HOW SHE DID IT

“Easy, guys. I put my pants on just like the rest of you—one leg at a time. Except, once my pants are on, I make gold records.” – Bruce Dickinson (Christopher Walken), Saturday Night Live

For as long as I can remember, Jenny role-modeled conservation for us three boys. She cared deeply about the environment, limiting waste and being resourceful. This mindset spanned conserving hydrocarbons, electricity and water. As I mentioned many times in this space, the rules she set for our home still largely govern. And, to this day, the boys and I still keep her energy-conservation practices front and center in our minds. As it has to be. Conservation is a mindset and a lifestyle. And, paradoxically, conserving energy can take a bit of work. Here are some of the energy- and water-saving approaches we used--all of them originating from Jenny:

1) With her dad's help, Jenny put together a spreadsheet to game out in the middle of winter whether to use central heating, a space heater or just tough it out with a jacket and a hat. She made calculations using the cost per therm from PG&E and the cost per kWh for our space heaters. Generally, if there were three or more of us spread across different rooms, it was more energy-efficient to use central heating. Otherwise, space heaters would often make sense, especially if we were concentrated in one part of the house.

2) Although it's more common these days, Jenny was an early adopter when it came to sprinkler systems being connected to Wi-Fi and, hence, having the local weather report as an input. The idea was that if it was raining, the sprinkler system should be shut off automatically. Needless to say, she could control the entire system using an app on her phone.

3) If it was hot and there were consecutive months without rain, Jenny would shut off the water and let the lawn go brown.

4) During the spring, summer and much of the fall, we hung our clothes to dry in the backyard. Jenny credited the power of the sun's UV rays for effectively killing bacteria.

In the spring of 2022, we got together to help Dylan with his Eagle Scout project. In the background, our clothes are drying in the sun.

5) We're blessed to be living in a shady area (referring to what trees are providing and not crime, though we have some of that also). On the hot days, we'd keep the windows closed until about 5:00 pm, when the outside temperature matched what we had inside. So, we'd use the air conditioning at most five days a year. I do have to admit that I've gotten soft on this. I only let myself complain about the temperature of one season. And, it's the summer. So, I'd say we've upped our AC use to about a dozen days a year.

6) If it was a weekday and it was hot, we'd often stay at work late. When possible, I'd also bring the kids. On the weekends, back when it was the four of us, I was blessed to have a workplace that encouraged families to use its conference rooms, which of course had projectors for movies.

7) Our hot water heater is on the opposite corner from the master bedroom bathroom. We could have installed a point-of-use water heater. But, instead, we used buckets to collect water until it got warm. We'd then use the water to flush the toilet or water plants. I still do this. It's a great arm exercise also!

8) Whenever we used a frying pan, Jenny kept a close eye on all three of us to make sure it was properly centered over the flame. I honestly don't know how much of a difference this makes so long as the pan is completely covering the flame. But, I can't undo this habit at this point.

9) Don't let the entire house be ablaze with electricity. Use lights only when you need them to see.

10) This one is controversial, but Jenny and I debated for years on the right temperature of the fridge. The rate of food spoilage increases exponentially with temperature--especially for dairy products and raw chicken. We ended up calibrating the temperature down to the degree to balance energy efficiency with food safety. By the way, the freezer temperature plays a very important role in determining the temperature range of the refrigerator. I didn't find that out until recently.

11) I wanted to end the list on a nice round number (like 10), but I feel compelled to add this one: Before opening the refrigerator door have your plan in place first. What are you grabbing? Where is it located in the fridge? Make it a quick open and shut case.