in electricity charges over incandescent lights.
There are so many colors and styles of LEDs, there are no excuses for you not to get some (and p.s., they look better!)
In other holiday news.....
The keen folks in the UK have created this wonderful little guide on how to lessen your own impact this holiday season.
As previously mentioned, I support the use of RECYCLED wrapping paper, newspaper, or even more fun.....re-usable shopping bags to wrap gifts this year! You can get really creative with these options, so don't fret, it can still get pretty elaborate ;) Also re-use the fancy gift bags you get and encourage their future re-use.
***And with the sad economy, maybe just make this year a season of appreciation and less physical gifts. I know that this has become a wonderful new tradition with my those close to me.
Although not for everyone, I like using artificial Christmas trees because of their obvious re-usability, their low damage on the tree population, and ability to choose the perfect color and size for your lifestyle. If you do, however, choose to have a real Christmas tree, please look into proper treecycling. Instead of simply trashing your outdated tree, look into more positive options for its future.
And finally, holiday cards. We all get 'em, we all love 'em, and then what? There are numerous organizations that can benefit from these once used holiday greetings. St. Jude's children's 
ranch offers a recycling service which allows ill children to make new cards from the once-given. Everyone that knows me knows how much I love kids, so please check out this organization. Not only for Christmas, but for every greeting card event, you can benefit the ranch. They are currently accepting cards until the end of February 2009. So, we all have plently of time to pack up our cards!
ranch offers a recycling service which allows ill children to make new cards from the once-given. Everyone that knows me knows how much I love kids, so please check out this organization. Not only for Christmas, but for every greeting card event, you can benefit the ranch. They are currently accepting cards until the end of February 2009. So, we all have plently of time to pack up our cards!I hope you have enjoyed this edition of the Bean Blog. I love the holidays, so hopefully I will have some more coming really soon. To all of you and your loved ones, Happy Holidays and a wonderful New Year!
To a spectacular 2009!
GB
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2 comments:
Very cool! Keep the Green Bean Dream alive!
I bought LED lights to replace my halogen MR16 bulbs the other day from a website called Eaglelight.com that I would recommend enthusiastically. They had good service (good phone and email support), great FAQs so I knew what I needed, and competitive prices; also, their shipping was fast and the LEDs were as good as advertised. www.Eaglelight.com. Excellent online shopping experience.
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