Demeter's Garden

There is something I want you to do this week, if you have not done it recently: give your regular monthly bills a once-over. I pay most of my bills via auto-draft with paperless statements, so it’s easy to not think about them very much. But every so often, you need to go over your bills and make sure you’re getting the best price.

1. First, the natural gas bill. Evidently my gas company offers a more competitive price per therm if you are a good customer with a history of paying on time. I never knew this until I bothered to look, but it was all on their website, I just had to email them to change over to that plan. I didn’t even have to talk to anyone on the phone (I hate phones, seriously).

Of course in the name of being both frugal AND green, I’ve been trying to keep the gas bill under control by using less. I’ve been trying to monitor the dryer to make sure I don’t let it run to long (I live in a condo where outdoor drying is definitely NOT an option). If the load is all dry except for one ore two items, I’ll hang those two in the bathroom to finish drying. I’m also notorious for keeping the house at 68 degrees in the winter, and yes, I have uttered the phrase, “Put on a damn sweater”. We had a particularly cold winter in Atlanta this year, so making our home more energy efficient was important. My husband replaced the weatherstripping on all of our doors. It was cheap, easy (it took him less than an afternoon to do) and helps keep the drafts out.

2. Next, the cell phone. I highly suggest looking at your cell plan and figuring out how many minutes you actually use. Here’s the thing, as I said before, I HATE talking on the phone! I’ve never even come close to using up all my minutes, so I’ve always had the cheapest rate plan possible. I use the phone mostly for internet, so I have an iPhone, which has it’s own data plan. I took a look at my bill and decided to cut down my texting plan. I’ll text less, but with the iPhone I can just as easily send an email, so it shouldn’t be a problem.

3. Internet and Cable TV are must haves in my world, but that doesn’t mean I’m going to pay too much for them. You have to love the fact that the cable companies and DSL companies are always fighting for your business. If there is anything you should negotiate and re-negotiate on, it’s your internet service. This is one change where you’ll have to call customer service, however. My husband got us a better plan just by asking.  We’re paying the same price, but for a much faster speed. If you call, make sure you have the competition’s most recent offer handy, and if they offer you a low price, make sure to pay attention to how long it’s good for, as they tend to offer a lot of introductory rates.

Some of these changes might seem tiny. I only took about $10/month off of my cell phone bill. It’s still worth it, though, especially when it takes little or no effort. If I can take $10/month off of three separate bills and save $30, that’s movie tickets and popcorn money for my husband and I, and all I had to do was spend a few minutes looking over my bills. How are you saving money? Let us know in the comments!

When we talk about the future of being green, one bad guy always seems to come up: the suburbs. With their well manicured, well fertilized lawns, empty, half-built McMansions, and everything built just outside walking distance, making cars a necessity, it seems like suburban life is the antithesis to green living.

I’ve seen a lot of talk about what to do with empty buildings in the suburbs, especially when it can be cheaper to build a new building than retrofit an old one. I’ve also heard that because they are so unsustainable, the end of the suburbs is nigh.

So, does that mean everyone will live in a megametrolpolis? Life in a city is fun, but there are a lot of things about a rural lifestyle I find appealing. I suppose everyone wanted to escape out to the country, and that is how we got in this suburban mess in the first place. And if everyone wants a 10 acre farm and a big house, well we’ll run out of space mighty quick, especially if everyone wants all the amenities like running water and electricity and a big box store on the corner.

Well, maybe there is another option. I already mentioned these freaking adorable hobbit style houses, which are off the grid and a great solution for a rural area. What about cities? How about Arcology! The idea behind arcology is that by combining the ideas of architecture and ecology, we can build cities that are self sufficient, have a high population density, and have a very low impact on the environment. You get everything you like about living in a city, but you also get the green space, local food, and clean air you get out in the country. It’s already being tested in Arizona at Arcosanti, by Arcology pioneer Paolo Soleri.  I’ve seen this idea in sci-fi before, but never in practice. What I love about these communities is the planning that goes into not only sustainability but also into community space. Living in the suburbs, do you ever feel like the only things to go out and “do” involve buying stuff? We go to the bookstore, go to the mall, maybe go to the movies. Free community space, like parks for instance, is a rare commodity. I’m lucky to live in an area with a great park system, but not everybody has that option. I love the idea of an arcology with a lot of great community space, especially for kids.  Do you know of any similar sustainable communities? Let me know! Bonus points if they have miniature goats!