Starting a new challenge

I don’t think i’d ever really, really thought about my energy consumption before, and I recognise that’s a pretty privileged statement to make. Beginning this challenge has really opened my eyes in that sense. It’s not that I use and abuse energy recklessly — I have some good habits and some energy-consuming activities I actively skip on, I just think I’ve been doing them all my life because I know they’re good habits, and not in order to actually try to reduce my energy use.

I started this challenge by going about my usual day, paying careful attention to what I was doing, trying to figure out what I could cut from my routine. As it so happens now I can’t stop constantly thinking about what I’m doing energy-wise, at every second of the day.

I started by noticing the little things that seem unimportant, but that I have been disregarding all this time. For example, my bedroom is very poorly-lit by sunlight, except during the time window of around 2 to 6pm. I’m already used to leaving the ceiling lights on all day except in that time window, as the desk lamp just isn’t enough sometimes. I also have the bad habit of leaving my electronics plugged in even after they’re done charging. These matters are especially concerning taking into account that I spend a lot of time home and using my electronics.

Next, I made a list of appliances I should and could stop using easily, specially when this challenge is taking place during a season when it’s still hot and lit out.

• Hairdryer: I only blow-dry my hair on occasion anyway, but I know this challenge would be much more difficult if it were done during the winter time. For now, this is one occasional habit I’ll happily and easily give up
• Dryer: I don’t have a balcony to hang my clothes for sun-drying, but I’ve actually found my laundry dries pretty fast when hung in a standing clothesline inside my bedroom, even the bulky towels and sheets.
• Stove exhauster: There’s a large window inside my kitchen I could open instead of using the stove exhauster.
• Electric kettle: Mine and my housemate’s kettle uses 1,85 kw per boil, so boiling water on the stove for making coffee would be more energy-efficient. I’ve noticed two of my housemates usually wake up at around the same time as I, so we could probably benefit from using the same pot instead of each brewing our own at separate times — this is something to discuss with them over the next few days.