Going Green Update

It has been awhile since  I posted. My life has really been busy  the last two years!  My father had  a couple Strokes and now lives with us. We have had a family member diagnosed with ALS. Daughter Graduated College and we are planning a wedding for next spring.  Maintaining two Houses 5 hours apart. Plus we had a Flood in the House and a Sewer line breakage. So, as you can see I have had little time to Post.

Things are still Hectic here however, we did have the house fully repaired ( post about that later). We had some floors repaired and used Green material. Loving the Bamboo flooring! Thinking about doing the main floors with it.

So now for all the updates:

Our Solar has been great! We had bills of only 45 dollars during some times. Even the electric company thought there was something wrong with the meter. We told them there was not We have solar and have been away a lot.  The Electric bills have decreased more than half. Our average bill as about 140.00 when all four folks are living in the home.
We did have some trouble with the squirrels. They wants to nest under the panels. This caused some wire damage. Our original installers came and did all the repairs, plus we put a wire mesh around the sides.  That makes it harder for the squirrels to get under them. We were told this is a problem with the panels. I would suggest that you have the wire mesh put on during the initial install. It is just better. Also decided to put a  Rodent controller in the Attic and leave it on. That has help also. Plus we have a Yard Sentinel critter box on the front porch and back deck. Really have noticed less squirrels activity in our yard!
The total Energy Generated since our install  11/16/09 is 47735kWh. 

List of Green Impact since start date

CO2 Emissions avoided= 72,567 pounds

Miles not driven= 78,371 miles

Gasoline not used= 3704 gallons

Coal not Burned= 35,355 pounds

Crude Oil not used=77 Barrels

 Mature Trees Grown=844

So we are very please with our solar system.

Our Green bag and Recycling update:
We have really made progress, It is getting easier and easier to use the bags. However I still need to work on the Walmart trips. I tend to be less aggressive at those stores. Will really work on making it a priority.
As for our recycle, It is really good. we have less regular trash, about 75% less. Recycles have increased for pick up but not that much. Therefore I feel we have managed to control our clutter.

We have also been giving to Charities more instead of throwing out in recycles or trash.

Plus, all of our Repairs in and out of the house has been decided on based upon Green friendly materials. Even our yard critter and insect controlling. I have done a lot of research on natural ways to garden. You can see that on my Garden blog.

Overall We have changed our Life style and thinking and made it a priority to only be Green!